Risks

issue no 2 - 19 May 2001

Key items in this issue:

Successful body mapping pilots European RSI law proposed Hazardous chemical guide Passive smoking in Hong Kong New strategy to prevent broken bones Australia bans asbestos

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FEATURES

TUC pilot shows body mapping works and works fast

'Body mapping' of workplace health problems is fast and effective, a Health and Safety Commission-backed study has found. Peter Kirby’s evaluation of the TUC’s pilot body mapping training sessions - where groups of workers map out their aches and pains and link them to the jobs they do - found use of the technique was 'an overwhelming success,' and could lead to the quick identification of problems at work. TUC body mapping training will go country-wide later this year. Some brilliant case studies conclude the report. links follow…

• TUC body mapping report

• Hazards DIY research guide text version pdf version

Union push for European RSI law gets official boost

The European Union should consider a community-wide strain injuries law, a formal advisory committee has recommended. A May report from the 'Luxembourg Committee,' the European Commission’s employer-government-trade union health and safety committee, says 'consideration should be given to a further regulatory initiative, particularly targeted at preventing upper limb disorders.' The TUC will be pressing for the Swedish government, currently holding the presidency of the EU, 'to start the process of introducing a Directive on repetitive and monotonous work' at the 11 June 2001 Council of Ministers environment meeting.

• Luxembourg committee report

• TUC strains webpage

NEWS

£1.44 million for CWU member who survived horror road crash

A BT engineer knocked off his bicycle by a reckless driver has been awarded £1.44 million in an out-of-court compensation settlement. Communication Workers’ Union member Garth Hallen suffered severe injuries, including brain damage, and now requires 24 hour care. The car driver was found guilty of driving without due care and attention and fined £120 with £30 costs, and received six penalty points on his licence.

• CWU Voice story

• New US guide on prevention of work injuries by vehicles

FBU campaign makes it easier to sue for safety breaches

The FBU has hailed victory as the Government has agreed to amend the law and make it easier for workers to take civil legal action against employers who fail to comply with the risk assessment requirements of the Management Regulations. The Fire Brigades Union started a campaign to removal the exclusion of civil liability for such failures from the eight-year-old regulations because of frustration that Fire Authorities were refusing to undertake risk assessments in the 1990s. The change will make it easier for people to claim compensation and should encourage employers to carry out risk assessments to prevent future claims arising.

• FBU press release

HSE’s plans to prevent 8,000 broken bones a year

As part of its new focus on the major causes of workplace injury and ill-health, the Health and Safety Commission has endorsed an HSE draft strategy for preventing major injuries caused by slips, trips and falls (90% of which lead to fractures). Based on the five themes of Securing health together, the Commission’s occupational health strategy, the HSE’s approach will develop over the next few months, but the TUC wants union safety reps to start implementing the plan now. TUC Commissioner Maureen Rooney says: 'safety reps can play a major part in negotiating action with managers to prevent so many bones being broken. They should also be alerting members to the high risk areas of the workplace.' The HSE strategy sets out the existing costs of slips, trips and falls, and provides a sectoral breakdown of where these injuries occur.

• HSE slips, trips and falls docu m ent

HSE 2001 official guide to chemical exposure limits published

The 2001 edition of the Health and Safety Executive’s guide to occupational exposure limits (OELs) was published on 14 May. The list for the first time incorporates new European Commission 'Indicative Occupational Exposure Limit Values'. A 1997 HSE-backed research report concluded that union reps know far more about workplace chemical limit values than employers. Over a third of companies described as 'heavy users' (35 per cent) and users (38 per cent) of chemicals were 'not aware' of OELs. Among union reps, only 21 per cent were not aware of OELs.

• EH40/2001 - Occupational Exposure Limits 2001, price £5 (£12 including a copy of EH40/2000) from HSE Books.

• Industry’s perception and use of occupational exposure limits. HSE Contract Research Report No.114, 1997. £49.50. HSE Books. Available free on the HSE website in pdf format only.

Australia to ban asbestos

The Australian federal government has announced that asbestos imports, including chrysotile, will be banned from 31 December 2003, after huge campaigns by trade unions and victims groups. TUC General Secretary John Monks said: 'I congratulate the Australian unions for matching the successes of European and other trade unionists around the world. Now all the governments that are already committed to domestic bans should join the world trade union movement in establishing a global ban on the fatal fibre.'

• Melbourne newspaper The Age reports the news

Hong Kong : Tobacco smoke 'kills 150 workers a year at diners'

Passive smoking could kill 150 Hong Kong catering industry workers each year, according to the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health. A study by Hong Kong and US academics of workers in restaurants, canteens, fast food outlets and clubs found greatly increased levels of a marker chemical for tobacco smoke exposure in the systems of non-smoking catering workers, compared to workers employed in no smoking environments. The researchers said their 'conservative approach' indicated an excess risk in non-smoking catering workers exposed to second hand smoke over a 40-year working lifetime of three per cent, or 150 additional deaths each year. The TUC will use this study to press for action in Britain to control exposure to passive smoking. TUC Commissioner Owen Tudor said: 'it is depressing to think that Hong Kong and California have stronger worker protection from passive smoking than Britain. Passive smoking kills, and workers have a right to be free from fear of what their co-workers and customers could be doing to their health.'

• More information on the Hong Kong study (very detailed)

• Hong Kong iMail news re p ort

USA: Teen safety drive hits the schools

US safety authorities are going straight to the principal’s office in a bid to reduce workplace risks to teens. Posters, guides and brochures distributed through 20,000 schools aim to inform students of the hazards of summer employment and inform them of occupational disease and injury risks. links follow…

• Young worker safety and health webpage

• Are you are working teen? brochure

• Promoting safe work for young workers guide

Australia: Unions press for reasonable hours

A 14 May test case brought by the Australian Council of Trades Unions is seeking to establish new guidelines for reasonable working hours. ACTU's Reasonable Hours claim, filed with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, says employee safety, family responsibilities, workload and the number of hours worked over an extended period should be considered in determining reasonable hours of work.

• ACTU test case me d ia rele a se

ACTION

Protest: Justice for the Cape asbestos workers, 21 May

Join the protest outside at Royal Courts of Justice, the Strand, London at 1.30pm Monday. The event marks the latest stage in the legal battle of South African asbestos disease victims, seeking justice from the British multinational and mass killer Cape plc. Telephone first to confirm details. 020 7833 3133.

• More on the protest

TUC Survey of Safety Reps: Asthma at work

There is still time to help the TUC draw up new training materials for safety reps on preventing asthma at work, as part of the HSE’s new strategy on asthma (set out in the consultation document on an ACoP). As part of the development work, the TUC wants to know about safety reps experiences, and a survey form has been published. Please download it, print it off, complete and return it to LRD (address on the form) by 31 May. The HSE is funding both the survey and the training material development - if you would like to offer any suggestions or comments about training for safety reps in preventing asthma, contact Peter Kirby who is developing the materials.

• TUC safety reps’ survey on asthma

• HSE consultation document setting out the strategy

EVENTS

Canary Wharf - one year on, 21 May

On 21st May 2001, it will be one year on from the tragic day when the Tower Crane collapsed in Canary Wharf killing three construction workers. Wreaths will be laid at the foot of the HSBC Building in memory of these three workers, by relatives of the deceased, Trade Unions and Canary Wharf management. At 12 noon a siren will sound on the site to indicate the commencement of a minute's silence, a second siren will then be sounded one minute later, bringing an end to the silence. Building workers have been asked to stop work during this minutes' silence.

• UCATT website notice (link will be lost within a week)

Asbestos and public health: the international dimension, 5 June

Movement towards a global ban and the role of the World Trade Organisation. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E. Free entry. Contact Phillip Raponi. Tel: 0207 612 7825 Fax: 0207 580 6897. More information

Hazards conference 2001, 22-24 June

12th National Hazards Conference, UMIST, Sackville Street, Manchester. The essential annual conference for trade union safety reps. Contact Greater Manchester Hazards for details.

European week, 15-21 October

European Health and Safety Week 2001 will have the theme 'Success is no accident'. The TUC is backing the week and will be preparing resources to help safety reps in workplace inspections, investigations and reporting. Details from the European Agency.

Stress conference, 1 December

National Work Stress Network Conference, NASUWT Hillscourt Conference Centre, Birmingham. This year the theme is 'Revitalising safety an action on workplace stress.' Contact: Ian Draper.

L INKS

Visit the TUC health and safety website or the main TUC website pages on health and safety.

Subscribe to Hazards magazine, supported by the TUC as a key source of information for union safety reps.

See what’s on offer from TUC Publications.

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.