Risks

issue no 41 - 16 February 2002

Editor: Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to Owen Tudor.

CONTENTS

Risks is the TUC’s weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 3,000 subscribers and 1,000 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 Privacy The TUC website lists future health and safety events in What’s On - new events are covered below.

FEATURE ON WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

TUC seeks an end to workplace assaults

The TUC is seeking to prevent violence at work and is urging unions to negotiate agreements with employers on the prevention of violent attacks. An update to TUC’s best-selling Hazards at Work guide says union safety reps should persuade employers to: Recognise the problem; encourage staff to report attacks and threats; assess the risks of violent attacks; and take a series of steps to reduce or manage those risks - such as training the workforce, providing alarms, or redesigning workplaces for greater safety. TUC general secretary John Monks said: "Violence at work is distressing, dangerous and bad for business. Ignoring the problem won't make it go away, so we want unions and employers to work in partnership to get tough with violence and tough on the causes of violence." TUC says assaults are growing at a rate of about five per cent every two years. The latest official annual breakdown shows 1.3 million people were attacked at work.

  • For recent news on workplace violence see Risks 40, 39 and 36

PCS immigration officers serve UINs

After a week of increasingly violent incidents culminating in a threat to take a member of staff hostage, PCS members employed as immigration officers have removed the threat to their safety by refusing to have face-to-face contact with detainees. PCS last week served a Union Inspection Notice on Kevin Brewer, director of the Dungavel detention centre, "after a shameful five months of management inactivity, demanding that the appropriate risk assessments be done and a safe system of work be put in place." The union says under the Employment Rights Act workers have the legal right to refuse to work where there is 'a serious and imminent danger.'

Compensation to crime victims

Criminal injury victims, including those assaulted at work, should have fair and prompt compensation without having to tackle a bureaucratic maze, the TUC has said. In its response to a European Commission Green Paper, TUC says: 'We are concerned at the bureaucratic and often degrading processes they have to go through to obtain compensation, and we believe that there are too many restrictions and not enough resources.' The TUC submission adds: 'The TUC would not support the restriction of such compensation to exclude workplace crimes, as these are not always covered by employer liability compensation in Britain, for example where the negligence of the employer cannot be proved.' TUC adds that the scheme must apply to victims of 'racist violence against immigrants, refugees and so on.'

ASBESTOS

Asbestos death toll now over 5,000 a year says TUC

At least five thousand people died in 2001 of asbestos-related diseases, according to a TUC analysis of official figures. The figure is up from 3,000 a decade ago - so now 50 per cent more people die from asbestos than die on the roads every year. The TUC warns that the death toll will continue to rise if measures are not taken now to control asbestos exposure in British buildings. Asbestos: no hiding place, a new TUC/Hazards Campaign guide, tells workplace union safety reps on how to help prevent exposure to asbestos, in line with forthcoming asbestos regulations. It advises safety reps to: Take part in the selection of asbestos surveyors; identify the materials that need to be assessed; and participate in the development of plans to manage the asbestos found in buildings.

White asbestos remains a threat - official

The Health and Safety Executive has confirmed that white asbestos (chrysotile) is a major health hazard. An HSE position statement says all asbestos can cause cancer and the vast bulk of scientific evidence in the UK and abroad regards the risk from white asbestos as proven. The safety watchdog estimates up to 4,000 lives could be lost over future years unless steps are taken now to manage the risks from the asbestos present in commercial buildings. It says building maintenance workers might be exposed to an estimated average of 0.1 fibres per millilitre of white asbestos over a working life and that this would create a risk equivalent to one death in 5,000 workers. TUC warns the real risk could be 'significantly higher, perhaps as high as one in 750.'

Unions back Government asbestos compo temporary fix

The TUC and general union GMB have given a qualified welcome to government efforts to resolve Britain’s latest asbestos compensation crisis. During Prime Minister’s questions on 13 February prime minister Tony Blair admitted the Fairchild ruling (Risks 40) was "widely seen as an injustice." The prime minister also announced that mesothelioma victims would now be eligible for compensation under the Pneumoconiosis Act 1979. TUC general secretary John Monks said: "We very much welcome this as an interim measure, particularly given the medical circumstances of these asbestos victims. However, the TUC believes that the House of Lords should restore sanity to asbestos compensation and ensure that it is the polluter - not the taxpayer - who pays." Nigel Bryson, GMB director of health and safety, welcomed the announcement, but added that the GMB 'does not think it right that taxpayers should have to pay compensation on behalf of employers who have negligently exposed their workforce to lethal asbestos dust. We also think the levels of compensation available under the Act are far too low.' Victims groups also drew attention to the need to go further than interim Government compensation. Tony Whitston of Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims’ Support Group said: 'The problem with no fault systems like this, is that no fault means no blame. These companies made millions, lobbied for and won poor asbestos exposure standards, knowingly exposed their workers to risks and now would have us believe that they are the victims. Why should a family lose a breadwinner and the company and its directors that committed this crime lose nothing?'

Asbestos worries hit ABB shares

Shares in the Swedish-Swiss engineering group ABB Ltd have dipped as doubts surround its asbestos liabilities and restructuring plans. "The first loss in the history of ABB was caused by the $470 million asbestos charge, costs for the insurance segment of $433 million and restructuring charges of $231 million," Dresdner Kleinwort said. The merchant bank conceded that asbestos remains the "single largest risk" for the company.

UNION NEWS

Grassroots union campaign wins VCM disease recognition

A grassroots union campaign has led the government to broaden the definition of occupational diseases caused by an industrial chemical. TRUST, the Chesterfield-based Trade Union Safety Team, has campaigned for the government update the listing of diseases for which government industrial injury benefits are payable. TRUST had found hundreds of ex-employees of the Staveley Chemicals PVC factory in Derbyshire were developing disease including bladder cancer that were not compensated under the government scheme. This week Malcolm Wicks, parliamentary secretary for work, backed many of the TRUST recommendations, and laid before parliament an Industrial Injuries Advisory Council review calling for injuries benefit 'to be extended to certain workers in the plastics industry who have developed bladder cancer' and for an 'extension of the list of diseases in relation to workers who work with vinyl chloride monomer,' the starter chemical for PVC.

Unions warn Transco job cuts jeopardise safety

Gas industry unions GMB and UNISON have warned that Transco’s plans to axe 3,900 jobs could lead to a major safety failure. UNISON senior national officer, Dave Johnson, said workers were already stretched as workload had 'virtually doubled' due to the new mains replacement targets agreed recently with the Health and Safety Executive. He added: 'Transco is operating safely at present, but that is due to the large number of operational staff who are near breaking point because they are continually working hours way in excess of the Working Time Regulations. Overworked and overstressed staff and live gas are a potentially explosive mix.' Brian Strutton, national officer for the GMB, said: 'The GMB urges the secretary of state for the Department of Transport and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, to oversee this process in the interest of protecting lives and homes. Five years ago we underwent similar job cuts and safety was compromised. The GMB will not let this happen again.'

TGWU condemns Byers’ cavalier approach to airport security

Following two major breaches of security at Manchester Airport, Bill Morris, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU), has written to transport minister Stephen Byers to demand an urgent public investigation. The latest letter says: 'In my letter to you on 9th December I said that in the aftermath of 11 September, everyone but members of the Manchester Airport Board seems to agree on the need for increased security, not less. On the 10 December, your response asserted that there was no change to the aviation security standards required to be met by Manchester Airport.' Commenting on the situation, Mr. Morris said: 'Clearly the judgment that no change was necessary was wrong. Security at Manchester Airport is now a shambles. As a result of the airport board’s approach it is now clear that cut-price security results in cut-price safety.' Further stoppages are planned for 22 and 23 February.

OTHER NEWS

Stress focus for Euro week 2002

European Week for Safety and Health is to begin on 14 October and its theme will be stress, the Health and Safety Executive has said. The campaign for this year's week gets underway in May when HSE will launch a Euro week action pack. HSE's Director of Information, Peter Rimmer said: "Each year an increasing number of organisations are signing up to the week. In 2001, we had requests for over 100,000 action packs - nearly double that of the year before! Feedback has shown that participants find the week enjoyable and rewarding. I would urge everyone - no matter how small their business - to get involved."

Paralysed worker gets a £2.4m payout

A student has been awarded £2.4 million in damages after a factory forklift truck fell on him leaving him paraplegic. Greg Arde suffered a crushed spine and head when the truck he was driving toppled over in April 1995 at stationery company Duel Ltd, based in Cwmbran, Wales. Last year, South African-born Mr Arde won a four-year fight to remain permanently in the UK after the Home Office had originally said he would have to return to the country of his birth. He said: "It was a big relief when the Home Office minister decided I could stay in this country. All my friends are here and the standard of health care is so much better than in South Africa." Union law firm Thompsons represented Mr Arde.

Company fined £200,000 over 'wasted' life

A company has been fined £200,000 after a man's life was "wasted" at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane ground. Two men have been killed while carrying out work for Billington Structures in the last three years and the company has also been fined and warned about two other breaches of safety rules. In the latest incident Andrew Kitchen, 43, was killed when a mobile platform toppled over. Robert Raynor, 29, who was also on the elevated platform, suffered a broken arm. In sentencing the company, Judge Alan Goldsack QC, said: "This was a company where there was no culture of safety. A life has been wasted and another man has been injured and both were avoidable." In 1999 Billington was fined £10,000 after a worker was crushed to death. A year later it was prosecuted for failing to make machinery safe. A plaque in memory of the dead man was erected at the Sheffield United ground, following protests by the UCATT members and the Construction Safety Campaign.

HSE goes public on Tube private partnership safety concerns

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has gone public in response to safety concerns about private sector involvement in London Underground’s (LUL) modernation has been made available to all. The plan for reviewing the last stage of London Underground Limited (LUL)'s move to a Public-Private Partnership covers the transfer by LUL of three infrastructure companies into the private sector. HSE says the plan outlines the work it 'has been, and is, doing to determine whether LUL's preparations are acceptable on health and safety grounds.' Unions have been highly critical of the private partnership proposal, which they say is an unacceptable 'safety gamble' (Risks 40).

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Toilet spying is 'drug tests gone mad' says union

Permanent cameras in the toilets of a drug testing facility in Mount Isa Mines (MIM) amount to a gross invasion of privacy and are an example of drug testing policy gone mad, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) has said. AMWU is concerned that MIM has cameras permanently positioned at its facility capable of close-up filming of both men and women urinating. AMWU Queensland secretary, David Harrison, said: "How do you know if the things have been turned off? The AMWU also understands that, despite claims to the contrary, these cameras are capable of recording to computer disks. How can anyone be certain they are not recording? MIM offers no guarantees other than a verbal 'trust us'.'

Australia: Unions push to stop bosses "forcing" overtime

Australian employees are gripped by a culture of overtime in which they are pressured to work excessive hours with risks to their safety and general well-being, a test case on working hours has heard. Witnesses for the national union confederation ACTU told how workers are effectively "coerced" into unreasonably long hours. ACTU wants the definition of excessive working hours take account of number of hours worked, spread of hours, intensity of work, risks of fatigue and exposure to safety hazards.

France: Deadly factory blast prompts new laws

Four months after a deadly explosion at a chemical factory in Toulouse, the French cabinet is examining a package of new laws aimed at reducing the risk of industrial accidents. The blast at the AZF factory killed 30 people and injured 2,500 others (Risks 20). Environment minister Yves Cochet commented that the number of inspectors would also have to be increased - from the current level of 1,020 up to 2,000. Environmental protection organisations, however, have criticised the proposals for not going far enough. The proposals are expected to be debated by parliament in the autumn and could be law before the end of the year.

USA: Parkinson's disease compensation for Texaco worker

Jim Oblak, a former chemical plant worker from Bakersfield, California, has received workers’ compensation for Parkinson's disease, a condition he has convinced authorities was caused by his job. Oblak, 47, retired early from Texaco in 1999 after developing the chronic, irreversible neurodegenerative disease a decade ago. The condition normally develops in old age. California’s District Court of Appeals upheld an earlier ruling by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board in favour of Oblak and against the defendants, Texaco and Ace American Insurance Co. The judge awarded Oblak permanent workers' compensation benefits for his injury. From 1988 to 1994, his job had been to monitor emissions from oil field equipment. The ruling in the high-ranking District Court of Appeals could make it easier for other Parkinson's disease patients to win workers' compensation benefits, legal experts say. Health studies have linked 'parkinsonism' to workplace exposures to solvents, pesticides and manganese.

USA: New York rescue workers may sue

More than 1,300 people, mostly firefighters who toiled in the smoldering rubble of the twin towers, have notified New York City they may sue for damages stemming from the attack on the World Trade Center. The claims, a necessary first step before lawsuits can be filed against the city, alleged the firefighters and other workers were exposed after September 11 to "dangerous levels" of toxins. The exposure was the result of "negligence, carelessness and recklessness" in not providing rescue workers with proper protective gear, including respirators and other breathing apparatus, the legal papers charged. Many of the firefighters said in the claims that they suffered from cardiopulmonary and respiratory ailments including a constant cough, burning lungs, trouble swallowing and other injuries, the full extent of which are still unknown (Risks 26 and Risks 27).

USA: Union health warning on handling irradiated mail

At least 87 suburban postal workers who handled irradiated mail have reported health problems including nausea, headaches and breathing problems, union leaders say. Postal officials are using irradiation to protect against anthrax contamination. Tammy Thompson, president of the Montgomery County local of the postal workers’ union. "The employees are experiencing nosebleeds, runny noses, runny eyes, extreme headaches, nausea," Thompson said. A few have missed several days of work or have filed workers' compensation claims.

ACTION

Support for construction safety motion grows

The construction safety early day motion first put down on 6 February 2002 by Labour MP Michael Clapham now has the support of 143 MPs. EDM 828 says: 'That this House sends its condolences to the families of seven construction workers killed in one week during January; expresses its deep concern that safety in the construction industry is still not yet a high enough priority; and calls on the Government to give the Health and Safety Executive the resources it needs, especially in construction, to field the inspectors necessary to enforce health and safety laws and advise employers on good practice.' Only 29 EDMs put down since last year’s General Election have been signed by more MPs, and a further 27 signatures will get it into the top 20, putting real pressure on Ministers to increase the HSE’s budget.

  • EDM 828: health and safety resources for construction. See if your MP has signed the motion. If not, ask why not. Check who your MP is

RESOURCES

What are you rebelling against?

The TUC-backed Hazards magazine has expanded its web-based resources for union reps. It has pulled together Hazards, TUC and labour-friendly resources worldwide to create new pages on smoking, drink and drugs and genetic screening at work. The get-a-life! page provides news and union resources on working hours, overwork and work-life balance. The latest issue of the award-winning Hazards magazine was released this week.

EVENTS

Only newly announced events, events next week and very important events will be listed here in future. But there is a comprehensive listing of health and safety events on the TUC website - bookmark it for easy reference!

International RSI Day conference, 28 February

Work-related upper limb disorders under the spotlight - a national conference organised by GMB in conjunction with Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council to mark International RSI Awareness Day, 28 February 2002. Venue: Mackworth College, Derby. Agenda and registration form. Further information from Jake Jackson, GMB East Midlands health and safety officer.

Workers' Memorial Day 2002, 28 April

TUC is planning to highlight occupational health, including access to occupational health services, and rehabilitation. Ask your union for details of Workers’ Memorial Day events or organise your own. Hazards magazine round up of Workers’ Memorial Day resources.

Hazards 2002, National Hazards Conference, 6-8 September

The National Hazards Conference will be held in Manchester for the second year running. Further details from Greater Manchester Hazards Centre. There is a financial appeal to keep registration costs down, backed by the TUC.

European Week of Health and Safety 2002, 14-21 October

Next year’s week will take place in Britain from 14 October, on the theme of stress.

USEFUL LINKS

Visit the TUC health and safety website or the main TUC website pages on health and safety. See what’s on offer from TUC Publications and What’s On in health and safety.

TUC courses for safety reps

NEW COURSES FOR APRIL TO JULY:

North West East Midlands West Midlands South East and East Anglia (also as pdf)

January to March:

Wales South West North West East Midlands West Midlands Scotland

For details of courses in the Northern, Yorkshire and Humberside regions, contact the TUC Regional Education Officer

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.

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Newsletter (4,000 words) issued 18 Feb 2002

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