Risksissue no 91 - 1 February 2003 |
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Editor: Rory O’Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to Owen Tudor CONTENTS
Risks is the TUC’s weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 6,000 subscribers and 1,500 on the TUC website. To receive this bulletin every week, click here. Past issues are available. This edition contains Useful links TUC courses for safety reps Disclaimer and Privacy statement. The TUC website lists future health and safety events in What’s On - new events are covered below. ACTIONIreland’s smoke signals UK campaign’s ireAnti-smoking campaign group ASH is urging the UK government to follow Ireland’s lead and introduce smoke-free requirements in all workplaces - and it says you can help. Commenting on the Irish government’s decision to introduce blanket workplace smoking bans from 1 January 2004, ASH director Clive Bates said: 'It is a bold and brilliant move for public health, but all they’ve done in Ireland is to allow people to earn their living without working shrouded in clouds of toxic and cancer-inducing fumes. It’s simple, it’s justified, and it’s cheap, but it’s not happening here in Britain.' He added: 'Here in Britain it is the objections of big business lobbies that carry all the clout' (Risks 56), saying UK ministers 'haven’t even got the guts to admit they aren’t prepared to do anything, they’ve been consulting for more than four years. The British government talked the talk about public health and the rights of workers to a clean environment, but when it comes to actual delivery, they shuffle off wheezing their way towards a sell out.' ASH wants government ministers to be deluged with letters, urging them to adopt the long-promised Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) on smoking in the workplace. TUC and UK unions have been vocal supporters of the ACoP (Risks 74).
UNION NEWSInsurers and TUC get rehabA national action plan is needed to revive Britain’s inadequate rehabilitation services say the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the TUC. Delays in treatment, lack of resources and a disjointed approach mean that the UK lags behind most other industrialised nations in the help it provides to sick workers. Speaking ahead of a 28 January joint ABI/TUC conference, TUC general secretary elect Brendan Barber said: 'Working in partnership, we can use the legal and insurance systems to offer a fast track back into work, not a slow exit from the workforce. Unions want government to lead on this issue - decisively and coherently - and we will play our part with employers and insurers.' The ABI/TUC want to put the claimants’ interests first, with the focus shifted from damages to getting the claimant back to health as soon as possible and securing compensation through a new and less adversarial system; engaging with government to build a sustainable rehabilitation infrastructure; and making a solid business case for rehabilitation. ABI research will provide employers, unions and insurers with an objective cost/benefit analysis argument for rehabilitation programmes, say the groups.
TGWU calls for child tractor ban after deathThe death of 12-year-old Evan Thomas in a tractor accident on Anglesey last weekend has lead to renewed union calls for action to ban children from the working areas of farms and the under-16s from driving tractors. Peter Allenson, national secretary for agriculture at the union TGWU, said: 'Another fatal accident involving a child is a tragedy for the family and the farm and we send our heartfelt condolences.' He added: 'Once again it takes a tragic death of a child to show how dangerous farms and farm machinery are. Farms should be treated as dangerous workplaces and not an extension of the home. We hope there will be a lasting memorial to Evan Thomas, with children not being allowed near dangerous machinery and that under-16s will be banned from driving tractors.' In July 2001, TGWU called for legislation to ban children driving tractors (Risks 11). Children as young as 13 can still drive tractors on UK farms. Union leader criticises stress-producing loser bossesA union leader has slammed employers for resisting attempts by government to introduce flexible working arrangements. Roger Lyons, joint general secretary of Amicus, said: 'Britain has the longest working hours in Europe and lower productivity than France and Germany who have the shortest.' He called British management attitudes 'shortsighted', adding: 'Workers who can fit work and life responsibilities together are more productive. The key to success is investment in skills and new technology not longer hours.' He said British business will never win the productivity and competitiveness needed for an international market place if it refuses the flexibility required for a decent work life balance. Seventy-eight per cent of UK employers wanted to maintain the Working Time Regulations opt-out on the 48-hour working week ceiling, he said, adding: 'The government has made some gestures toward flexible working, giving employees the right to ask for flexible working arrangements. Sadly the employers still retain the right to say no and recent evidence says they fully intend to exercise that right.' Rail unions slam profit driven Tube systemUnion leaders have called for a public inquiry after Tube bosses admitted mechanical problems with the type of train derailed last week. London Underground (LU) said a faulty motor may have caused the accident which saw 32 people injured when the train jumped the tracks and hit a wall at Chancery Lane. Claims by London Underground that tube train drivers are free to take trains out of service if they have safety fears were dismissed as 'a blatant lie' by RMT general secretary Bob Crow. 'In fact, LUL are running a regime of fear, in which drivers are routinely bullied and threatened with disciplinary action if they refuse to move trains on safety grounds,' he said. 'The crazy financial performance regime now operating on the Tube, under which fines are levied for late running, has put our members under intolerable pressure to put cash before safety.' He added that one week before the crash an RMT member had lodged a grievance after being threatened when he refused to move a train he reported defective after hearing banging noises. Mick Rix, general secretary of the train drivers’ union Aslef, called for a public inquiry, and said all safety work under the controversial Public Private Partnership should now be suspended.
Union, insurer and industry hand in gloveA union, and insurer and a safety glove manufacturer have teamed up to get a safety message out to thousands of workplaces. A safety poster competition organised by the British Glove Association (BGA), the organisation that represents the British glove industry, says over 75,000 of each of the two winning posters will be distributed by Zurich Insurance and the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) to thousands of industrial premises. The competition was part of a BGA countrywide initiative on hand and finger safety at work. During the period of 2000/2001 there were over 16,000 injuries to one or more fingers that led to more than three days off work, says BGA. The campaign was sponsored by Zurich Insurance in collaboration with TGWU. Helen Booth and Andrew Buttery, both graphics students at Bolton College, won the first and second prizes respectively.
OTHER NEWSBill on penalties goes into extra timeThe Health and Safety (Offences) Bill, scheduled for its second reading in the House of Commons on 31 January, has been put back a week. D-day for Scarborough and Whitby MP Lawrie Quinn’s ten minute bill is now Friday 7 February. 'Every day, more people sign up to the call to crack down on the corporate cowboys,' said TUC general secretary elect Brendan Barber. The TUC backed Bill would raise the maximum level of fines for most health and safety offences to £20,000, and should still become law by the autumn. The Bill would also make it possible to imprison employers for the most serious offences, and raise the fine for employers who are not properly insured.
Disappointment over HSE accident investigation guidanceThe TUC has reacted with disappointment to news that the Health and Safety Commission won’t be introducing a new duty on employers to investigate accidents and near misses just yet, preferring guidance as a way of educating employers in their responsibilities. HSE say there was overwhelming support in consultation for the principle of using incident investigations to learn lessons and prevent workplace injury and ill health, and a range of views over how that could best be achieved. Research commissioned by HSE into current practice, published in Accident investigation - The drivers, methods and outcomes revealed widespread lack of confidence in carrying out such investigations, and many felt that guidance to address this knowledge gap would be more helpful than a legal duty. TUC general secretary elect Brendan Barber said: 'It is disappointing news that employers will not be required to carry out investigations into accidents at work. The best already do, and it is clearly good practice to find out what went wrong so that mistakes and in some cases tragedies aren’t repeated. Until employers investigate accidents and near misses as a matter of course, the job will be left to safety reps, HSE inspectors and in the worst case, public enquiries. Wouldn’t it be better if the employers who are responsible for health and safety at work investigated accidents?'
Bad bosses make their workers sickManagers believe that flexible working could stop rising employee absence, by allowing workers the time off to deal with personal emotional and family issues such as stress and childcare, without having to resort to calling in sick. The Work Foundation’s survey of 400 personnel specialists comes as some employers continue to resist friendly employment rights, coming into force in on 6 April. The new figures, which suggest a reversal of the long-term downward trend in work absence, show overall absence rates in 2002 were 4.12 per cent, or nine days per employee per year, up from 2.9 per cent in 2001. Over half of the responding organisations offer flexible working. Two-thirds (66 per cent) of these believe that flexible working hours help to reduce absence, as do flexible annual leave (49 per cent) and occasional homeworking (48 per cent). However, civil service union PCS said the absence figures told just part of the story. Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary said: 'It is no surprise that sickness levels are high in areas such as the employment service and benefits agency, where morale is at a low, chronic understaffing has caused high levels of stress and residual issues surrounding health and safety remain.'
Footballers ravaged by early arthritisProfessional footballers are 10 times more likely to suffer hip arthritis later in life, according to a new study. Researchers quizzed all 92 football league and Premiership managers about the prevalence of arthritis and found former players were suffering problems in their 30s and 40s - far earlier than non-footballers. The study has led to calls from the players’ union PFA for an investigation into whether this and other conditions should be recognised as 'industrial diseases' by the government. The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, comes soon after research suggested that repeated heading of the football may increase the risk of dementia (Risks 80). A PFA spokesperson said the organisation would like some medical problems suffered by ex-footballers categorised as 'industrial illnesses' and added: 'We have an accident fund which pays for operations and medical treatment needed by former players - last year it paid out in the region of £750,000, and this year it is closer to £1m.'
Computer users get economy job syndromeLong haul air travel is not the only activity to pose a risk of developing potentially deadly blood clots - sitting at your computer for too long may also put you at risk. The European Respiratory Journal reports the case of a young man from New Zealand who nearly died after developing deep vein thrombosis following long periods of physical inactivity in front of his computer. The man, the first recorded victim of a condition which has been dubbed e-thrombosis, spent up to 18 hours a day using his computer. He developed a massive blood clot that formed in his leg veins, broke off and travelled to his lungs. The researchers say anybody who uses a computer for prolonged periods should undertake frequent leg and foot exercises, and take regular breaks away from the screen. Firms fail to halt rise in stress casesMore than 40 per cent of employers have reported an increase in stress claims over the past 12 months, according to research by Personnel Today and IRS Employment Review. The survey of 220 human resources professionals is published almost a year after the Court of Appeal issued guidelines which were expected to make it harder for employees to bring successful compensation claims for work-related stress (Risks 40). The survey reveals two-thirds of employers have confidential Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) in place and half have completed risk assessments for stress, measures the court ruling suggested would protect employers from stress claims. More than four in 10 employers with an EAP believe it will meet their legal obligations in combating stress at work. But Professor Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Umist, said the survey showed that simply having an EAP will not protect employers from stress claims if they don’t try and address the underlying causes such as bullying or a long hours culture. Companies must check the competence of contractorsThe HSE is warning employers they must check the competency of contractors. The move follows a prosecution this month where a company was fined £2,000 and costs of £664 costs, for failing to check whether a tree surgeon, who carried out a bodged and dangerous job, was competent to do the work. Speaking after the case, Adrian Hodkinson of HSE’s Agriculture and Wood Sector said: 'I would encourage all clients to examine the qualifications and skills of people they engage. Arboricultural trade associations can supply details of approved contractors and information to help you choose a competent tree work contractor. It is not surprising that the job went wrong and it is very fortunate that no-one was injured.' INTERNATIONALAustralia: Violence and abuse is stressing nursesViolence, threats to safety, exposure to abusive language and aggressive behaviour from staff and patients are the main stresses suffered by nurses, a report has found. Based on a study of almost 100 nurses from a Sydney hospital, the Macquarie University report found violence and abuse from co-workers and patients accounted for 26 per cent of nurses’ stress, inadequate resources made up 20 per cent, while patient care caused 11 per cent. Judith Kiejda, assistant general secretary of the NSW Nurses Association, said the nursing shortage - with nearly 2,000 vacancies - means many nurses worked double shifts and received inadequate breaks, further adding to stress levels. Ireland: Building workers to demonstrate over safetyThousands of building workers are to stage a demonstration to highlight concerns over safety standards. An estimated 8,000 workers from seven trade unions are expected to join the protest march through Dublin. Fergus Whelan of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), which is supporting the event, said 22 people had been killed in building site accidents last year. 'The idea that so many people could be killed in any occupation in one year while making a living is totally unacceptable in this day and age,' he said. He added that employers and the government were not doing enough to uphold proper safety standards. SIPTU, one of the unions involved, has advised its members to take a much tougher line on any abuse of health and safety standards on building sites. The move comes as construction boss Jason Madden made history by becoming the first Irish building boss to be jailed for safety-related offences Madden, the director of Kilkishen Homes, was jailed for contempt over the weekend then released after a site had to be closed for the second time in three months following safety concerns. A report last year for Ireland’s health and safety authority concluded the presence of union safety reps was the best - the only - guarantee of good health and safety on construction sites (Risks 66).
Ireland: Union welcomes workplace smoking banIreland is to introduce a ban on smoking at work. Minister for Health, Micheal Martin announced the move at the launch this week of a report on the ill-effects of passive smoking in the workplace. He also gave details of plans to bring forward tough new anti-tobacco regulations to provide for an outright ban on smoking in all workplaces, to take effect at the start of 2004. The report, compiled by an expert group on behalf of the Office of Tobacco Control and the Health and Safety Authority, calls for a total ban on smoking in workplaces, which includes pubs and restaurants. It states unequivocally that environmental tobacco smoke exposure creates a serious risk of cancer and other serious health conditions. The Mandate trade union, which represents thousands of bar workers in Ireland, has backed the proposals, saying that 150 bar workers die in Ireland each year from ill-health caused by passive smoking exposure. Mandate’s John Douglas said: 'Mandate believes that the toughest possible legislation must be enacted as soon as possible and that any efforts made to water down the proposals during the consultation process should be vigorously resisted by the Minister.'
USA: Brylane workers safely stitch up textile union dealA lengthy and highly creative health and safety and unionisation drive by 800 US catalogue clothing company employees (Risks 82) has ended in success. Workers concerned about safety standards at the Brylane distribution centre in Indianapolis, USA, began organising with textiles union UNITE in October 2001. According to the company’s own records, one out of every 10 workers at the distribution centre suffered a repetitive motion injury — a rate of injury nearly 18 times higher than the industry-wide average. The UNITE campaign, which ended in the company accepting a workforce vote in favour of union representation, was particularly noteworthy for the imaginative, worker-centred techniques used, with workers producing their own catalogue and holding a fashion show outside the company’s New York HQ, both featuring injured workers. 'We hung in there and fought a long time to win our union, and it was worth the wait!' said Doug Rhoton, a long-time Brylane employee. 'Now we have a way to make things better at Brylane. We can make our jobs safer and negotiate for pensions, raises and affordable health insurance.'
USA: Enforcement is too much of a strainEnforcing health and safety law is proving too much of a chore for President Bush’s business friendly administration. Nine months after OSHA vowed that enforcement would be part of its 'four-pronged' effort to cut musculoskeletal disorders, the agency has yet to launch a single ergonomics enforcement action. And US unions have complained that even its revamped advisory committee on ergonomics, which met for the first time last week, is stacked with industry lobbyists (AFL-CIO). Not that industry has anything to worry about. John Henshaw, the Bush appointed head of safety 'enforcement' agency OSHA - it now strongly favours a largely advisory role - told the National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics (NACE) 'enforcement, per se, will not be a part of your deliberations.' He added that an ergonomics regulation 'should not be a part of the committee’s discussions' because a regulatory approach is not on OSHA’s agenda. The first legislative act of the Bush administration was to rescind an ergonomics law introduced late in the Clinton presidency (Risks 48). USA: 'Safe' factory explodes killing threeA US factory with a recent record of serious safety breaches has exploded, killing three employees and injuring 35, at least 10 seriously. The West Pharmaceutical Services plant in Kinston, North Carolina, was ripped apart by the huge 29 January blast. The plant, which made syringe stoppers and intravenous tubing, was cited in November 2002 for 22 serious safety violations, for which it agreed to pay a $9,075 (£5,500) fine. Inspectors did not revisit the plant, but accepted a photo as evidence that the potentially life-threatening breaches had been addressed. The federal government classifies a violation as serious when it could result in employee death or injury. Investigations in to the cause of the blast are continuing.
RESOURCESNew HSE vibration webpageThe HSE has launched a hand-arm and whole-body vibration webpage. The new resource includes sources of HSE information, much of it available free on the web, a 'live issues' page giving updates on legal developments on vibration in the UK and Europe, and an online 'vibration exposure calculator' which will 'help you to work out your overall daily exposure to vibration.' CSP safety newsThe January 2003 health and safety newsletter from CSP, the union for physiotherapists, is now online. It covers health service changes, risk assessment, latex allergy, stress at work, physio students, strain injuries, safety reps’ rights and Workers’ Memorial Day. Also on the CSP safety webpages are details of a planned survey a 10 per cent sample of the CSP’s membership - 4,000 physiotherapists, physiotherapy assistants and students - on their experiences of work-related musculoskeletal injuries. EVENTSOnly newly announced events, events next week and very important events will be listed here in future. But there is a comprehensive listing of health and safety events on the TUC website - bookmark it for easy reference! International RSI Awareness Day conference, 28 FebruaryThe RSI Association are holding a conference in Nottingham to celebrate international Repetitive Strain Injuries awareness day (the last day of February is the only non-repeating date of the year). The HSE will be launching their new guidance on Display Screen Equipment at the conference which features keynote speeches from HSC musculoskeletal priority programme champion Owen Tudor and Professor Peter Buckle from the Robens Institute. Further details on the conference. International Workers Memorial Day, 28 AprilThis year the theme will be corporate accountability for workers’ health and safety. The TUC will be co-ordinating a series of events around the country. A background briefing on the 2003 theme is available on the page of the TUC website devoted to Workers’ Memorial Day. Order a poster from the TUC (single copies free) or bulk copies at a good price from Hazards Merseyside Call Centre Project national conference, 30 AprilMerseyside Call Centre Project 'aims to improve health safety and productivity in call centres through an innovative approach to partnership' and has the North West TUC as a 'lead partner.' Its national conference will be held at Liverpool Town Hall, 30 April 2003. Further details: Godfrey Smith, 49 Wyndham Avenue, Liverpool, L14 0LA. Telephone: 0151 289 4557 or 4218. Hazards Conference, 5-7 SeptemberThe Hazards Conference will be in London. Margaret Sharkey at the London Hazards Centre is the co-ordinator of the London end of the organisation. You can contact her via e-mail at margaret@lhc.org.uk or on 020 7794 5999. European Work Hazards Conference, 18-20 SeptemberThe next European Work Hazards Conference, where union health and safety reps and union safety officers, specialists and advisers come together to discuss approaches and strategies, will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 18-20 September 2003. European Work Hazards Network European Week for Health and Safety at Work, 13-19 OctoberThe theme for the Week in 2003 will be ‘dangerous substances’ (EU Agency press release). The TUC will be stressing the hierarchy of control, and especially the need for substitutes and general toxic use reduction strategies. Key hazards dealt with will include asbestos, asthmagens and solvents. Future years’ themes have also now been decided. USEFUL LINKSVisit the TUC http://www.tuc.org.uk/h_and_s/ website pages on health and safety. See what’s on offer from TUC Publications and What’s On in health and safety.TUC courses for safety repsCOURSES FOR JANUARY TO MARCH 2003:Midlands, North, North West, Scotland, South East and East Anglia, South West, Wales, Yorkshire and HumbersideNEW COURSES FOR APRIL TO JULY 2003:North, Yorkshire and HumbersideSubscribe to Hazards magazine, supported by the TUC as a key source of information for union safety reps.What’s new in the HSC/E and the European Agency.HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2WA. Tel: 01787 881165; fax: 01787 313995. |
Newsletter (4,600 words) issued 3 Feb 2003
