PDF version available for download (PDF help)
Risksissue no 188 - 24 December 2004 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Editor: Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to the TUC at healthandsafety@tuc.org.uk CONTENTS
Risks is the TUC’s weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 10,000 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. UNION NEWSHave a happy Risks free holiday
Sick pay runs out for blast injured workersWorkers from the Stockline factory in Glasgow are facing an anxious Christmas after their sick pay entitlement ran out, seven months after surviving an explosion which killed nine colleagues (Risks 156). The 28 workers lost £64 a week on 29 November when their statutory government sick pay ended (Risks 185). The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), which is representing the workers, said some employees fear they will have to go back to work before they are fit because they are desperate for money. STUC’s Ian Tasker, who is running a support group for the injured workers, is urging the Benefits Office in Maryhill to speed through the applications so the staff can be reassured in time for Christmas that they will receive the benefit payments for which they are eligible. He said: 'A lot of them are pretty downhearted in the lead-up to Christmas because they are reflecting on the colleagues they have lost. Add in the financial uncertainty and uncertainty about whether they will have a job to go back to, and it is not going to be the best of Christmases for them. A lot of them still haven’t got their incapacity benefits sorted out, so it is not looking good.' Nine staff were killed and 40 were injured in the factory explosion on 11 May. Two of the workers still off sick each lost a leg and others are suffering from serious scarring. Council workers face hard line on smokingSouthampton City Council has been accused by its local UNISON branch of introducing an 'unworkable, unenforceable and unfair' smoking policy. Under new smoking at work rules, council employees will be forbidden to smoke at any time during a working day - wherever they are. In theory, if they light up, even on the street, or on the other side of the country, they will face disciplinary action. Councillors on Southampton’s employment panel have endorsed the smoking at work policy, which will come into effect on 1 July 2005. Despite its support for stronger smoking controls, UNISON’s Southampton branch has voted against the ban. Before the panel decision, around 1,000 UNISON council workers responded to a union ballot on the issue, with a majority of 130 in favour of rejecting the proposals. 'Both those staff that smoke and those who do not have rejected the proposals because they are unworkable, unenforceable and unfair,' said UNISON branch secretary Mike Tucker. 'Our main disagreement is with this view that if someone is on council employment, whatever they are doing and wherever they are, they can’t smoke.' OTHER NEWSMore delays for workplace death law
Bosses say the want to help the sick back to workMost employers say they take measures to help sick workers reintegrate to the workplace, according to new research. The study, published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and carried out by the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York and the National Centre for Social Research, looked at how employers in the Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot (JRRP) areas manage sickness absence. The report concludes employers' keenness to retain employees who were on long term sickness absence can be seen in their willingness to make changes to help employees return to work. Almost all employers interviewed allowed employees to return to work on reduced hours to ease their return, gradually building up the number of hours worked over time. Respondents felt that improvements to existing services could help them to manage long-term sickness absence more effectively, says the report. Improvements suggested included better communication between employers and the health service and an enhanced role for GPs; faster access to medical treatment; and greater responsiveness to employees' needs as well as the needs of the employer in rehabilitating employees for work.
Fines for 'serious' and fatal failuresTwo companies have been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £100,000 in the Central Criminal Court, London after pleading guilty to what were described as 'serious failures' to comply with safety duties. The prosecution of Krypton Health Construction Ltd (KHCL) and Controlled Flame Boilers Ltd (CFBL), brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), followed its investigation into the death of pipe fitting engineer Robert Burchett. Mr Burchett, aged 40, sustained fatal injuries following a 10 April 2002 fall of nine metres from an unprotected edge on a site where an operating theatre was being built at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore. HSE inspector Giles Meredith, who investigated the fatality, said: 'My investigation into the circumstances of Mr Burchett's death revealed serious failures by both companies in respect of their duties under health and safety law… There was nothing in place to prevent Mr Burchett falling from the building in question.' KHCL was fined £35,000 and ordered to pay costs to HSE of £5,000. CFBL was fined £52,000 for two safety offences, and was ordered to pay costs to HSE of £8,000. Asbestos tragedies continue apaceAsbestos cancer deaths are now running at thousands each year, with fatal diseases and a frustrating fight for justice affecting a widening group of people. Cheryl Williams cleaned husband Roger's work clothes every night. But by shaking dust off before washing them, she inhaled the carcinogenic asbestos fibres. A south Wales inquest into Mrs Williams's death found her body was riddled with mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos. 'They never told us anything at all about asbestos,' her husband said. In Norwich, widow Patricia Withers whose husband Thomas died of the same condition, is enraged by the red tape she is facing in her quest for compensation. She said she had got nowhere, despite trying to pursue claims against her late husband's employer and the government. ' I am now getting angry. Thomas was my soulmate. We were married nearly 40 years and had never been apart. I think somebody should be accountable.' Patricia, 64, has now instructed the Sheffield-based solicitors Irwin Mitchell to sue the driving firm Lawrence Brothers (Transport Ltd) in London, where Mr Withers had worked as a lorry driver in the 1960s. The company was dissolved in 1978 and unless it is found to have had employers’ liability cover, and the insurance company is traced, she is unlikely to get compensation. Scotland pushes forward with smoking banA Bill published this week aims to improve Scotland's health record by banning smoking in enclosed public places in order to protect people from the effects of second hand smoke, said health minister Andy Kerr. Launching the Smoking, Health and Social Care Bill, he said: 'Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of premature death in Scotland and wreaks a terrible havoc on families across the country.' The minister added: 'The case for reducing smoking and exposure to second hand smoke to improve health is indisputable. This the most important piece of public health legislation in a generation.' The Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Bill will introduce a ban on smoking in enclosed public places. It proposes measures including the creation of an offence of permitting others to smoke in no-smoking premises and of smoking in no-smoking premises.
Emergency workers law fails to protect vital staffLeaders of Scotland’s doctors, nurses and midwives have criticised the Scottish Executive for failing to protect vital healthcare workers under legislation debated in the Scottish parliament this week. The BMA, RCN and Royal College of Midwives claim that the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Bill, which makes it a specific offence to assault an emergency worker, has created significant anomalies which are not supportable. The three organisations called on members of the Scottish parliament (MSPs) to support an amendment lodged by SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson in the debate on stage 3 of the consultation. The amendment calls for all doctors, registered nurses and midwives to be extended the same level of protection afforded to ambulance, fire and police personnel, who will covered at all times when on duty. James Kennedy, Director, RCN in Scotland, said: 'We are told that this legislation will send a clear message that violence against emergency workers is not acceptable. However, the message that we are hearing is that the safety of nurses, midwives and doctors working in the community is not as important as that of emergency service personnel and hospital based staff.' INTERNATIONALAustralia: Campaigners secure James Hardie asbestos agreementUnions and campaigners in Australia have signed a deal with former asbestos products manufacturer James Hardie for what is believed to be the largest personal injury settlement in Australia's history. National union federation ACTU, Unions NSW and asbestos groups signed up to the ‘Heads of Agreement’ - the precursor to a formal legal document - this week, bringing closer to resolution Australia’s largest ever corporate scandal. ACTU secretary Greg Combet, who has led negotiations with Hardie on behalf of unions, asbestos groups and the NSW government said: 'The Heads of Agreement is not legally binding but it is a highly significant step in the campaign to ensure that the company funds current and future compensation liabilities to Australian victims of its asbestos products.' He said the deal is intended to provide the basis for a legally binding 'Principal Agreement' to be concluded by June next year. Measures agreed include no cap on the overall funding or payments to victims and an up-front cash 'buffer' equivalent to two years of claims plus the payment of a further year of claims in advance, equivalent to Aus$250 million (£99.2m). Combet said: 'While James Hardie performs its obligations towards a binding agreement the ACTU does not wish to see any further conduct that would be harmful to the business of James Hardie."
Canada: Unions say don’t toy with workers’ rightsCanadians support the right of working people to earn a decent wage and work in conditions that are safe, healthy and free from discrimination, says Canada’s national union federation CLC - but adds that not all retailers seem to think the same way. To make things easier for ethical shoppers at xmas, CLC has produced a list of toy manufacturers for people who may wish to include items from unionised, North American factories in their shopping baskets this holiday season. Its 'Toys made in justice' website allows consumers to opt for products made in factories where workers are paid fairly and treated properly. There are plenty of examples of where this isn’t the case. CLC gives the example of China, where it says workers 'are often abused and simply tossed aside if an accident or injury prevents them from keeping up with the pace of production.' CLC president Ken Georgetti says if the toy industry wants consumers to take it seriously, then the ethical standards it claims to have must include the very basic, internationally-recognised workers’ rights established by the United Nations’ International Labour Organisation (ILO). Among CLC’s demands is a respect for basic health and safety regulations. France: Revulsion at gruesome nurse murdersThe macabre double murder of a nurse and auxiliary nurse at a mental hospital in Pau in the French Pyrenees last weekend has caused a wave of revulsion throughout France and provoked questions about the under-funding of psychiatric medicine. Repeated calls for improved security on psychiatric units have been ignored, according to health unions. The two nurses, Chantal Klimaszewski, 48, and Lucette Gariod, 40, were attacked with a long knife or sabre. French president Jacques Chirac has said he is shocked at the killings and vowed to make profound changes to hospital security. 'We need better co-ordination, better support of the [mentally] ill and improved security in hospitals. This is a major imperative,' he was quoted as saying by his spokesperson. It is thought the brutal murders may have been the act of a disaffected ex-patient. A former psychiatric patient has been detained by police in connection with the crime. Global: Media death toll hits a record 120The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has confirmed that 2004 has turned into the worst year on record for the killing of journalists and media staff as two new violent deaths were recorded this week in Africa and Asia, bringing the death toll to 120 in the year so far. In Colombo, Sri Lanka, Lal Jayasundara, a 20-year-old photojournalist for the Wijeya newspaper group, was one of two people killed six days ago in a bomb attack on an entertainment spectacular. Deida Hydara, an AFP correspondent, was shot and killed in the Gambian capital Banjul. 'These killings are the latest senseless deaths in a year of unprecedented horror for journalism,' said IFJ general secretary Aidan White. 'Our figures show that this is the worst single year on record.' He said of particular concern was the spate of deaths in the Philippines where 12 journalists have been killed and in the Middle East, including Iraq where 53 deaths were recorded. 'Many of these deaths could not have been avoided, but targeted killings as we have witnessed in the Philippines, Iraq and now in the Gambia must be properly and publicly investigated and the killers brought to justice,' said White. Japan: Five workers may have bird flu virusFive workers in Japan may have been infected with the bird flu virus after an outbreak among chickens in February, but government officials says there is no risk they will develop symptoms and no chance of more infections. Blood tests showed that five people who were involved in work such as the culling of chickens after an outbreak of avian flu in Kyoto in western Japan in February had developed an antibody to the virus, the Health Ministry said in a statement. 'There is a possibility that they were infected from this case but a positive antibody (result) is not enough to reach a conclusion... In any case there is no risk that they will develop symptoms,' the ministry said. Nobuhiko Okabe, a director at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, said the chances seemed high that at least one of the five, a worker at a poultry farm, had been infected. The Health Ministry said four of the people were workers at a poultry farm while the other person who tested positive was a worker for a livestock hygiene service centre. The UK government last week announced it was drawing up plans to deal with any bird flu outbreak in the UK (Risks 187). South Africa: NUM excluded from mine deaths probeLeaders from South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) say they have been excluded from the investigation into the deaths of seven miners at a mine in Brits. The mineworkers were killed in an underground accident at the Hernic Ferrochrome mine last week. NUM says it plans to contact the families of the deceased and ensure their legal representation. Moferefere Lekorotsoana, the NUM spokesperson, says that it is 'general practice that the union gets involved so that we can then ensure that in the whole process workers are properly represented, and that they do have a voice in the processes.' Lekorotsoana says that they tried to engage with management and they made it clear that they did not want to talk to the union. The union was not even part of the inspection and discussions. He added that NUM is going to make sure that there is a formal engagement and that workers have representation in the whole process. A date for an inquiry into the accident has been set for 15 February. NUM secretary for health and safety Eric Gcilitshana said the Department of Minerals and Energy had accepted the union would be fully involved throughout this inquiry. USA: Race and class discrimination rife in workplace safetyAfrican-Americans with work-related back injuries have less money spent on their medical care, are granted less time off and receive less compensation for their injuries than Caucasians, according to a Saint Louis University study. 'The implications of these differences are sobering,' said Raymond C Tait, a professor of psychiatry at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, and principal investigator of the study. 'Even though patients have equal access to health care through the workers’ compensation system, there are substantial differences in the treatment costs that they incur. African-Americans and the poor clearly fare worse.' The research examined 1,472 workers’ compensation cases in Missouri that involved lower back injuries, which often are a source of chronic pain. The study, published in the December 2004 issue of the journal Pain, found that African-Americans had less money spent on their medical care, less excused time from work and smaller financial settlements than Caucasians. Those of lower socioeconomic status - who were less educated and earned smaller incomes - also received less costly medical care and smaller financial settlements for their injuries than those who were more educated and had higher incomes, although the discrepancy was nowhere near as marked. Tait speculates that negative stereotypes represent the most likely reason for the differences in treatment and settlements.
USA: How bad firms remain safe as workers dieDavid C Wiles was running a grinding machine at Penn-Mar Castings in Hanover, Pennsylvania, when the 7-inch grinding wheel exploded, slicing into his head. He died that October 2003 morning en route to York Hospital, York County coroner's office records show. Family members believe their sole wage earner died as the result of hazards in his workplace, and that they should be able to sue his employer. They are learning that might not be possible. Official safety watchdog OSHA found problems when it investigated David Wiles' death and issued citations to Penn-Mar for not having a maintenance programme, failing to have the proper safety guards and other safety offences, said Bob Fink, OSHA area director. Fines initially totalled $13,275 before negotiations reduced the amount to $10,850 (£5,628). But David Wiles Jr said OSHA is toothless and that there are no guarantees to ensure someone else won't be exposed to unsafe conditions. OSHA’s Fink countered: 'I don't know what more he thinks we could do. We issued citations.' David’s widow, Christina Wiles, was shocked to learn the Pennsylvania workers' compensation laws restrict employees or their family members from suing companies except in rare cases unless the employer could be shown to have intended to cause harm. She is now campaigning for changes to the law. RESOURCESHealth and safety regulatory policyThe Centre for Corporate Accountability has produced an online guide to government and Health and Safety Commission policy on health and safety regulation. It says it is also very important to look at the government's wider regulatory policies as these are increasingly having an impact upon the policies that the HSC adopts in relation to safety. Working conditions and labour rights around the world‘Behind the label: Working conditions and labour rights in export processing zones’, a new report from global union federation ICFTU, looks at the impact of these deregulated industrial zones on workers’ rights. It says EPZs, spreading particularly in the world's poorest countries, are spearheading the race to the bottom, the hunt for ever cheaper labour, which undermines even the most basic workers' rights. The report says that 'weak enforcement of labour laws and the lack of labour inspections can often mean that health and safety legislation is breached in the EPZs. Trade unions frequently report instances of a failure by firms to provide protective equipment, proper sanitary facilities, adequate ventilation and training on health hazards.' The report will be of interest to anyone concerned about the impact of globalisation on working conditions.
Asian-Pacific health and safety newsletterThe latest issue of the ‘Asian-Pacific newsletter on occupational health and safety’ is now available online. The theme of this issue is occupational health services. The newsletter includes some useful background and statistics, including details of the proportion of occupational disease and injury due to occupational risk factors.
WHO occupational health websiteThe World Health Organisation has launched a new occupational health website. An online newsletter, GOHNET - Global Occupational Health Network - can be downloaded at the site. WHO addresses occupational health through a programme in WHO headquarters, the six WHO regional offices and WHO country offices, with the support of a network of 70 collaborating centres. WHO says it is implementing a global strategy to: Provide evidence for policy, legislation and support to decision makers, including work carried out to estimate the magnitude of the burden of occupational diseases and injuries; provide infrastructure support and development through capacity building, information dissemination and networking; and support protection and promotion of workers' health. WHO says it also assists countries to develop or upgrade their national occupational health profiles and action plans and to create the capacity to implement the plans. EVENTS AND COURSESTUC courses for safety repsCOURSES FOR SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER 2004Midlands, North, North West, Scotland, South East, South West, Wales, Yorkshire and Humberside COURSES FOR JANUARY TO MARCH 2005Midlands, North, Scotland, South East, South West, Wales, Yorkshire and Humberside 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. |
This is the last Risks of 2004. The next issue you see will be a week into the New Year. The Risks team wishes you all a happy holiday and a safe and healthy 2005.
Newsletter (4,400 words) issued 23 Dec 2004
