PDF version available for download (PDF help)

Risks Newsletter

Number 308 - 2 June 2007

Hazards magazine advertisement

HSE advertisement

Hazards logo - warning sign Editor: Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to the TUC at healthandsafety@tuc.org.uk

Risks is the TUC's weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 14,500 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 TUC courses for safety reps Disclaimer and Privacy statement .

UNION NEWS OTHER NEWS INTERNATIONAL NEWS EVENTS AND COURSES
UNION NEWS
Newsquest journalists 'not safe in their hands'

A multinational media giant making soaring profits is slashing jobs at its Scottish titles and putting its staff at risk, journalists' union NUJ has warned. An online petition opposing the measures, set up by the NUJ with help from the Scottish union federation STUC, has already received over 1,200 signatures. NUJ says despite increased profits for three successive years, Newsquest - the British arm of the US conglomerate Gannett - has made brutal job cuts and has ripped up agreements. NUJ Scotland organiser Paul Holleran told Risks the changes could have 'major implications for health and safety of the reporters,' with increasingly over-stretched and under-resourced journalists at risk of from violence, stress and strains. Urging people to sign the online petition, he added: 'Newsquest cannot be allowed to continue making these needless cuts that are damaging fine newspapers which have been respected in this country for many years.' The petition condemning Newsquest says the papers are 'not safe in their hands' and adds: 'Serious health and safety issues (including stress and RSI) have been raised with management following previous redundancies and lack of investment.' Ian Tasker, head of safety at Scottish union federation STUC, commented: 'This has to be a classic case of corporate greed taking precedence over the production of newspapers that meet the needs of their respective readerships in terms of quality and content.' He added: 'Of greater concern is the dramatic effect that these cuts have on those who lose their livelihoods and those who remain. Continually downsizing these titles can only lead to an increase in the physical and psychological ill health of their workers. There will be little chance of enforcement action against the company and the directors get away scot free as there is no individual duties placed on them to protect their workforce.'

  • NUJ news release. Sign the petition online. Write to the company expressing your concerns, with letters to go to: Tim Blott, Chief Executive, Newsquest (Herald and Times) Limited, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 3QB.
TUC enquiry into vulnerable workers

Top business and community leaders have joined a TUC commission to investigate vulnerable working in the UK. The Commission on Vulnerable Employment (CoVE), launched this week by TUC, will investigate the extent of workplace exploitation and consider improvements to the enforcement regime and legal protection available for vulnerable staff. TUC is calling on people who have experienced exploitation at work to call a freephone number to tell their story, or to report their experiences by post or via the new, dedicated CoVE website. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Most people will have the odd grumble about their job, but are treated fairly most of the time. But some workers still experience rank exploitation that Charles Dickens would recognise. Most of the time their experience is hidden, but we have had a recent rash of shocking exposures of poor treatment.' He added: 'The job of our new Commission is to shine a light on Britain's hidden exploited workers, and work out what government, employers and unions should be doing to protect them. I'm delighted that we are being joined by business, community and expert members. Well-run businesses have nothing to fear from our work, but everything to lose from unfair competition with companies that rely on exploitation and law breaking to drive their business plan. And there are encouraging signs that government stands ready to listen to our findings.' TUC says up to one in five of the workforce may be considered vulnerable workers. They include agency workers - particularly the unskilled, casual workers, industrial home workers and migrant workers. Precarious work has been linked to host of workplace injury and ill-health risks (Risks 260 , Risks 288 , Risks 292). A report last week from the Dublin-based Eurofound thinktank said Europe's migrant workers are more likely than non-migrants to suffer unhealthy conditions at work, to work longer hours, and to perform shift work, night work, and weekend work.

Banana firm shows need for action

Unions say revelations that a leading supplier of fair trade fruit has exploited Eastern European migrant workers in the UK proves the case for improved employment protection for vulnerable workers. A BBC investigation found workers supplied by an employment agency to Pratt's Bananas in Luton reported having to work excessive hours, six or seven days a week, and feared losing their jobs if they refused. A Polish woman who said she miscarried because of her duties is taking the firm to an industrial tribunal. She alleged bosses refused to put her on light duties despite knowing that she was having problems with her pregnancy. Workers also said breaks were refused if they did not meet production quotas. Concerns have been voiced by a local GP about the impact of the working practices on the banana workers' health. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said 'once again a major exposure of exploitation at work has discovered an employment agency at its heart.' He added: 'The government's current review of agency rules must conclude that all agencies should be licensed and that agency workers should be given proper protection so that employers no longer have an incentive to use agencies to get round workers' rights.' Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, said: 'How abused do workers have to be before the government recognises that action to give these workers the rights to defend themselves is needed? It is remarkable that now concerned GPs are reporting the health impact of these exploitative working conditions on their patients. This is a blot on Brown's Britain, especially as much of this sharp practice is legal.' Martin Smith, national organiser of the GMB union, says that worker abuse is 'endemic' in certain industries. 'Our experience over many, many years is this is just endemic in not only the food production and distribution industries. Many other industries, if employers can get away with it, will exploit all their workers, not just migrant workers.'

MPs support union on Thames safety

Maritime union RMT has welcomed a report by MPs which recommends the introduction of a contentious new boatmaster's licence be suspended (Risks 291). The union has called on the government to act on the recommendation of the Transport Select Committee, published last week. 'We believe the new licence regime will undermine safety on the Thames by reducing standards of training for watermen and lightermen and loosening safety rules introduced after the 1989 Marchioness tragedy,' RMT general secretary Bob Crow said. 'In the light of the select committee report we hope the government will now take steps to suspend the new arrangements immediately and return to the stringent rules they replaced on January 1.' He said the new regulations would mean qualifying service for a boatmaster's licence on the Thames is reduced from five years to two and there is no longer any requirement for college-based training. 'The number of exams was also reduced from four to one, and both the scope of local knowledge required and the length of service needed to acquire it were substantially reduced, from two years to just six months,' Mr Crow said. 'Altogether it amounted to a massive and unacceptable reduction in the very safety standards that were put in place after the sinking of the Marchioness with the loss of 51 lives in 1989.'

Shipyard worker in £1m asbestos payout

A former Tyneside shipyard worker has been awarded almost £1m damages after developing a deadly asbestos-related lung cancer. GMB member Raymond Shanks sued Newcastle-based Swan Hunter, where he worked as an electrician for four years from 1965. The 59-year-old was diagnosed with mesothelioma two years ago and has been told he is only likely to live until early 2009. He was awarded £948,565 at the High Court last week for pain, suffering, loss of earnings and other expenses. Giving his ruling on the amount of the claim, disputed by the company, Judge Hickinbottom said Mr Shanks was in close proximity to insulation fitters and others working with asbestos at the Wallsend yard. This was his only exposure to asbestos during his working life. He emigrated to Adelaide, Australia, with his wife and family in 1982, where he worked as a construction manager on major projects, but returned to the UK in October 2005 after his diagnosis. Mr Shanks underwent an operation and intensive chemotherapy, but his health is likely to decline after April 2008, said the judge. Awarding him £70,000 for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, the judge noted that before the onset of 'this appalling and inevitably fatal disease', he had been particularly fit and active. The balance of the award was made up of sums for loss of earnings past and present, relocation costs and other expenses. Mr Shanks commenced legal proceedings with the support of this union GMB. Despite having admitted that the firm had caused Mr Shanks cancer, insurers for Swan Hunter disputed the value of Mr Shanks' claim. GMB regional secretary Tom Brennan commented: 'No sum of money can ever compensate a family in these circumstances but this is a welcome decision at a time when defendants routinely challenge the rights of victims to pursue claims for asbestos related illness.'

Asbestos cancer from nuclear sub work

A former electrician's mate who worked on the UK's first nuclear submarine has been awarded a six-figure sum in cancer compensation. Ken McDonald, 67, developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while working at Vickers shipyard in Barrow. He worked on HMS Dreadnought, the British Navy's first nuclear powered submarine, from 1961 to 1963. Ken, who went on to work in financial services, said he used to carry bags of asbestos for the electricians to use when lagging pipes on the sub. He would come home covered in asbestos dust but had no idea it could harm him. He received support from his former union, GMB, and their legal experts Thompsons Solicitors. 'I am relieved to have received this compensation but I would rather have my health back,' he said. 'At least now I know that my wife and family will be provided for. The work that has been done by the GMB and Thompsons just shows how important it is to join a union.'

RMT warning on rail smash 'scapegoating'

Rail union RMT has warned that Network Rail could face industrial action if workers are denied bonus payments over the Grayrigg accident in Cumbria in which an elderly passenger died (Risks 305). Network Rail announced last week it had cut the annual bonuses paid to its senior executives after it took the blame for the fatal crash in Cumbria earlier this year. However, the infrastructure operator Network Rail also cut staff bonuses to all employees, with those working in the vicinity of Grayrigg hit hardest. 'Every single employee at Network Rail has paid a personal price for the Grayrigg derailment,' Network Rail chair Ian McAllister said. Despite accepting that a set of faulty points caused the accident, the company still awarded chief executive John Armitt a performance-related payout of more than £200,000. By contrast, RMT says 119 Network Rail staff who worked in the vicinity of Grayrigg had been denied their £400 bonus. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said 'our members working in the Grayrigg area have been effectively scapaegoated by the corporate decision-makers of Network Rail, and that is unacceptable. If there is to be any disciplinary or criminal process as a result of the investigation that should be allowed to take its course, but in the meanwhile we expect to see all our members paid their bonus.' An official investigation into the Grayrigg crash found a culture of shortcuts and deficiencies in the track maintenance regime. The police inquiry found evidence of flawed records and incomplete paper work, and concern that trackside inspections were not being fully carried out (Risks 304).

Redundant worker receives ligament support

A GMB member has secured substantial compensation in a case settled on the court steps. The damages were agreed following an incident at work which left Mark Stewart with a ruptured knee ligament. The injury affected the future working capacity of Mr Stewart, who was made redundant by the firm on 27 May. At the time of the incident in August 2002, Mark Stewart was employed by Magna Kansei in Sunderland as a fabricator. He was walking through the machine tooling area along a designated walkway when he slipped on a sheet of tin that had been left on the floor. He fell and ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament of his knee. Mr Stewart explains: 'Sadly the accident has really impacted the kind of work I can now do as I have difficulty with heavy duties that involve lifting, pushing, pulling or carrying. The surgeons also said that I might need a total knee replacement in around 20 years' time.' Tom Brennan from GMB northern region commented: 'Magna Kansei clearly breached its duty of care, causing injury to our member, and to add insult to injury, they have now decided to make him redundant.' The firm's insurer had originally offered a payout of just £9,500, however the final undisclosed sum agreed in the out-of-court settlement was substantially higher.

OTHER NEWS
New study links pesticides to Parkinson's

Exposure to pesticides could lead to an increased risk of contracting Parkinson's disease with the risks substantially higher in those occupationally exposed, a study has found. People exposed to low levels of pesticides, such as amateur gardeners, were found to be 1.13 times as likely to have Parkinson's disease compared with those who had never been exposed. Those who had been exposed to high levels of pesticides, such as farmers, were 1.41 times as likely to be affected, according to the findings. Other studies have pointed strongly towards exposure to pesticides being involved in some cases, with agricultural workers showing higher rates of the illness (Risks 303 , Risks 263 , Risks 262). US farmworkers' union UFW last year demanding official action on the problem (Risks 240). The new European study, led by an Aberdeen University expert and reported online in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, involved 959 cases of parkinsonism, a term used to describe people with diagnoses of Parkinson's disease and other similar conditions. They all answered questioned about their lifetime occupational and recreational exposure to a variety of chemicals, including solvents, pesticides, iron, copper and manganese. The findings revealed that while having a family history of Parkinson's was the clearest risk factor for developing the disease, exposure to pesticides also gave a clear increase. Dr Finlay Dick, the lead researcher, said: 'What we have shown in the study is that with increasing risk to exposure to pesticides, the risk of Parkinson's disease increases.' He added: 'Pesticide use is associated with Parkinson's disease and this has implications for occupational and, perhaps, recreational users of these agents.' The paper says the pesticides responsible could be substituted. Other studies have linked exposure other workplace toxins (Risks 221) including manganese (Risks 238) to the disease.

  • Finlay Dick and others. Environmental risk factors for Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism: the Geoparkinson study; Occupational and Environmental Medicine, published online 30 May 2007; doi: 10.1136/oem.2006.027003 [abstract].
  • The Daily Mail. BBC News Online. Hazards work and health webpages.
  • Do you know of anyone who might have developed parkinsonism that could have been caused by workplace exposure to pesticides, organic solvents or heavy metals, for example manganese? Hazards magazine would like to hear details, in confidence.
Magnetic fields linked to rail cancers

Railway workers exposed to extremely low frequency magnetic fields have an elevated risk of certain blood cancers, new study findings suggest. In a study of more than 20,000 Swiss railway workers who were followed for 30 years, researchers found that certain workers' risk of myeloid leukaemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma climbed in tandem with their exposure to these fields. Train drivers, who had the greatest exposure, were nearly five times more likely to develop myeloid leukemia than station managers, the workers with the lowest exposure to magnetic fields. The study results, published online in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, also revealed drivers were more than three times as likely to be diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph system. Drivers had the greatest exposure to low frequency magnetic fields, from spending long hours in train engine cabs. They had from 3- to 20-times the exposure of yard engineers, train attendants and station managers. The study authors noted that there was a large variation in the magnetic field strengths in different types of engines. They concluded the risk was to railway workers and not to the travelling public, recommending as a precautionary measure that new rolling stock should be designed to minimise magnetic field exposure. 'Train passengers spend considerably less time in trains than the people with the occupations studied and their exposure levels and potential health risk are therefore negligible,' the researchers said.

Doctor gets 'industrial' asbestos cancer

Hospital consultant Andrew Lawson was diagnosed with the asbestos cancer pulmonary mesothelioma three weeks ago, a condition increasingly reported in hospital workers. Writing in the Times, he said: 'I am a 48-year-old doctor, not the traditional dockworker or lagger - no disrespect to those patient groups intended.' He added: 'It seems that there may have been a lot of asbestos in the tunnels at Guy's hospital where I spent six years training. One wonders how many of my contemporaries will get the same disease? Everybody - students, nurses, doctors and porters - used the tunnels. Anyway, diagnosis made, biopsy done and I am into treatment.' The consultant in pain management at Royal Berkshire hospital said treatments had recently become available 'but as ever in parts of the UK the drug that is used as a frontline treatment is not available on the NHS.' He added: 'There is nothing intrinsically wrong with limiting treatment on cost grounds, but we need to be honest and open that that is what we are doing. It might seem reasonable to limit how much might be spent but I am not at death's door yet, nor are many mesothelioma sufferers. Politicians will often come out with the old chestnut, 'you cannot put a price on life', well, they do put a price on it. In my case, a year is not worth spending more than £30,000.' A series of similar cases have been reported in both doctors and nurses (Risks 182). An early day motion put forward by MP Mick Clapham in October 2006 and calling for the mesothelioma treatment Alimta to be available on the NHS had at the end of May been signed by fewer than 100 MPs (Risks 307). Unions are urging all MPs to back to motion.

Oil firm is fined for 'foreseeable' death

An oil company has been fined £110,000 after a Scottish worker was killed on a drilling ship in the North Sea. Derrick Love, 34, from Tayside, died instantly when he was hit by a heavy piece of equipment, known as a mandrel unit, while working on MSV Seawell in the Shell Gannet Field 100 miles off the coast of Aberdeen. He was helping to hoist the 600lb piece of metal above deck using an incorrect line when the wire rope snapped and fell 12 metres on top of him. Mr Love, a deck operator working for Aberdeen-based TDM International, was carrying out wireline operations when the tragedy happened on 20 February last year. Just weeks before the company had been issued with an improvement notice requiring it to tighten up safety procedures. Procurator fiscal Ernest Barbour, prosecuting, told Aberdeen Sheriff Court last week: 'The fatal accident was foreseeable and could have been prevented with a risk assessment in place.' The MSV Seawell is owned by Aberdeen-based company Well Ops (UK), formally known as Cal Dive International, which was carrying out work for Shell. The firm admitted breaching health and safety regulations. The court heard that Well Ops, which made a profit of more than £100 million according to its latest accounts, had paid the £116,000 cost of the Health and Safety Executive's investigation and set up a trust fund for the Mr Love's son. Commenting after the case, HSE principal inspector Ken Staples said the safety watchdog had drawn concerns arising from 'a number of inspections and investigations' to the attention of the Well Services Contractor Association 'in order that their members can improve their lifting operations.'

No inquest into fireball death

THE mother of a steeplejack who died in a chimney inferno has been told there will be no inquest into her son's death. Craig Whelan, 23, was working inside a metal chimney at the Carnaud Metal Box plant in Westhoughton, Bolton, when there was an explosion. Marking the fifth anniversary of the tragedy in which Craig and co-worker Paul Wakefield both died, Craig's mother Linda revealed the family has been told that an inquest into his death would not be held. She said: 'The coroner said it was not in the public interest but we still do not know the full facts.' She added: 'As a family we are still fighting for answers as to how and why my son was killed in such a terrible way.' Three company managers were prosecuted for safety crimes and fined a total of £17,000 in June 2004 (Risks 162). They admitted breaching health and safety regulations, but only after manslaughter charges were dropped. Mrs Whelan is a founder member of Families Against Corporate Killers (Fack), a campaign group that has pressed for stringent corporate manslaughter laws and for jail terms for company directors guilty of serious workplace safety offences.

Rogue tunnellers undermine safety

Construction sites are under threat from rogue companies lacking the proper equipment or insurance, an industry insider has warned. John Kevin Lennon, managing director of civil engineering and tunnel contractor JKL Leeds, said he is increasingly concerned that firms are winning work to connect new developments to sewers via a tunnel with a timber heading even though they lack the correct insurance, equipment, experience and personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers. He told Contract Journal that putting cost concerns over safety could have serious consequences. He warned accidents can occur while the work is being carried out or if the ground subsides later due to poor design and construction, which can rupture high pressure gas mains and other utilities. He said housebuilders working on developments of around 20 homes are the most likely to employ rogue contractors to do the work, which is required when buried utilities under the surface prevent the use of an open-cut trench. Of those firms, he estimated about 90 per cent are aware they are employing companies without proper insurance to do the work and that cutting costs was the motivating factor. The tunnelling process costs about £2,000 per metre if performed by a reputable company with the correct insurance. Lennon said: 'The client gets us in, says 'oh bloody hell, we don't want to pay that' when they hear how much it costs, and starts shopping around. In the end they get any Tom, Dick or Harry in to do it.' He added: 'There hasn't been a serious accident yet, but it's only a matter of time. These people make a hell of a lot of money out of this, and they are putting workers' lives at risk.'

Workers are damaged by job cuts

Workplace restructuring and job losses have a serious effect on the health and well-being of workers, a top academic has concluded. In a paper for Australia's National Research Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, Professor Michael Quinlan said international evidence has linked downsizing and organisational restructuring to poorer mental health outcomes, bullying, and other forms of occupational violence. He concluded that regulators, employers and unions have failed to respond adequately to 'substantial if not compelling evidence that downsizing and organisational restructuring pose a serious risk the physical and mental health and wellbeing of workers.' Professor Quinlan made a number of recommendations. He said safety laws should 'explicitly enunciate employer responsibilities regarding contingent work arrangements and major workplace restructuring such as downsizing and to keep a record of their compliance with these provisions.' Professor Quinlan added: 'Government safety agencies should also develop guidance, with enforcement action taken where companies fail to comply with good practice, 'obviating the need to demonstrate a link between the restructuring decision and an illness or injury to a worker or workers.' A paper published earlier this year and authored by University College London researchers concluded workers who keep their jobs following cuts are almost as likely to need treatment for stress as colleagues made redundant (Risks 290). A Canadian report in 2004 concluded downsizing had cost the country's economy billions in health care costs as a burnout epidemic hit the surviving workforce (Risks 182).

  • Michael Quinlan. Organisational restructuring/downsizing, OHS regulation and worker health and wellbeing, National Research Centre for OHS Regulation, Working Paper 52, 2007 [ pdf ]. OHS Reps newsletter.
Work stress 'harms nurses' sex lives'

Most nurses suffer stress-related ill-health and almost half feel their sex lives are damaged by the emotional stress of their job, a poll suggests. Nursing Times magazine surveyed almost 2,000 nurses, and found 70 per cent said they suffered from physical or mental health problems linked to work-related stress. The survey found 44 per cent said their sex life was suffering as a result and a quarter said they had started drinking more. Nursing Times blamed the pressure of financial deficits and the threat of job cuts in the NHS. The poll also found one in 10 nurses was smoking more, and almost a third reported taking off more days sick than usual. Nursing Times editor Rachel Downey said: 'Our wellbeing survey reveals the impact of the current financial pressures in health services on nurses' physical, mental and emotional health. It is extremely worrying that such a high percentage of nurses are threatening their own health in an attempt to maintain high quality care while services are cut or squeezed.' She added: 'It is essential that policymakers realise the wide-scale impact of their decisions on nurses, and managers ensure that all possible support is provided to them.' Steve Barnett, director of NHS Employers, said the impact of stress on NHS employees was 'vastly under-estimated.' He said work-related stress was responsible for 30 per cent of sickness absence in the NHS - and cost the service £300-400 million a year.

Caring hurts nurses' feet

Nurses could face an 'epidemic' of foot problems, a podiatric researcher has warned. Queensland University of Technology lecturer Lloyd Reed said foot problems are widespread among Australian nurses and are likely to worsen as the nursing workforce ages and spends more time on its feet. Age, combined with longer working hours could create an increasingly painful mix for nurses, he said. Preliminary findings of his study of nurses at a major Brisbane hospital indicated 17 per cent of nurses had foot problems severe enough to prevent them from performing normal activities including working. Foot problems were the third most common workplace musculoskeletal complaint among nurses, after back and neck problems. Mr Reed said international research showed workers who spend more than 30 per cent of their working day on their feet were at increased risk of significant foot and lower limb discomfort. He said: 'The danger is that nurses just put up with the pain and say it's part of the job. That's when problems develop.' The Australasian Podiatry Council lists stress fracture, sprains, corns, calluses, in-grown toenails, chilblains and tinea as some of the problems that can occur in the workplace or be aggravated at work. An August 2005 report from Hazards magazine warned that workers who spend most of the working day on their feet are at risk of conditions including work-related varicose veins, poor circulation and swelling in the feet and legs, foot problems, joint damage, heart and circulatory problems and pregnancy difficulties (Risks 221).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Australia: Qantas in chrome cancer payout

Australian airline Qantas could face tens of millions of dollars in compensation after a dying aircraft maintenance worker was awarded almost Aus$1 million (£0.41m) for lung cancer he contracted after working for the airline. Sheet metal worker Philip Johnson will receive the payout in an out-of-court settlement after taking the case to the New South Wales (NSW) Dust Diseases Tribunal. Mr Johnson, who worked at the airline's Sydney Airport base between 1971 and 1991, was diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago. It was deemed to have been caused by the inhalation of hexavalent chromium, a known cause of occupational cancer. Doctors have given the 51-year-old father-of-three six months to live. Nearly all his work at Qantas involved using an air-powered grinder to cut and grind metal surfaces and components, painted with primers and paints covered with sealants that contained hexavalent chromates. A legal briefing note said: 'He mainly worked in confined spaces and was exposed to harmful dusts not only generated by him, but by his co-workers (approximately 100 workers per shift). He was also exposed to the spraying of aircraft with paint which also contained respirable hexavalent chromium compounds.' Mr Johnson said: 'If you're in a very confined area you might have a piece of rag wrapped around your face and a pair of goggles.' With some 300 workers employed in Mr Johnson's section at any one time over a 20 year period, the case has the potential to cost Qantas millions of dollars and possibly many times that. While no legal precedent has been set because the case was settled out of court, it remains the first settlement in Australia where an employee has been compensated for cancer caused by inhaling chromates. Union organisations in Australia including the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) and the Victorian Trades Hall Council are backing the global union zero work cancer campaign.

China: Mining safety clampdown a sham

A high profile government commitment to make China's negligent mine employers pay for their crimes is having little impact in reality. An investigation by China's top legal watchdog, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), into the treatment of officials involved in mining disasters revealed 95.6 per cent of all officials charged with dereliction of duty or abuse of power were either given a suspended sentence or received no punishment at all. The SPP's Investigation of Dereliction of Duty Office reported that in 2006, out of 629 suspects in mine disaster cases, 249 people were tried. Of these, 131 (52.6 per cent) were found guilty but were given no punishment, 107 (43 per cent) received suspended sentences and two were found not guilty. Only nine people (3.6 per cent) were given a custodial sentence. Criminal proceedings have been brought against a further 113 individuals but, as of the end of 2006, the courts were still deliberating. In the most infamous case in 2006, the flooding of the Xinjing Coal Mine in Zuoyun County, Shanxi on 18 May that killed 56 workers, 12 officials were tried, nine received suspended sentences and the other three escaped with no punishment. The subsequent outrage in the Chinese media forced a retrial in February 2007 at which, according to the People's Daily, Liu Yongxin, the former township chief, was sentenced to 12 years for abuse of power, negligence and a new charge of bribery. In the original trial, Liu had been sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for 18 months. Chang Rui, former party secretary of the township, was sentenced to three years in prison, and another senior local official, Chen Xiqing, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Eight other officials will also undergo retrials, the People's Daily said.

South Africa: Poisoned worker fights for justice

A brain-damaged factory worker who was poisoned by toxic manganese fumes has lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission after his company attempted to fire him 'via the back door.' The complaint has been lodged on behalf of Brian Anderson, a 51-year-old foreman at the Assmang ferromanganese smelter at Cato Ridge. Anderson was diagnosed with manganism - a crippling, job-related neurological sickness which causes Parkinson's disease type symptoms - in January 2006. He worked at the Cato Ridge factory for 33 years and attributes his illness to exposure to poisonous levels of manganese dust and fumes at the factory. A public inquiry is being held by the Department of Labour after unions highlighted several cases of severe illness among other Assmang workers (Risks 296). Anderson's attorney, Richard Spoor, said Assmang had indicated that it wished to discuss terminating Anderson's job on the grounds of incapacity - yet the company's lawyers had made it clear to him that they would not allow his attorney to advise and represent him during the dismissal proceedings. 'We now have a situation where a man who has suffered severe brain damage is being asked to go into the offices of a very big company, and to negotiate the terms of his firing with attorneys and senior officials with university degrees,' he said. In an official complaint sent to the SA Human Rights Commission, Spoor noted that Anderson had been found 100 per cent disabled by the Workmen's Compensation Commissioner and had been diagnosed with significant cognitive and neuropsychological problems. He added that Simon Miya, another sick Assmang employee, had been fired earlier in 2007 on similar grounds - yet was not aware that he had been dismissed until his pay cheque did not arrive. 'They became sick from no fault of their own and they cannot be allowed to suffer financial prejudice from having to leave work before normal retirement age,' said Spoor.

USA: Toyota puts health on the line

Workers at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, gather on Wednesdays between shifts to shape a battle plan. The workers are angry at conditions at the flagship Toyota site, where the best-selling Camry is built. The United Auto Workers union (UAW) has launched a big new push to organise the plant, amid concerns about lower pay, outsourcing of jobs and the treatment of injured workers. Jennifer York, 40, injured discs in her back and got carpal tunnel syndrome in one of her wrists from building engines. She was then put to work printing papers that tell other workers what parts go on which cars. But she says the job is as hard as any other in the plant. She also makes 20 per cent less money and works an overnight shift that finishes at 2am. 'I have a crappy job. I'm on second shift. I'm in pain,' she said. On April 28, the workers' group and union organisers celebrated Workers' Memorial Day with a service at a Georgetown park. They placed 2,000 small white paper bags with candles along a walkway surrounding a large pond. The bags represented the number of workers the union group says have been pushed out of Toyota jobs because of injuries over the past five years. They sang 'Amazing Grace,' read from the bible and symbolically acknowledged some of the major injuries that affect manufacturing workers: tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, connective tissue disorder, wrist pain, lower back pain, sprains and strains. Aileen Waugh, 51, said she had been on work restrictions for seven weeks because of torn cartilage in her wrist. 'I think we are past due for everybody to see the other side,' Waugh said. 'It's not just about building great cars.'

EVENTS AND COURSES
TUC courses for safety reps

COURSES FOR APRIL TO JULY 2007

USEFUL LINKS

Newsletter (6,400 words) issued 1 Jun 2007

This page http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-13348-f0.cfm
printed 22 May 2012 at 21:50 hrs by 38.107.179.234