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Risksissue no 203 - 23 April 2005 |
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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 11,000 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. ACTIONMillions get organised for 28 April
UNION NEWSFire crews face peril of yobbery with violenceFirefighters are on the receiving end of a growing number of violent attacks, according to research released this week by the Fire Brigades Union. It shows there are 40 attacks on UK fire crews every week and the problem is getting worse. In some parts of the country, fire crews are served a daily diet of bricks, bottles and missiles as they fight fires; in parts of the country ambushes have been set for firefighters. Official statistics show that attacks are now running at about 2,000 a year, but the FBU and the brigades contacted during the research acknowledge a serious problem of under-reporting. FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist said: 'The number and ferocity of the attacks appears to be getting worse. A young boy died in Scotland during one attack and it is only a question of time before a firefighter is killed. These attacks are inexcusable and must not be tolerated. It can never be part of anyone’s job to get a brick or bottle in the head or to be spat at.' The union wants better reporting systems for violent attacks, improved co-ordination and evaluation and public awareness and prevention campaigns, better training for crews on risk assessment and long-term initiatives with schools and in the community, with dedicated resources. Union safety campaign launched in ScotlandA union campaign for workplace health and safety in Scotland has been launched at the STUC’s annual congress. Speaking ahead of the health and safety debate, STUC health and safety specialist Ian Tasker said there was a well-documented life-saving union effect on workplace safety, adding STUC is 'seeking to ensure that maximum protection is afforded to non-union members and we will be calling for funding for a Scottish Hazards to promote improved health and safety and the importance of trade union membership in protecting workers in the workplace'. He added that the new national safety body for Scotland was a welcome development. 'With the formation of the new health and safety committee in Scotland we now have the opportunity to address health and safety issues in Scottish workplaces.' He said STUC had 'campaigned for such a body for a number of years and look forward to working with the Health and Safety Executive, the Scottish Executive and employers to make a real difference in occupational health and safety in our workplaces, schools and colleges'. STUC launched a campaign at congress to highlight the union safety effect. The move was a joint initiative with Thomsons Solicitors.
Government refuses to bend on low letter boxesThe government has rejected calls from postal union CWU to enact European building regulations outlawing low level letter boxes (Risks 190). The European Standard says that for 'ergonomic and safety reasons' the centreline of the letter box should be at a height between 2ft 3.5 inches (700 mm) and 5ft (1700mm), not near ground level like many painfully low UK boxes. In a letter to the CWU, Paul Everall, of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, said 'a more appropriate way forward would be to encourage adherence to the European Standard through dialogue with industry and the various industry stakeholders such as the National House Building Council and Local Authorities.' Work minister Alan Johnson said 'the HSE is mounting a specific inspection programme of Royal Mail activities with a view to reducing reportable accidents including back injuries.' CWU national health and safety officer Dave Joyce said the union was approaching the National House Builders Council and other organisations to raise the issue of low letter boxes. He told CWU reps: 'I would request that branches and regional councils also now intensify the campaign locally by approaching local authorities directly or via councillors, approaching organisations involved with house building, renovation and granting building permission as well as door manufacturers and suppliers.' NUMAST warning on hours at seaShip officers’ union NUMAST has expressed concern at new figures suggesting half of all ships fail to comply with international rules to curb seafarer working hours. The statement came after an inspection campaign found widespread deficiencies in seafarers’ living and working conditions, breaching the International Labour Organisation’s convention on seafarers’ working hours and staffing levels on ships. The Paris Memorandum on Port State Control (Paris MOU), which coordinated the three-month inspection campaign, said special attention had been paid to factors such as food supply and storage, galley conditions, drinking water, ventilation and heating in accommodation, sanitary facilities and hospital accommodation. Of 4,555 vessels inspected during the campaign, more than 40 per cent had deficiencies in one or more of these areas and 285 were detained - 21 as a result of ILO-related defects. The Paris MOU said the results suggested seafarers’ conditions have declined - the last similar exercise, conducted in 1997, found 25 per cent of ships to have deficiencies. NUMAST general secretary Brian Orrell described the figures as 'appalling,' adding they underlined the need for a major international initiative to combat dangerously long working hours. NUT condemns 'perverse' inquest verdictTeaching union NUT has condemned as 'perverse' an unlawful killing verdict into the death of a teenager on an outdoor activities holiday, adding it smacked of an 'increasing blame culture.' The jury at Neath County Court was told how Herve Bola, 16, from London, died at the Sgwd Gwladys Falls, south Wales in July 2002. The inquest heard the teenager was on the first day of a week's trip based at the outdoor education centre in Glasbury, near Brecon, along with more than a dozen other boys. Herve, who could not swim, had jumped into the freezing water at the falls near the Brecon Beacons, but panicked and drowned within seconds. Coroner Dr David Osbourne told the jury they had two possible verdicts, accidental death or unlawful killing. He said for an unlawful killing verdict they had to be certain beyond reasonable doubt that youth worker Daniel Brown had called Herve to jump in and that he had not foreseen the danger. Dyfed-Powys Police said in light of the verdict, the force would 'further consult' with the CPS, but said any further comment would be inappropriate at this time. Gethin Lewis of the National Union of Teachers Wales, said the verdict was 'deeply disturbing' and 'perverse'. He added: 'This verdict can only deter teachers, youth workers and others from providing young people with these valuable educational and social opportunities.' The union would look at the possibility of a legal challenge, he said. An NUT statement said crucial evidence had been excluded by the coroner and other evidence showing the activity 'was organised and carried out in a proper, adequate and reasonable way' had been ignored by the jury. It added: 'The union considers that this verdict smacks of the increasing blame culture, particularly against public servants.' OTHER NEWSMan is killed, firm is guilty, fine is £3,000Safety fines imposed after workplace deaths, sometimes reduced or unpaid because the responsible companies have gone bust, are drawing questions about their adequacy as an effective deterrent. London firm Deco Marble and Granite Limited was fined £3,000 at Southwark Crown Court last week following an investigation and prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). John Martin Dunleavy, 37, was killed on 26 September 2003, crushed by marble slabs. Deco Marble and Granite Limited, which pleaded guilty to safety offences, is in liquidation and was fined only £3,000. In sentencing, Judge Rivlin QC said: 'No sum could possibly represent the loss the family have suffered but had the company been trading, and successfully so, then the potential fine would have been £80,000.' The judge also expressed surprise that the family had not received any financial compensation. He asked the defendant’s solicitors to write to the defunct firm’s insurance company to speed up settlement of the claim. In another case this year, VM Plant Ltd was fined £250,000 in February for safety offences relating to the death of British Sugar employee Lorraine Waspe (Risks 195), but has gone into liquidation so it is unlikely the fine will be paid. The TUC and unions have said the draft corporate manslaughter bill must be amended so company directors guilty of serious offences leading to a death face the prospect of a jail term, not just fines paid from the company coffers (Risks 200). Firm fined £20,000 after son finds dad deadA Newark engineering firm has been fined £20,000 after a worker was crushed to death by a steel grid in an incident it 'would have been simple and cheap to prevent'. Robert Fountain, 60, died after working at the Leadmaster factory for just a week. He had been spray-painting the 300kg fabricated steel grid which was hanging from a forklift truck on 17 June 2004. He was found by his son, Jason Fountain, trapped against a steel trestle by the grid, which had fallen. The company admitted failing to ensure the safety of employees at a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution at Newark Magistrates Court. It was fined £20,000, the maximum at magistrates court, and ordered to pay £2,922 costs. HSE inspector David Appleton said: 'A few minutes' forethought in this situation could have saved Mr Fountain's life.' He added: 'It would have been simple and cheap to prevent this death by using a rope or strap to secure the fabrication, or by placing it on trestles for painting. The accident underlines the need for a safe system of work to be devised for all tasks and for everybody involved to understand how to do the job safely.' Guilty firm fined £10,000 for cheese factory deathA firm that failed to provide the necessary information, training, instruction and supervision to a worker who was subsequently killed at work has received a £10,000 fine. Dumfries firm Homer Burgess Ltd was fined £10,000 at Stranraer Sheriff Court this week following the death of 39-year-old William Johnstone at a Stranraer factory in March last year. The company pleaded guilty to safety offences and to failing to assess the experience and competence of Mr Johnstone. As a result of these oversights, Mr Johnstone entered a confined space in which a welding process had been used and was asphyxiated. The fatal incident happened during refurbishment work on a milk evaporation plant owned by Caledonian Cheese Company Ltd at Stranraer. Health and Safety Executive inspector Dr Terry Williams said: 'This type of accident illustrates the importance of proper training and supervision for anyone working in confined spaces. Sometimes the obvious danger is missed but if time is taken carrying out thorough risk assessments these hazards can be recognised and appropriate action taken to avoid risk.' Glasgow hit by another deadly factory blastA second deadly factory blast has hit Glasgow, just 11 months after the Stockline explosion claimed nine lives (Risks 156). Archie Simpson, 54, died this week from injuries sustained in the 15 April blast at the James G Carrick factory in Springburn. A workmate, who was also seriously injured in the blast but has not been named by police, remains in a serious but stable condition at Glasgow Royal Infirmary with severe burns. Four others received treatment for minor injuries at Stobhill Hospital. Police said a report would be sent to the procurator fiscal and an investigation into the cause of the explosion was continuing. The factory, which employs up to 100 people and produces plastic bottles and containers, remains shut. Immediately after the incident, a spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said: 'One of our inspectors is liaising with the emergency services and will be trying to establish what happened, how it happened, if anyone is at fault and what lessons can be learned.' STUC welcomes corporate homicide proposalsThe creation of a panel involving union, legal and government experts to develop proposals on a corporate homicide law for Scotland has been welcomed by the STUC. Ian Tasker, STUC health and safety specialist, said: 'Since 2000, 116 workers have been killed in accidents that in the vast majority of cases were predictable. The STUC and our affiliates believe that these statistics alone prove there is a requirement for effective legislation to punish individual directors and companies that, through their negligence, put their workers’ lives at risk'. He added: 'The trade union movement in Scotland has campaigned for many years for the introduction of wide reaching legislation that not only punishes the guilty but protects the majority of responsible employers and encourages higher standards of health and safety in the workplace'. He added there was now a chance for Scotland to have a corporate killing law superior to that proposed for south of the border and 'that includes accountability on individual directors as well as companies and does not just mirror the draft legislation in England and Wales' (Risks 200). Are you just one illness away from the sack?Recent tribunal cases suggest a blot-free employment record might stand for nothing in some British workplaces, as employers choose to treat illness as a disciplinary issue. An employment tribunal this week reached the unanimous decision that sacked Sellafield worker Duncan McLean had been unfairly dismissed by British Nuclear Group Ltd (BNG Ltd). The tribunal chair ruled there were 'no reasonable grounds for the finding of gross misconduct' and that BNG Ltd 'fell well short of the standards of a reasonable employer.' Mr McLean's allegations of disability discrimination and breach of contract were also upheld. Mr McLean, who had been an exemplary employee for 33 years, was fired after bosses saw video footage of him mowing the lawn and playing pool while he was off sick after a fall at work. Despite medical advice, he returned to work part-time in March 2004, but was dismissed because bosses said the video evidence showed he was taking advantage of company sick pay. In a second case this month, Alan Dicks - who lost his job at Smiths Aerospace for taking too much time off sick despite having diabetes and prostate cancer - was found by a tribunal to have been unfairly dismissed. The tribunal said Smiths breached the Disability Discrimination Act when it made him redundant in May last year. The company had cited his attendance record between July and September 2003 as the main reason he was selected for redundancy. Tribunal chair Colin Sara ruled Mr Dicks had been unfairly dismissed by the company and they had breached the DDA. Large portion of compensation for fish and chip workerA worker with fish and chip firm Harry Ramsden's has been awarded almost £50,000 in damages after falling from an unsecured ladder. John Campbell fell 20ft at a Glasgow outlet of the fish and chip giant after being ordered to hang a Christmas sign which weighed 'the same as a small woman.' Mr Campbell suffered a severe ankle injury and is still unable to work more than four years after the accident. Glasgow sheriff Kenneth Mitchell said the firm failed to give proper training. The 54-year-old maintenance man launched a legal fight against the company, which had denied any wrong-doing. INTERNATIONALAustralia: Cut-price silica masks are a slap in the faceTunnel workers employed by a multinational construction giant are being told to shave their beards to save the boss money. The contractor on the Chatswood rail link in Australia, Thiess Hochtief, introduced 10 cent (4 pence) paper masks for underground workers exposed to deadly silica dust, which can cause lung scarring and cancer. Facial hair makes the masks useless, prompting the company to order concerned workers to have a shave and get on with the job. 'This is cost cutting gone mad,' said Andrew Ferguson of the construction and mining union CFMEU. 'The real solution is to improve ventilation so there is no need for the masks, or at the very least something better than a 10 cent paper mask from a hardware store.' Thiess Hochtief introduced the disposable masks after a new occupational exposure standard for silica dust came into effect in January, halving the acceptable levels. Tunnellers say they are getting 10-15 minutes use out of each mask. Workers argued in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) that the masks are uncomfortable and impractical in the wet and humid tunnel. They were refusing to work overtime, or shifts longer than eight hours, to protest against the masks but were ordered back to work by the AIRC. Australia: Employers back jail for reckless bossesNine out of ten employers in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) back the jailing of bosses who 'deliberately and recklessly put their employees’ lives at risk,' according to a NSW Chamber of Commerce survey. The finding was welcomed by NSW commerce minister John Della Bosca and echoed union calls to jail killer bosses. 'Workplace safety is not just a union issue,' said Andrew Ferguson of the construction, mining and forestry union CFMEU. 'Safety is everybody's issue, and the sooner government, unions and employers work together to crackdown on the handful of rogues who cut corners with safety, the sooner we will see a marked drop in the number of deaths and injuries at work.' Della Bosca said employers have consistently told him they want 'cowboys' jailed if workers are killed. 'I will continue consulting to ensure we develop laws that target the irresponsible rogues, which is what the entire community wants us to do,' Della Bosca said. Honduras/USA: Farmworkers sue over pesticide poisoningMore than 600 Honduran banana pickers are suing some of the world's biggest fruit growers and chemical manufacturers, claiming they distributed and used a US-banned pesticide in Central America that was known to cause sterility. The lawsuit, filed this week in Los Angeles federal court, names as defendants fresh fruit producers Dole Food Company Inc, Chiquita Brands International Inc and Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc, as well as Dow Chemical Co and units of Royal Dutch/Shell Group. According to court papers, the plaintiffs, who worked on banana plantations in and around Honduras, were injured by their exposure to the pesticide 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP). The chemical, which was manufactured by Shell's chemical units and by Dow Chemical, was banned by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1979. Following the US ban, the complaint alleges, both Dow and Shell continued to distribute DBCP throughout Central America, showing a 'conscious disregard' for the safety of the plantation workers. The lawsuit says the pesticide was used on plantations owned by Dole, Chiquita and Del Monte following the US ban. The companies are being sued for negligence, concealing the hazards of the product and conspiracy, among other charges. The complaint follows similar actions by Costa Rican (Risks 178) and Nicaraguan banana workers in recent years. Malaysia: Government gives in to paraquat pushersA multinational pesticide producer has succeeded in getting the Malaysian government to reconsider a ban on the pesticide paraquat. Faced with concerted lobbying by the Swiss-based agrochemical firm Syngenta, the government announced it would reconsider its 2002 decision to ban the acutely toxic herbicide. Malaysia's planned phase-out, which was supposed to lead to a total ban this year, has had the support of workers, farmers and the health ministry. However Syngenta - which manufactures and sells paraquat under the brand name Gramoxone - has never resigned itself to the loss of a lucrative market. According to the global farmworkers’ union IUF, which has been a prominent advocate of a global ban: 'Paraquat not only kills weeds, it kills workers, which is why agricultural workers' unions around the world are committed to its elimination. There are proven, less toxic alternatives. Palm oil plantations in Malaysia have successfully accommodated their production to the ban.' IUF adds that after exposure the health effects of paraquat can be irreversible. 'There is no known antidote to paraquat poisoning. Agricultural workers are regularly exposed to this toxic substance during handling and mixing, spraying and working in freshly-sprayed fields,' it adds. The IUF has written to the Malaysian authorities to urge them to resist industry pressure and keep to the scheduled paraquat ban.
Mexico: Armed journalists are not the solution to violenceEncouraging journalists to carry guns would only make life more dangerous for reporters who are being targeted by criminals in Mexico, the global journalists’ union has warned. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) statement followed the news this week that radio reporter Guadalupe Garcia Escamilla, who was gunned down outside a Nuevo Laredo radio station 10 days ago, had died of her injuries. Local officials said journalists should considering carrying guns for protection. Aidan White, general secretary of IFJ, said the government must do more to stop the 'drug-running thugs and gangsters trying to intimidate the media into silence.' He added: 'It is irresponsible for public officials to suggest journalists start carrying guns. This will only increase bloodshed. The police and public authorities should find the killers and bring them to justice, not add to the fear and mayhem that is overtaking journalism in the region.' Mexico’s Secretary of Public Security for the state of Tamaulipas, Luis Gutiérrez Flores, had said that following recent attacks, reporters in the increasingly lawless border region of northern Mexico should seek permission to carry weapons if they feel threatened. The IFJ says that the situation for journalists in northern Mexico is now worse than in Colombia which, for the past 10 years, has been the most dangerous region for journalists trying to report on the illicit narcotics trade. Last year the IFJ recorded five killings in Mexico and four in Colombia. USA: Sometimes bad just isn’t bad enoughWhen the US business lobby told President George W Bush it didn’t want an enforceable ergonomic law, the brand spanking new regulation was gone in a flash, replaced by a smattering of guidance and voluntary deals (Risks 201). But even this is proving unpalatable for the National Coalition on Ergonomics, the US business coalition that led the anti-regulation drive. It is petitioning US official safety watchdog OSHA to revamp its ergonomics guidelines for the poultry processing, retail grocery and nursing home industries claiming there is not adequate science to support the guidelines. Jordan Barab of US safety news service Confined Space commented that 'it's hard work not to laugh at them when they claim that OSHA is ‘relying solely on a report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,’' when the respected government agency in reality reviewed 600 studies for its report. He added that the group fails even to mention the other even more comprehensive government-commissioned reports that subsequently bore out the NIOSH conclusions. Strain injuries have remained, stubbornly, the top workplace health problem in America. Lack of enforceable legislation is one reason, says Barab, but another is the comically low penalties when safety offences are prosecuted. Supervalu, a top US company with annual revenues of £20 billion (£10.4bn), was fined just $1,000 (£521) after inspectors found warehouse staff were required to lift weights up to 77 lbs or more, the weight of a large child - at an average of about 1,714 pieces per day and a total weight of 37,025 pounds, or over 18 tons, the equivalent of a row of family cars - and to twist, reach, bend, and lift when selecting pieces and loading them onto pallets. Strain injuries were commonplace, many requiring surgery.
RESOURCESPregnant women and risk assessmentA new TUC online guide provides a detailed and practical workers’ resource on pregnancy and risk assessments. TUC says safety representatives must ensure employers fulfil their legal obligations and protect both pregnant women and those who return to work while breast-feeding. Around 350,000 women continue to work during their pregnancy every year and of those, 69 per cent return to work after giving birth. The guide includes a summary of relevant law and a six-step safety reps’ action guide. This covers: Risk assessments and common hazards; action to prevent exposure to risks; provision of information by employers; action when any risk remains; provision of suitable alternative work where risks cannot be avoided; and suspension on full pay if no suitable alternative work is available. The Equal Opportunities Commission recently found the majority of employers failed to undertake the legally required risk assessments to protect new or expectant mothers. Backs! 2005 - HSE campaignThe Health and Safety Executive is to run a 'major national initiative' this summer focussed on reducing the incidence of back pain at work. A new area on the HSE website says: 'The overall aim of the Backs! 2005 initiative is to promote the use of lifting and handling aids as a means of reducing the incidence of back injuries at work.' It adds: 'The main phase of the Backs! 2005 campaign will involve a nationally co-ordinated publicity, education and inspection programme over a four week period in June/July. The programme is being developed in partnership with local authorities and other stakeholders and will help encourage innovative solutions to musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) issues.' EVENTS AND COURSESTUC courses for safety repsCOURSES FOR APRIL TO JULY 2005Midlands, North, North West, Scotland, South East, South West, Wales, Yorkshire and Humberside Asbestos in the East End meeting, London, 18 MayA public meeting on 'asbestos action', organised by the Barking and Dagenham Asbestos Victims' Support Group, will take place on 18 May. The event will look at the work of asbestos victims’ support groups, medical issues, union asbestos campaigns and personal injury compensation. A keynote speaker is Dr Greg Deleuil, medical adviser to the Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia. Top UK campaigners Tony Whitston and John Flanagan will also address the meeting. The Barking and Dagenham group provides support throughout London’s East End and Essex.
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. |
It’s official - Workers’ Memorial Day, the 28 April health and safety event when unions worldwide 'remember the dead, and fight for the living,' will be the biggest ever. Early reports suggest there will be more than 10,000 union events in over 100 countries involving over 5 million workers, with new reports still flooding in by the hour. And indications are that UK unions will be making an enormous contribution, with the TUC’s events listing now running to several pages. Community and TGWU are the latest unions to publish webpages on the event. Make sure you participate in an event near you.Newsletter (5,100 words) issued 22 Apr 2005
