Risks

issue no 6 - 16 June 2001

Risks is the TUC’s weekly e-bulletin. Risks aims to keep safety reps and others informed about TUC, union and other health and safety news. Edited for the TUC by Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine.

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FEATURES

Health and safety moves in post election government shake up

Workplace health and safety has a new ministry and a new ministerial team. Safety now slots into the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR), a newly-formed ministry headed by Secretary of State Stephen Byers MP. Under Byers, the first line Minister responsible for health and safety, is Nick Raynsford MP (who was construction Minister and involved in the construction safety summit), assisted by parliamentary under-secretary Dr Alan Whitehead MP, ex-Leader of Southampton City Council. The TUC is due to meet the Ministers later this month.

Other Ministerial responsibilities include Ruth Kelly MP (Economic Secretary to the Treasury, responsible for Chester Street), Malcolm Wicks MP at the Department for Pensions and Work (Industrial Injuries Benefit) and ex-head of the TUC media department John Healey MP (Department for Education and Skills, covering financial support for safety rep training). Yvette Cooper MP stays as Public Health Minister.

Child safety - special report - Child Safety week, 18-24 June

T&G calls for a ban on children working on farms

The Transport and General Workers’ Union, the union representing agricultural workers, is calling for a ban on children working on farms after new government figures revealed 44 children have been killed on farms in the last decade. T&G national secretary Barry Leathwood said: 'We are calling for the law to be amended so that only people of school leaving age can be engaged in work on farms… In no other industry do we allow children in the workplace.' The HSE report, Keep Children Safe on the Farm, says between 1990 and 2000, 44 children died in agricultural accidents - half of these aged under five. Most accidents happened in spring and summer, with over a third occurring in the July-August harvesting period.

  • HSE’s Keep Children Safe on the Farm is available free from HSE Books

Watchdog says keep kids off building sites

A stark warning to keep children off potentially deadly building sites has been issued in the lead up to the school holidays by the HSE. Over the last five years, six children have died and 551 have suffered major injuries on sites. Now parents, teachers and the construction industry have been asked to stress that whilst building sites may look like playgrounds, they also contain hidden dangers which children fail to recognise. HSE construction chief Kevin Myers said the industry must act, adding: "Parents and teachers can also play their part by reminding their children or pupils never to go on to building sites."

  • HSE's guidance booklet, Protecting the public - your next move, price £7.95, can be obtained from HSE Books

HSE seeks industry support during child safety week

HSE is warning all organisations to look at their operations from a child's point of view during Child Safety Week - particularly in hotspot industries such as construction sites, agriculture and railway premises. HSE says that every year a child dies and 100 major injuries are reported by the construction industry; five children die and 45 children suffer major injuries in the agriculture sector and last year 10 children died and 13 were injured on the railway - usually as a result of trespass. HSE is holding local and national events to raise awareness and understanding of accidents and means of prevention.

UNIONS

Train guards vote to strike over safety

RMT will be calling a national strike for 25 June over safety on the railways. Talks have taken place with the Association of Train Operating Companies and Rail Safety in order to deal with the safety issues.

GMB backs pub staff over ban on pub smoking

Barstaff represented by one of Britain’s biggest unions have voted to lobby the Government for a total ban on smoking in pubs. The decision was made by delegates at the GMB’s congress last week, making it the union’s official policy to support a total smoking ban in pubs, bars, clubs, shops, hotels, restaurants and casinos.

GMB gets compensation for worker fired for health problems

GMB member Peter Doyle, 61, has been awarded £10,000 in compensation from his former employer, after being fired while suffering from the debilitating condition fibromyalgia. Pentos Office Furniture plc made the payout the day the case was due to go to court. 'When I phoned into work they told me I was no longer needed and had been sacked,' said Mr Doyle. 'Employers cannot be allowed to get away with just sacking people because they are sick or disabled. Let this be lesson to them.'

UNISON responds to high stress among nurses

UNISON, the UK’s largest health union, added its voice to the Policy Studies Institute report out on 13 June about stress levels among ward sisters and charge nurses. Staffing levels, heavy workloads, the competence of unknown agency staff and problems with recruitment and retention are all identified in the report as causes as stress. The new report published by the independent Policy Studies Institute, Stress among Ward Sisters and Charge Nurses by Isobel Allen, examines the stresses identified by this key group of NHS staff and draws comparisons with previous research on stress among hospital consultants. The study was commissioned by the NHS Executive London.

TUC spreading the message by word of mouse

Risks has this week been selected as labour website of the week, with the online news service Labourstart declaring it to be 'a really superb online resource.' Risks is the TUC’s first e-bulletin and its first regular health and safety publication. Labourstart editor Eric Lee said the global coverage made Risks 'of interest to trade unionists everywhere.'

NEWS

Whose hands on your genes?

The Human Genetics Commission (HGC) is to hold an open meeting to discuss its Whose hands on your genes? consultation on the use of genetic screening. HGC, the government’s independent advisory body on human genetics, will host the meeting in Cambridge on 25 June. In a March submission to HGC, TUC warned about potential dangers in the use of gene screening by employers, a practice already commonplace in the US. 'This type of genetic screening is about eliminating the worker rather than the hazard which is simply unacceptable,' said the TUC report.

  • Ban unfair screening: The TUC’s response to Whose Hands on Your Genes, from the TUC website

More-deadly-than-thought Trike gets tighter controls

A common workplace solvent is to face tighter controls. Trichloroethylene - also known as 'trike' or trichloroethene - is know to cause brain and other nervous system damage, as well as skin, liver and other health problems. HSE has announced that more stringent controls will be phased in next year because the European Union has revised the solvent’s cancer rating to 'category 2', which applies to 'substances that should be regarded as carcinogenic to humans.' An estimated 10,000 engineering and chemical workers are exposed to trike in the UK. Use of trike increased after alternative, safer, solvents were phased out as part of efforts to protect the ozone layer.

INTERNATIONAL

ETUC responds to consultation over new asbestos directive

The European Trade Union Confederation has issued its response to the latest proposals for an EU Directive to control workers’ exposure to asbestos, and has called for a maximum exposure limit of 0.1 fibre/cm3.

Pakistan: Unions say safety of women workers is neglected

Government agencies and employers in Pakistan are neglecting the health and safety of women workers, unions have warned. Delegates to an All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions seminar said poor conditions and a lack of safety equipment was leading to thousands of deaths in workplace accidents and from industrial diseases. Around 80 per cent of workers in the textile industry have noise-induced hearing problems and 30 per cent have lung problems caused by inhalation of cotton dust.


South Africa: Workers 'can say no' to tobacco smoke

Employees in restaurants and pubs have a legal right to refuse work in places where they have to breathe customers’ tobacco smoke, South Africa’s National Council Against Smoking has said. NCAS spokesperson Peter Ucko said the country’s Occupational Safety and Health Act and its Tobacco Control Act entitle workers to a safe, smoke free environment. Labour law also makes it illegal for employers to retaliate if workers refuse to work in a smoky environment.

US: Unions denounce ergonomics 'sham and fraud'

After axing a new workplace ergonomics safety law in one of his first acts in office, President George W. Bush is now presiding over a 'sham and fraud' on worker safety, US unions have charged. The 13-million strong AFL-CIO union federation says public hearings on ergonomics announced on 12 June by the Republican administration’s Labor Department (DOL) 'are a sham and a fraud backed by industry and Republicans in Congress.' AFL-CIO says the government’s real agenda is 'to define the problem away', adding: 'The questions being asked by DOL are one-sided, reflecting only concerns and issues raised by industry opponents.'

US: Flight attendants warn that aircraft air 'may be toxic'

The union representing US flight attendants has warned that chemical contamination in aircraft could be causing potentially serious health problems. Representatives of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) told members of the US Congress that pesticides sprayed in the cabin during some international flights and hydraulic fluids and engine oils sucked in through the ventilation system can cause a range of effects from flu-like symptoms to serious nervous system damage. AFA International President Patricia Friend said: "You wouldn't spray a can of bug killer in someone's face, but that's essentially what passengers experience on some international flights."

ACTION

Workers can make better workplaces

Europe’s unions say workers have a crucial role to play in the design of products and work methods - and are preparing a report to prove it. The TUC-backed Trade Union Technical Bureau for Health and Safety (TUTB), based in Brussels, is looking for 'concrete examples' where unions or others have used workers’ experiences and views to better design machines, personal protective equipment or workplaces.

EVENTS

Child Safety Week, 18-24 June

Nationwide, organised by the Child Accident Prevention Trust. Resource and further details: Child Safety Week .

First official public meeting on railway safety, 21 June

The Health and Safety Commission's Railway Industry Advisory Committee (RIAC) public meeting will deal with major railway topics including passenger views on train protection systems, and trespassing and vandalism on Britain's railway lines. Any members of the public wishing to attend should contact Mike Gamal at HSE on 020 7717 6235. HSE warns there are only a limited number of places available .

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 or print and complete the registration form.

Human Genetics Commission open meeting, 25 June

For more on the HGC open meeting, go to the Human Genetics Commission website. Attendance is by ticket only: phone 020 7972 1518 or email HGC.

Northern TUC Health and Safety Forum, 26 June

The Northern Region TUC Health and Safety Forum is holding its AGM and a training day called 'Building a culture of respect', dealing with stress, bullying and harassment in Gateshead Civic Centre. Registration is free - details.

European week, 15-22 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, including factsheets on accident prevention.

Law enforcement and corporate accountability, 21 November

The TUC is teaming up with the Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) for a joint conference to be held in London and covering HSE enforcement, corporate manslaughter and sentencing. Contact the Centre for Corpo r ate A ccountability to be kept up to date with developments in this conference.

Stress, 1 December

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

LINKS

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.

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West Midlands

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HSE Books , PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2WA. Tel: 01787 881165; fax: 01787 313995.

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Newsletter (2,500 words) issued 16 Jun 2001

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printed 23 May 2012 at 08:15 hrs by 38.107.179.232