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Risksissue no 116 - 26 July 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 7,500 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 Disclaimer and Privacy statement. The TUC website lists future health and safety events in What’s On - new events are covered below. ACTIONAre you a prize guy (or gal)?We know, we know - being a union safety rep is reward enough. But if you think a bit of added recognition and some dosh for OSH would be nice, there’s a new award that might be of interest. Safety specialists’ organisation IOSH has teamed up with health and safety consultancy Sypol to launch a competition to identify good safety rep practice in inspections and investigations. The lucky winners will receive a cash payout to fund further study or training in health and safety. Safety reps wishing to enter the TUC supported competition should write around 1,500 words describing a workplace inspection or investigation conducted by themselves or with others. The report should illustrate good practice, show how hazards were identified and risks assessed, how the results were communicated and how managers were persuaded to put things right.
UNION NEWSGet the guilty call after unlawful killing verdict
Four construction workers who died when they fell 80ft from a motorway bridge were unlawfully killed, an inquest jury has ruled. The Bristol Coroner’s Court inquest heard the brakes on the gantry the men were working on under the M5 Avonmouth bridge were not enough to stop it being blown along beams. Costain Ltd and Kvaerner Cleveland Bridge Ltd - now known as Yarm Road Ltd - have been already paid £1.3 million in compensation and £1m in penalties relating to the September 1999 incident (Risks 103). Paul Stewart, 23, Andrew Rodgers, 40, Ronald Hill, 38, and Jeffrey Williams, 42, all died of multiple injuries. GMB general secretary Kevin Curran, whose union has been supporting the families of the dead men, said he welcomed the verdict but was 'angry that the current state of the corporate killing law has hampered our members’ families fight for justice right from the start.' David Bergman, director of the Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA), said the Crown Prosecution Service should now rethink its decision not to bring manslaughter charges. 'We expect it to happen in this case, but it is likely that it will not be possible to prosecute these companies for manslaughter because they have already been prosecuted and convicted of health and safety offences,' he said. 'However, this does not preclude the possibility of individual directors or managers being prosecuted for manslaughter.'
Oil workers step up holiday fightRig workers’ union Amicus is considering legal action in its fight to secure four weeks' paid holiday for thousands of oil workers. The move follows a mass resignation threat by the union’s safety representatives, in protest at a UK government decision to exempt offshore staff from the holiday rights in the working time law (Risks 115). Amicus joint general secretary Derek Simpson said: 'I hope that MPs and ministers are mindful as they disappear off for their extended summer break that 27,000 UK offshore workers are being denied their basic entitlement to four weeks paid annual leave. Rest assured we will be working hard over the summer to ensure that offshore workers are not denied their full holiday.' The Aberdeen Press and Journal reported this week that the union is to make a complaint to the European Commission on behalf of the UK's 27,000 offshore workers.
HSE pushes new stress solutionsEmployers can recognise stress but can be clueless when it comes to tackling it, the Health and Safety Executive has said. Releasing new HSE reports on stress prevention and rehabilitation, Professor Colin Mackay, HSE’s top psychologist, said: 'Our feedback from employers dealing with stress is that while they are largely confident that they are able to identify the main sources of stress within their organisations, they find it difficult to know what interventions to put in place to manage them.' He added: 'These research projects have provided us with some excellent case studies in both stress prevention and rehabilitation of employees following stress-related absence.' HSE says Beacons of excellence in stress prevention outlines criteria for best practice in stress prevention. Best practice in rehabilitating employees following absence due to work-related stress clarifies best practice in rehabilitation. The safety watchdog says the reports will provide further background for a new guidance booklet to be published in the autumn, to complement existing HSE guidance. In June, HSE urged employers to make use of its new pilot stress management standards, or risk enforcement action (Risks 111).
Stress top cause of long-term sick leaveStress is the top cause of long-term sick leave in non-manual workers, and has reached 'alarming levels' in the public sector, a new study has found. A survey of 1,300 human resources practitioners by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found almost 60 per cent of public sector organisations cite stress as the leading cause of long-term sickness absence, more than double the proportion in the private sector. Around three-quarters of organisations say minor illnesses are the main cause of absence compared with just over half last year, CIPD said. The survey also found job insecurity had an impact on overall sickness rates. CIPD’s Mike Emmott commented: 'Job insecurity can undermine morale and commitment and so push up absence rates. However, the threat of redundancy may also lead to a fall in sickness absence.' Almost a third of organisations surveyed said that job insecurity has increased during the past year, double the proportion that thought job insecurity has decreased. Of those organisations which reported an increase in job insecurity, almost half attributed a fall in absence to the threat of redundancy. Back pain is the most common cause of long-term absence for manual workers, whereas stress is the most common reason among non-manual workers, the survey found.
CBI in new attack on workersBosses’ organisation CBI has launched another ill-founded attack on workers. Just weeks after castigating workers for 'throwing sickies' when its own study found sick leave was at a record low (Risks 104), it has launched a renewed attack on the 'have-a-go mentality' of victims of workplace ill-health and injuries at a time when compensation claims are falling (Risks 88 and Risks 96). The CBI comments come in response to an announcement from the government-convened Better Regulation Task Force that it intends to study compensation and litigation. CBI director general Digby Jones said: 'A growing have-a-go mentality means too many claimants are launching dubious cases in the hope of a payout.' He added: 'There is a fine line between access to justice and system abuse. I hope this study adds to pressure for action to ensure that only genuine cases go forward.' TUC health and safety specialist Tom Mellish commented: 'The CBI is way out of line - it knows the overwhelming majority of compensation claims are genuine. If anything, the UK has a 'don't-have-a-go' mentality, with many workers with genuine cases reluctant to claim.' He added: 'Far from increasing, the number of claims has been dropping off. CBI should concentrate on promoting safe work, not propagating victim-blaming myths.'
Widow denied asbestos compensationA woman whose husband died a lingering death from asbestos-related cancer has had her compensation hopes dashed by Appeal Court judges - because she left it too late to sue his former employers after a diagnosis mix-up. Barry Young was 55 when he died of mesothelioma in March 1999. Mr Young had worked in the electricity industry between 1959 and 1994, when he took early retirement because of ill health. Mr Young first launched a damages claim in 1995, claiming exposure to asbestos during his working life had led to his condition. But he later received medical advice that his cancer was probably not asbestos-related and the claim was withdrawn in January 1997. It was only after his death that a definite diagnosis of mesothelioma was made, and the new claim was launched. Lord Justice Simon Brown said he had been 'tempted to succumb' to lawyers' arguments that there were 'exceptional circumstances' to justify the three year time limit being waived in Mrs Young's case. The ruling means the widow's only hope of winning compensation for her husband's death is to take her case to the highest court in the land, the House of Lords.
Employers told to get civilisedThe government’s top workplace safety body has said that health and safety is key to a civilised society and that Britain can and should achieve world-beating safety standards. Health and Safety Executive director general Timothy Walker, speaking at the launch of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) Business Plan for 2003/04, said: 'Our vision for this strategy is to gain recognition of health and safety as a cornerstone of a civilised society, and with that, achieve a record of workplace health and safety that leads the world.' HSC chair Bill Callaghan said: 'Good health and safety practice must be an integral part of company culture - responsibility starts at the top, in the boardroom and with the chair or chief executive.' He added: 'The key to achieving success is partnership between management, workers and their representatives, for them to work together in order to achieve sustainable improvements in working practices.' He said the plan 'builds on the partnership and consultative approach of the Strategic Plan which took on board views from employers, workers, unions, professional bodies, government organisations, and enforcing authorities.'
Nine out of 10 small firms are law breakersNine out of 10 small firms are falling illegally short of minimum safety duties, three-quarters have dealt with a 'substantial' injury in the last year, and more than four out of five are concerned the threat of jail time will force them to go safe. A survey of over 4,500 companies by employment law firm Peninsula found that 89 per cent admitted their health and safety procedures were sub-standard and need to be reviewed. Another 84 per cent complained that proposed corporate killing legislation would force them to spend extra money on staff training. Peninsula also discovered that three-quarters of UK firms (74 per cent) have had to deal with a substantial workplace accident during this year. TUC’s Owen Tudor commented: 'Good employers have nothing to fear from corporate killing laws, and we have little sympathy for the ones who are currently endangering their workers' lives by breaking existing health and safety laws. If this research is valid, it shows just how badly we need the new law.'
Move towards work drug testingFour out of five employers would be prepared to drug test their employees if they thought productivity was at stake, a survey found. The research for the Independent Inquiry into Drug Testing at Work found that very few firms at present test their workers for banned substances. Ruth Evans, chair of the inquiry, said: 'There is growing pressure on employers to carry out workplace drugs testing but little evidence or guidance to help them decide if, when and how they should do it. Our inquiry will examine the legal, ethical and economic implications, and recommend a transparent framework for employers considering drug testing at work.' The survey of 204 firms showed that only a handful tested their staff for drugs and one in 10 were planning to introduce testing within the next year.' The findings of the inquiry will be presented to the government. The TUC is represented on the independent enquiry panel (Risks 100). Unions have said workplace drug testing is a costly waste of time and an infringement of privacy that does not spot impairment, just evidence of exposure to drugs up to months previously. They warn the tests regularly turns up false positives and serve to divert attention from real health and safety concerns, like poor safety systems, under-staffing, fatigue and overwork. Studies have show that union run initiatives are most effective at dealing with any workplace drug or alcohol problems.
HSE to blame for deadly smoking inactionNot enough is being done to address the dangers of smoking in the workplace, according to health officials. The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) said current legislation to protect people from passive smoking is too vague and called on the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) to establish a code of practice to tighten safeguards. Keith McNamara, REHIS vice president, said a code of practice was drafted in 1999 but 'hasn't seen the light of day. It was passed for ministerial approval in September 2000, but I understand that the hospitality sector has lobbied strongly against it being released.' McNamara, whose organisation represents the local authority inspectors responsible for enforcing workplace safety laws in Scotland’s bars and restaurants, said: 'For our members to take enforcement action under health and safety legislation, we would have to prove 'significant risk', and that the proprietor had not taken 'reasonably practicable' precautions in each case.' He added: 'This lack of direction is the reason why virtually no enforcement action has taken place over passive smoking in workplaces despite reports that the lives of 165 bar workers could be saved each year through positive action.' The statement follows calls from TUC (Risks 105), health groups and the government’s top health adviser for workplace smoking controls (Risks 113).
NHS attacks 'must be stopped'Action must be taken to curb the 'shocking' levels of violence experienced by NHS staff, MPs have said. The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is calling on the Department of Health and the NHS to introduce measures to better protect workers. Latest figures show there are around 260 attacks on health workers each day. There were over 95,000 reported incidents of violence against NHS staff in 2001 to 2002. But the committee warned there could be many more attacks taking place, because there is a 'significant level' of under-reporting. Edward Leigh, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: 'It is shocking that nurses and other NHS staff, who care for others, should be subject to such high, and rising, levels of violence and aggression.' The government says it will be introducing 'conflict resolution training' for frontline NHS staff, which will teach workers how to spot a potentially dangerous situation and defuse it (Risks 114). It says nurses, ambulance workers and GPs will be the first groups to be trained when the scheme begins next year. UNISON national secretary for health Karen Jennings commented: 'We want to see more anti-violence measures being put into practice at local level. This means an absolute commitment from NHS managers to ensure that adequate measures are in place.'
Keeper death zoo faces courtChester Zoo is to be prosecuted following the death of an elephant keeper. Richard Hughes, 34, was attacked by a four-ton Asian elephant called Kumara in her enclosure in February 2001. Kumara smashed Mr Hughes against a wall by swatting him with her trunk before butting him. He died later of his injuries. A spokesperson for Chester City Council confirmed the zoo would be prosecuted under section two of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The action follows a two-year investigation. Kumara had been suffering severe episodes of colic in her gut and was also being treated for chronic foot and joint infections and arthritis before the attack. It is thought her illness may have caused her to be aggressive - she had attacked another keeper twice in the 12 months before Mr Hughes' death, causing minor injuries. Six months after the death, HSE announced it intended to downgrade zoo safety controls from an Approved Code of Practice to guidance, which has less legal weight.
INTERNATIONAL NEWSAustralia: Unions win mines hours reductionTasmanian mine operators have been ordered to reduce working hours on safety grounds in the first legally binding instruction of its kind in Australian history. Workplace Standards Tasmania has served notice on Barminco, a contractor to Copper Mines of Australia, giving it until 10 August to replace 56-hour rosters with ones that don’t generate dangerous levels of fatigue. Ian Wakefield, the Tasmania secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU), hailed the orders as a 'huge victory that will flow on to every other state and territory.' He added: 'We had the support of whole communities down here, the West Coast mayor, the local doctor and the local priest included. These companies run 56-hour a week rosters. They are killing our members and they are killing their communities as well.' The issue came to a head last year when an independent report commissioned by the Tasmanian government found the excessive working hours common in Tasmanian mining adversely affected occupational health and safety. The new rules will prevent anyone working an average of more than 48 hours a week over a full year.
Australia: The drug tests don’t work, they make it worsePunitive workplace drug and alcohol testing regimes are unfair and self-defeating, according to a top pharmacologist. Dr Judith Perl, who is recognised by Australian courts as an expert witness, told a transport industry forum in Sydney that punishment based on random drug testing will do nothing to make workplaces safer. 'If you are going to punish on the basis of positive urine samples you are going to get in trouble, you are going to make many, many mistakes,' she said. The warning came as the state government in New South Wales flagged up regulations that would allow the State Rail Authority (SRA) to sack employees who tested positive for alcohol or drugs, under a new one-strike-and-you're-out policy. Perl said there is a world of difference between identifying the presence of a substance and pinpointing impairment. Nick Lewocki of transport union RTBU said the hard-line approach was a 'knee jerk' reaction, adding that alcohol or drug impairment has not been identified as a culprit in a single major incident on state rail's accident-prone system. Workplace drug tests were described in the authoritative union safety journal Hazards as 'a solution in search of problem.' Global: Workplace SARS victims rememberedHealth care workers who died of SARS in the recent global outbreak have been remembered in Canada and Singapore. In Canada, Tecla Lin, a mother of two, died a week ago. She contracted SARS while caring for other health care workers in a Toronto hospital. She was the second Canadian health worker to die of SARS. Ontario's death toll from SARS or complications from SARS now stands at 41; and there are 13 people with active SARS cases in Toronto-area hospitals. The 13 include other health care workers, two of who are believed to be in critical condition. Among the dead is Lin’s husband, who contracted the disease from his wife and died in April. 'It certainly is having an impact on the profession,' Ontario Nurses' Association president Barbara Wahl said. 'I think that it's business as usual in some ways in Toronto. But at the same time, if you're a health care worker in an acute care facility, you do feel very much at risk - you're vulnerable.' In Singapore, prime minister Goh Chok Tong this week saluted the five health care workers - two doctors, two nurses and a hospital attendant - who have died of SARS. He also praised other health care workers. 'Even when some of their colleagues lost their lives they did not waver,' he said. 'Despite their sorrow, pain and fear, they remained steadfast.'
Thailand: Talking responsibility is not taking responsibilityOn 15 May 2003, Bangkok daily The Nation printed two seemingly unrelated pieces. One announced the participation of Sarasin Viraphol, executive vice president of the Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, at a human rights conference in Sweden. He was to speak on CP’s 'Three Benefits' corporate principles - how CP’s corporate activities bring benefits to the people of Thailand, the country and the company. The other article highlighted the 10th anniversary of the Kader toy factory fire, when 188 workers were killed and over 500 injured in a 10 May 1993 fire at a criminally unsafe factory (Risk 105). How are the stories linked? CP, the world’s fifth largest food transnational, was the co-owner of the Kader factory. International union publication Asian Food Worker comments: 'Given these circumstances it is necessary to ask: What exactly is CP’s commitment to human rights, especially if a high profile representative such as Sarasin Viraphol is chosen to speak on the company’s behalf at an international forum?' The union journal adds: 'Until CP decides to apply and uphold human rights in practice with the same vigour and resources as it devotes to its support for the ‘rights’ of capital, the company’s participation in events designed to highlight its ‘support’ for human rights cannot be seen as anything other than window-dressing.'
USA/India: Dow told to accept responsibility for BhopalEighteen members of the US Congress have sent a letter to Dow boss William Stavropoulos demanding that his company assume liability for the wrongdoings of Union Carbide in Bhopal. The group are demanding that Dow - the company took over Union Carbide after the disaster - provide medical rehabilitation and economic reparations for the victims of the tragedy, undertake an environmental clean up, and ensure the company appears before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Bhopal where it faces charges of culpable homicide. 'The disaster in Bhopal continues and is likely to worsen if Dow Chemical does not step forward to fulfil its responsibilities,' the letter says. It adds: 'It is disheartening to note that a company such as Dow who professes to lead the chemical industry towards ‘responsible care’ shies away from its obligations when truly responsible care can be demonstrated. More disturbing is the manner in which Union Carbide and Dow Chemical have ignored the summons of the Bhopal court.' On 24 March, Alice Mahon, the Labour MP for Halifax, filed Early Day Motion 933 in the UK parliament in support of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal's efforts to make Dow and Union Carbide face up to their moral and legal responsibilities in Bhopal.
USA: Hawaii governor says 'don’t book him, Dano'Hawaii Republican Governor Linda Lingle is rewarding her industry pals with promises of an enforcement-lite approach to workplace safety. Lingle told the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii that HIOSH, Hawaii‘s state run equivalent of US national safety enforcement agency OSHA, will no longer be an enforcement agency, but instead will become a 'consultation' agency. According to a Honolulu Star Bulletin report, she told the business lobby group her agenda was focused on 'creating quality jobs,' adding: 'We want a safe workplace. But that's the same thing you want. In the past HIOSH had the attitude that they want a safe workplace, and you don't.' Infact, US law requires someone - either a state agency or if they opt out, the federal government agency OHSA - to enforce safety laws. US safety commentator Jordan Barab said the governor’s motives were clear enough - and were inline with the current White House drive to undermine legal safety protection for workers. He said Republicans 'want an agency that will just give out friendly warnings instead of citations, slaps on the wrist instead of fines.' He added that the Bush adminstration would happily jail you for downloading music from the web, but not for killing someone at work.
RESOURCES
The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union has made its 2003 occupational health and safety manual available online. The very useful manual includes information on Australian safety laws, toxic exposures, strains and overwork, asbestos, alcohol and drugs, injured workers, contract work, pregnant workers, bullying and workplace inspections. The cover highlights the union's 'industrial manslaughter' campaign (Risks 89).
NUT safety webpagesTeaching union NUT has revamped its website, including its health and safety pages. The new look safety resources include sections on the legal framework, safety briefings, NUT safety bulletins, and useful links.
EVENTS AND COURSESOnly 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! TUC courses for safety repsCOURSES FOR SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER 2003Midlands, North, North West, Scotland, South East, South West, Wales, Yorkshire and Humberside Hazards Conference, 5-7 SeptemberThe Hazards Conference will be in London. Margaret Sharkey at the London Hazards Centre is the coordinator of the London end of the organisation. You can contact her via e-mail at margaret@lhc.org.uk or on 020 7794 5999. Asbestos and the law conference, Liverpool, 16 September 2003Merseyside Asbestos of Victims Support Group is organising an 'Asbestos and the law' conference, to take place in Liverpool on 16 September 2003. Speakers include UK and international medical and legal experts.
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. Get in on the ACTS, 17 OctoberIf you want to know more about the behind the scenes working of a top advisory panel on dangerous substances, you are being given your chance. The HSC’s Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances (ACTS), an expert group that advises on 'control of risks arising from the supply of or exposure to toxic substances at work,' is to hold its first open meeting at HSE’s London HQ. The 17 October open meeting will coincide with European Week for Safety and Health 2003, which this year takes the theme 'prevention of risks caused by dangerous substances.' Places must be booked in advance, no later than 15 August, by contacting the ACTS Secretariat, HSE, Floor 7NW, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS. Tel: 020 7717 6780. Tell HSE your full contact details, your job title and organisation and details of any particular areas of interest you might have in ACTS work. More information on ACTS. Corporate safety crimes conference, Glasgow, 23 October 2003Ministers from the Scottish Executive and Westminster, Crown Office officials, trade unions, employer organisations, the Health and Safety Executive, lawyers, academics and bereaved families will be among the speakers at a Centre for Corporate Accountability 'Safety and corporate criminal accountability' conference in Glasgow on Thursday, 23 October 2003. CCA says it is Scotland’s first major conference on the issue.
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.Subscribe 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 (5,100 words) issued 25 Jul 2003
