Risks

issue no 52 - 4 May 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 3,500 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 and Privacy statement. The TUC website lists future health and safety events in What’s On - new events are covered below.

UNION NEWS

134 people develop asthma at work every week

Seven thousand people develop asthma because of their work every year, according to new TUC figures. The seriousness of the problem has prompted the TUC to launch a training drive for union workplace safety reps on how to use forthcoming legal rules on work asthma prevention. TUC general secretary John Monks said: "Asthma can be a debilitating and painful condition that really restricts people's lives - and it can often mean they have to give up their career and their livelihood. Employers lose out too, because the people who get asthma at work tend to be highly skilled and costly to replace. Our training for workplace safety reps will help them work in partnership with their employers to remove or control the risks of asthma, creating healthier workers in healthier workplaces." Donna Covey, chief executive of the National Asthma Campaign, said the TUC’s training programme 'will help reduce the level of occupational asthma.' She added: 'We would also like to see greater involvement from health professionals in identifying where new cases of adult asthma are occupational, as this is key in establishing what causes asthma and how it might be treated in the future. This will not only enhance the quality of life of people with asthma, but will also improve reporting and prevention of asthma in the workplace." The legally enforceable Approved Code of Practice on work asthma will come into effect in the summer. The TUC initiative comes ahead of World Asthma Day, Tuesday 7 May.

EU orders UK to change work time law after union complaint

Britain has been told by the European Union to limit workers to a 48-hour week or face legal action. The European Commission has upheld a complaint by Amicus, Britain's largest private sector union, finding the government has failed to implement fully the working-time directive. Infringement proceedings initiated by the EU give the government two months to comply with the Europe-wide rules. Roger Lyons, Amicus general secretary said: "British workers work the longest hours in Europe - this decision will cut excessive working time considerably, will slash stress and will bring us closer to the level playing field on working hours already enjoyed throughout the rest of Europe." Employers’ organisation the CBI, however, urged the government 'to mount a robust defence' of the current law. John Cridland, CBI deputy director-general, said: "We urge the government to vigorously defend its implementation of the directive because business will be deeply concerned about the Amicus action. Ministers have struck a balance between giving workers the choice not to work long hours and preserving company flexibility.'

More time out means more output

Britain's workers get the lowest number of bank holidays and the least statutory annual leave in Europe, according to the TUC, which is calling for an extra three bank holidays a year. TUC general secretary John Monks said: "UK workers have the shortest holidays and the lowest productivity in Northern Europe. So offering more holidays makes sense for employers too because well-rested workers are more productive. British workers need proper time off work as much as their European colleagues but once again they are at the bottom of the EU pile." A report in the latest issue of the TUC-backed Hazards magazine concludes that overwork is bad for health and family life and can lead to lower productivity.

Going up? Union Inspection Notices give PCS a lift

PCS reps have been using the new Union Inspection Notices (UINs) to negotiate safety improvements - and have found sometimes just the threat of a notice is enough. Somerset House PCS safety rep Maria Dobinson-Dines tackled a problem with tardy maintenance contractor Mapeley, getting a faulty lift fixed within the two days stipulated on a UIN form. Maria said: "Management used the UIN to get Mapeley into gear. The UIN, as well as being a good tool for the union, can also be a good tool for management as they can use it to push things through. Management weren't happy with the situation either as they were walking up the stairs too." In another workplace, the threat of a UIN over unemptied toilet sanitary bins did the trick. Westminster Council's Environmental Health Unit had advised a PCS rep to cite the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 in a UIN. The bins were emptied before this step needed to be taken.

Humber pilots alert Commons transport chair to risks

Union leaders representing the Humber pilots in a safety dispute with AB Ports have described a meeting with House of Commons Transport Committee Chair Gwyneth Dunwoody MP as "very positive." National officers from the Transport and General Workers' Union and its United Kingdom Marine Pilots Association (UKMPA) section briefed the MP about the ongoing safety concerns at the root of the industrial action, including the introduction of pilots the union says are inadequately trained (Risks 33). Ron Webb, TGWU national secretary, said: "Right from the start of our dispute on the Humber with AB Ports the TGWU has made it clear that safety is our paramount concern. We have urged the government to get involved because we fear the catalogue of incidents we have witnessed may soon lead to a major incident.' The pilots are due to take their case to an Employment Tribunal at the end of May, where they will argue they have been victims of constructive dismissal.

GMB says 'don’t bin your back'

Don't bin your back, a joint GMB/SITA project, has completed a comprehensive analysis of manual handling and back pain issues in the waste management industry and has devised detailed health and safety advice and guidance, including a video, for refuse collection work. GMB says HSE has no industry specific guidance for the thousands of people working in waste collection. All of these materials are available to buy, and are free to GMB safety representatives from GMB regional health and safety officers. The project was funded by the Department of Health, as part the Healthy Workplaces initiative.

OTHER NEWS

Pool staff face health risks

People working in indoor swimming pools could be at risk of developing asthma, researchers suggest. A study by Birmingham doctors suggests chemicals called chloramines could cause occupational asthma. Researchers writing in the European Respiratory Journal (ERJ) monitored two lifeguards and a swimming teacher who worked at different pools. All three had worked in swimming pools for some years before developing asthmatic symptoms. However, all had begun to suffer cough and wheezing symptoms at work that improved when they were on holiday. Professor Benoit Nemery, writing in the ERJ, said the Birmingham study was significant, despite its size: "It serves as evidence that asthma caused by indoor swimming pools could be an occupational disease and there is reason to believe that cases are more common than they might seem." An April paper in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine linked pool chemicals to a pregnancy risk.

Emergency doctors feel the stress

Doctors of emergency medicine have the highest reported levels of stress, about double that of their colleagues in other less-frantic specialties, according to a survey. Report co-author Dr. Susan Robinson of Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, said emergency room doctors said they enjoyed their specialty, but reported higher-than-average levels of depression, and showed a higher rate of distress than that seen in studies of doctors with other specialties. Ten per cent said they had recently considered suicide and women reported more depression than men. When asked to rate what caused the most stress in their lives, doctors reported they were most concerned about factors such as the conflict between administrative and clinical work, and the impact of their long work hours on family and other relationships.

  • Reuters Health. Robinson and others. Occupational stress in consultants in accident and emergency medicine: a national survey of levels of stress at work, Emergency Medicine Journal, vol. 19, pages 234-238, 2002 [abstract]

Non-smokers "not protected" against passive smoking

Pubs and bars are still not protecting staff and non-smokers from the dangers of passive smoking, say UK researchers. A study of the indoor air quality at 60 drinking venues in Manchester showed that many had high levels of environmental tobacco smoke compounds, while no-smoking areas had not had enough impact on improving air quality to be called "healthy". The research team from Manchester Metropolitan University say the findings will come as a blow to The Charter Group - a committee of government officials and industry representatives that has sought a solution to passive smoking hazards without recourse to a ban.

Boss faces work manslaughter charges

A former councillor has gone on trial charged with manslaughter after one of his employees, 50-year-old Robert Stanley Dawson, fell to his death from a fragile roof ( Risks 30 ). Teesside Crown Court was told ex-Hartlepool Tory councillor John Elders had not provided adequate safety measures for workers at his company, Factorycover Ltd, on the day of the accident. Elders and his company both deny manslaughter and two breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Prosecutor Simon Jackson told the jury they would hear evidence of "gross negligence" on the part of Elders and his company. Mr Jackson said Elders, a member of the Teesside Safety Group, had not provided boards with hand rails, crawling boards, safety nets or harnesses to protect his staff if they lost their balance while carrying out the "high risk work." Elders was offered HSE advice but did not take up the offer, HSE inspector Bruno Porter told the court. Three weeks later the same inspector was required to investigate the death of Mr Dawson.

Bus route to fewer site deaths and injuries

A nationwide campaign to cut the numbers of people killed and injured in the construction industry has been launched and will take its message nationwide by bus - sponsored by the TUC and unions in the industry. The construction industry, working with the HSC Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC), has established the UK's largest construction health and safety campaign - Working Well Together (WWT). A key part of the campaign is the specially equipped WWT bus, which visits major construction sites promoting site health and safety. The construction industry employs around seven per cent of the workforce but accounts for 30 per cent of all reported accidents. Between April 2000 and March 2001, 106 construction workers in the UK were killed on sites and 4,672 were injured.

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Work deaths should have higher priority

More Australians die from work-related accidents or illnesses than are killed on the nation's roads, but governments are failing to give occupational health and safety the same priority as the road toll, the Australian Council of Trades Unions has said. ACTU president Sharan Burrow said: "Like road accidents, the vast majority of workplace deaths and injuries are preventable. But every year in Australia, more than 430 Australians are killed in work-related accidents and another 2,300 die of work-related illnesses - nearly twice the national road toll.' She added: 'ACTU surveys show about one-quarter of workplace health and safety representatives have been pressured by management not to raise health and safety issues, and 20 per cent have been bullied or intimidated as a result of raising health and safety issues."

Australia: Metal worker can sue over bladder cancer

A former Alcoa worker has won the right to seek compensation after contracting bladder cancer, a judge has ruled. Geoffrey Stevens, 63, worked in the pot room for 11 years at an Alcoa smelter before retiring in 1988. Multinational Alcoa sent out letters to all Australian former employees in 1999, recommending they get lung and bladder cancer checks. Mr Stevens followed the advice and was soon after diagnosed with bladder cancer. He had to have his bladder removed in March 2000. However, when he went to Alcoa requesting compensation, the company denied responsibility. "Clearly, on one view, Alcoa was concerned about the fact that the nature of its employment could adversely affect some of its employees," Judge Graeme Hicks said.

Canada: Manitoba firefighters to get cancer compensation

Manitoba has become the first Canadian province to introduce legislation that compensates firefighters for work-related cancers. Commenting on the new law, which took effect on 1 May, Alex Forrest, head of the firefighters union, said: "If a firefighter passes away from cancer he will be looked after. His family will be looked after." Fifteen Manitoba firefighters have died from the disease since 1987. More than a dozen studies show there is a link between different forms of cancer and the hazards firefighters are exposed to while at work. In 1994 a government-appointed panel of experts in the Canadian province of Ontario concluded that blood cancers in firefighters should be compensated, but the findings were ignored by the conservative administration.

Japan: Ban on white asbestos 'likely'

A government ban on white asbestos, still widely used in Japan’s construction industry, is now likely, the Japanese press has reported. Japan banned the use of blue and brown asbestos in 1995 because both are believed to cause lung cancer, but the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has allowed the construction industry to continue using white asbestos. Last year Japan imported about 79,000 tons of white asbestos, one of the biggest importers in the world. The amount of asbestos imports peaked in 1974 at 352,000 tons. Imports of the material have been declining since 1998. Studies show asbestos deaths are set to soar in Japan (Risks 48). More than 30 countries, including European Union member states, have already implemented bans on white asbestos or plan to ban its use in the near future.

Norway: More work smoking curbs proposed

Norway has proposed an unprecedented nationwide ban on smoking in restaurants and bars to protect the health of everyone from waiters to diners. The Health Ministry said that bar and restaurant staff were the only people in the country who did not have protection against passive smoking at work. "Research has found that waiters and barkeepers have a significant increase in risk to develop lung cancer compared to other occupations," the ministry said. It added that 120,000 people with asthma suffered breathing problems in restaurants.

USA: California's anti-smoking campaign is a success

Californians are breathing cleaner air at work and in their homes thanks to the tough anti-smoking laws and educational campaigns in that state, new research has concluded. Compared with a decade ago, the number of workers reporting smoke-free workplaces has nearly tripled, according to a report published in the May issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The percentage of people working indoors who say their workplace is smoke-free increased from 35 per cent in 1990 to 93 per cent in 1999. Indoor workers who say they are exposed to second hand smoke decreased from 29 per cent to 16 per cent, the authors report. California began in 1994 to phase in its ban on smoking in nearly all indoor workplaces. The trend has since spread throughout the country and around the world. The UK government has been criticised by unions for failing to introduce a legally-binding approved code of practice on workplace smoking controls (Risks 45).

USA: Computer work is a pain in the neck and more

Neck and shoulder pain and stiffness and medical disorders linked to these symptoms are more widespread among computer users than previously thought, new research suggests. "More than half of computer users each year develop neck or shoulder symptoms and just over one-third develop an impairment or the loss of some function," said researcher Dr. Frederic Gerr of the University in Atlanta, Georgia. Nearly 40 per cent of people develop a hand or arm symptom each year while using a computer and 21 per cent actually develop a disorder, his team concluded. "People who type 20 hours per week more than others are a little more than twice as likely to develop a symptom or disorder in the hand and arm region," Gerr said. The study included 632 men and women newly hired in jobs requiring 15 or more hours per week of computer use.

  • Reuters Health. Gerr and others. A prospective study of computer users: I. Study design and incidence of musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders. American Journal of Industrial Medicine vol. 41, pages 221-249, 2002. Article abstract

USA: Wal-Mart's war on workers

Wal-Mart, the USA’s largest employer, is to stand trial in more than 15 locations for violations of workers’ rights. The company’s transgressions include victimising safety whistleblowers and threatening to take any safety fines out of bonus payments to staff. In one instance, after a Texas Wal-Mart worker reported safety violations to safety watchdog the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), an official from the company’s Arkansas HQ told employees 'that any fines imposed by OSHA would adversely affect their store bonuses,' says US foodworkers’ union UFCW. The union adds: 'Wal-Mart has waged a systematic campaign of intimidation and coercion… to deny workers a voice on the job.' UFCW says the company is facing official charges arising from the use against workers of intimidation, threats, retaliation, coercion and surveillance measures. Walmart bought UK supermarket chain Asda in 1999 for £6.7billion.

RESOURCES

Free HSE internet tool for control of work chemicals

The HSE has launched an Electronic COSHH essentials - a free internet tool to help prevent the harmful effects of working with chemicals by providing advice to limit exposure. Employers, safety representatives or employees can log on and work out what needs to be done to control chemicals. John Monks, general secretary of the TUC, helped launch the HSE initiative and said: "There is nowhere to hide from chemicals at work. Machinists use them, hairdressers use them, printers use them and farmers use them. But they must use them safely. Unions welcome anything that makes it simpler to work safely, and COSHH Essentials is certainly that."

Vibration health risks guide

HSE’s leaflet, Health risks from hand arm vibration: Advice for employees and the self employed, is now available free on the web.

Revised HSE health and safety in agriculture webpages

HSE has revamped its health and safety in agriculture webpages. The pages 'explain what HSE are doing to tackle key issues as well as providing access to a range of information about health and safety in the agriculture industry.'

BECTU health and safety bulletins online

Health and safety bulletins for safety reps prepared by the film and theatre union BECTU are now available on the web.

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!

TUC/CCA Conference on safety law enforcement, 8 July

In January 2002, a coalition of trade unions, safety groups and families, bereaved from work-related deaths and disasters, came together around a series of demands for reform on safety, law enforcement and corporate accountability. This conference will explore this and the Government's agenda for reform. Speakers include Alan Whitehead MP and Mark Thomas from Channel 4’s Mark Thomas Project. Registration costs £25.

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 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.

TUC courses for safety reps

COURSES FOR APRIL TO JULY:

Wales, Scotland, North West, Midlands, South East and East Anglia, South West

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.

Newsletter (3,900 words) issued 4 May 2002

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