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Risks

issue no 78 - 2 November 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 5,000 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 and Privacy statement. The TUC website lists future health and safety events in What’s On - new events are covered below.

ACTION

HSE wants your views on railway SPADs

Following a recent spate of rail controversies and crashes, HSE is seeking views on the use automated protection systems on the railways. It says: 'Over the years there have been serious rail accidents caused by ‘signals passed at danger’ or ‘SPADs’. Public inquiries into the accidents have recommended that automatic train protection (ATP) should be installed on Britain's railways. This document… explains how ATP can substantially eliminate the problem, and tells you about the costs (not only financial) that are involved.' HSE adds: 'We want to ensure that the people protected by ATP, rail passengers, together with everyone else who may be involved in funding the necessary work (and that means all of us) understand the issues and can contribute to our decisions on the way forward.'

  • HSE briefing and online comments form. Alternatively you can send your response to HSE, Directorate of Railway Policy CL1, 3NW Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1 9HS - but don’t forget to let your union have your comments first

FEATURE on violence at work

Violence is fastest growing workplace safety concern

Violent assaults and threats are the fastest growing health and safety concern in the workplace, TUC research has found. Headline figures from the 2002 TUC survey of 5,000 union safety reps show the top five workplace health and safety concerns are: Overwork or stress, reported by 55 per cent of safety reps; repetitive strain injury (RSI), 37 per cent; display screen equipment, 34 per cent; back strains, 31per cent; and violence and threats, 30 per cent. TUC general secretary John Monks said: 'Stress is still the biggest health and safety problem facing workers, and RSI and back strain are major problems too. But the increase in worries about violence, which reflects actual increases in the number of assaults on workers, is especially troubling.' He added: 'Too many workers face the threat of violence when they go to work, and in some jobs, the only question is 'when' will you get attacked, not 'whether'. Workers are facing a rising tide of violence and employers haven't got to grips with the threat. Individual acts of violence are random, but violence itself is all too predictable in some jobs. That means the risk of violence can and should be assessed, managed and reduced.' The TUC findings are published in latest issue of Hazards, the TUC-backed health and safety magazine, and the full report of the survey will be published in December.

  • TUC news release. Stressed up, beaten up, webbed up - 2002 TUC survey of safety reps, Hazards 80, from Hazards, PO Box 199, Sheffield, S1 4YL, England. Place orders by email, telephone 0114 267 8936 or on the web

  • TUC-backed conference on violence at work, 2 December

Fear of violence is worst in job centres

Staff in Jobcentres, benefit offices and Jobcentre Plus offices fear violence more than any other workforce in the UK and only public transport workers are more worried about physical attack. New research commissioned by the union PCS found nearly half (49 per cent) of the respondents to the survey of 5,000 Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) staff had personally experienced violence at work in the last year. This rose to threequarters (76 per cent) for staff working in constant contact with the public and 84 per cent of these workers had witnessed violence in their workplace. The survey found that 43 per cent of DWP staff are worried about physical attack at work, rising to two-thirds for those staff in constant contact with the public. Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, commented: "This important research will feed into the current Jobcentre Plus safety review, that PCS members secured through over six months of industrial action (Risks 47). PCS and Jobcentre Plus management will have to work to build a safety strategy that will dramatically reduce the abuse and violence suffered by this vulnerable workforce."

Usdaw launches ‘freedom from fear’ campaign

Shopworkers’ union Usdaw has launched a campaign to rid the high street of violent robbers and abusive customers. The union will be taking its ‘Freedom from fear’ campaign to employers, local authorities, the police and to parliament in a bid to cut the escalating levels of violence and abuse inflicted on shopworkers. Deputy general secretary John Hannett said: 'Employees deserve to work in a safe environment, but with more than 20,000 staff physically attacked last year and more than 30,000 threatened or abused, our members are saying enough is enough.' He added: 'We’ll be lobbying employers, MPs, the police and the local authorities to help us protect our members. We want improved security measures and we expect the government to help to tackle crime. We also want retail crime and its reduction to become a key Police Performance Indicator. If we all work together then our members will have freedom from fear.' A members’ survey, a petition and an Early Day Motion are to follow, said Usdaw.

Global: United attack on health service violence

Faced with a mounting toll of violence afflicting on average one in every two health workers worldwide, a joint labour, health and public service initiative is aiming to help health professionals fight fear, assault, humiliation and even homicide where they work. The joint task force - the International Labour Office (ILO), the World Health Organisation (WHO), global public service union federation the Public Services International (PSI) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) - has launched Framework guidelines for addressing workplace violence in the health sector. Research shows that nearly 25 per cent of all violent incidents at work occur in the health sector and that more than 50 per cent of health care workers have experienced such incidents, with women especially vulnerable. Ambulance staff are at greatest risk, and nurses are three times more likely to experience violence in the workplace than other occupational groups. The report said psychological violence - including verbal abuse, bullying and mobbing - is even more common, with between 40 and 70 per cent of the victims reporting significant stress symptoms. The ILO is expected to adopt a Code of Practice on violence and stress at work in services - A threat to productivity and decent work in October 2003.

  • ILO news release. Related reports: Cary L Cooper and Naomi Swanson, Workplace violence in the health sector - State of the Art, ILO, WHO, ICN and PSI 2002. ISBN 92-2-113237-4; Vittorio di Martino, Workplace violence in the health sector - Country case studies (Brazil, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand, and an additional Australian study), Synthesis report, ILO, WHO, ICN and PSI 2002. ISBN 92-2-113441-5

Northern Ireland: Union in hospital talks after attack

The health union UNISON has met management at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast after a patient attacked staff and damaged a ward. The police were called and frightened patients had to be transferred to another ward during the incident. The patient, a man in his 40s, lifted a metal drip stand and lunged at the member of staff and drove it into the ceiling. 'The disturbing thing is that this is an increasing problem,' said Patricia McKeown of UNISON. 'At the weekend, staff who don't have the expertise to deal with patients of this nature, are left to control it or restrain it and that is something we will be speaking to the hospital about.' The hospital's director of nursing, Deirdre O'Brien, said the incident was intolerable. 'Nurses and doctors and other health professionals want to care for patients and should not be subjected to such harassment within the workplace.'

UNION NEWS

TUC wants dangerous employers held to account

The TUC has launched a major campaign for real corporate responsibility and accountability for health and safety at work. The campaign will culminate in a global day of trade union action on Monday, 28 April 2003 - International Workers’ Memorial Day. Writing in the latest edition of the TUC-backed health and safety magazine Hazards, TUC’s Owen Tudor that a series of corporate scandals had made corporate financial responsibility a major issue in the US. 'Unions want to convey the same message about corporate behaviour on health and safety,' he said: 'Some people in the business community want to adopt policies on corporate social responsibility as a substitute for legislation. Where that goes beyond the legislative minimum, that's OK. But the international trade union movement now wants real corporate accountability, which means that employers who break the law should be treated like any other lawbreaker. And when they have killed someone who works for them, they should go to jail for it.' In Britain, the TUC will be calling for: tougher enforcement of health and safety laws and higher fines; corporate killing legislation, and the extension of the possibility of a jail sentence for all breaches of health and safety law; more powers for union safety reps to influence how health and safety is managed at their workplace; and more inspectors to enforce the law.

  • Single copies of Making employers accountable for workers’ health and safety, the 4-page TUC/Hazards guide, are available free from Owen Tudor, TUC, Congress House, Great Russell St, London WC1B 3LS in return for a large SAE. Multiple copies can be purchased from Hazards

Ex-steel worker’s damages increased by £0.5m

A former steel worker who was awarded £3,500 in compensation for an industrial accident has had his damages increased to almost £500,000. Christopher Simmons, a member of steelworkers’ union ISTC, injured his head in a fall while working as a burner at British Steel's Clyde Bridge Works in Cambuslang more than six years ago. The 43-year-old sued the company after taking early retirement due to ill-health. Last year he was awarded damages of £3,573 at the Court of Session, where Lord Hardie ruled that depression and skin condition suffered by Mr Simmons stemmed from his anger at his treatment, rather than the head injury. However, the decision has been reversed by three appeal judges. The Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill, who heard the appeal with Lord Kingarth and Lord Caplan, said: "We conclude there was ample evidence to warrant the conclusion that all aspects of the medical consequences suffered by him were directly caused by the accident." British Steel was ordered to pay £498,221 in compensation.

Herdsman crushed by cow wins £29,000 damages

A herdsman who was crushed by a pregnant cow has been awarded nearly £30,000 in damages in a union-backed compensation case. TGWU member Michael Farley, 53, was injured in 1998 as he separated cows due to calve from the rest of the herd. He was off work for 18 months with a severely displaced fracture of his left arm that has led to permanent damage to the nerves and tendons. He has since retrained in information technology and now has a job in telecommunications. He told the Bournemouth Daily Echo: 'I'm happy with the fact we have been able to settle out of court. I never detested my employers and our relationships were good.' Peter Allenson, TGWU national secretary for agriculture, told Risks: 'There can be no real compensation for the pain from being crushed and receiving serious injuries. Money, likewise, cannot really make up for having to leave farming and carrying permanent damage. However, the TGWU is pleased that we have been able to settle Mr. Farley's claim with his former employer and that he can now look forward to a working life with some degree of security.' He added: 'This case, once again, highlights the dangerous nature of agriculture and how another experienced worker is lost to the industry through serious injury.'

Better jobs are the answer to nursing crisis

Half of all nurses have seriously considered leaving their jobs because poor conditions of service, a survey by UNISON has found. UNISON’s head of nursing, Pete Lowe, said: 'Our survey shows that long hours and increasing workloads are clearly taking their toll on nurses, and sadly this will have a knock-on effect on patient care.' Survey findings included: over 82 per cent of nurses said workload has increased, and nearly half of these - 44 per cent - said this had a detrimental effect on their health; 71 per cent said increased workload had a detrimental effect on their relationships outside and inside work; and 73 per cent say their working hours conflict with domestic commitments. Only 1 in 5 say their employers had implemented ‘family friendly policies’.

Alcohol problems hit NHS workers

Nurses, midwives and health visitors are at the sharp end when it comes to treating patients with alcohol use problems - and are also in the best position to recognise the danger signs. In recognition of this valuable role UNISON, the UK’s largest health union, and the Nursing Council on Alcohol (NCA) have introduced new awards for frontline workers. Pete Lowe, UNISON head of nursing, said: 'UNISON has called for specific training for nurses and other health workers to spot the signs of harmful drinking levels. Nurses in particular are in a good position to identify those at risk and offer advice. Unfortunately there is very little being done in the way of specific training to help them do that job effectively. Given that training, UNISON believes the result would be a significant reduction in the death toll and a considerable saving to the NHS.' He added: 'It is a common misconception that treating chronic long term alcohol use is the most significant cost to the NHS, but that’s just not the case. Most expense comes from the hidden or unexplored harmful use which results in physical, social or psychological consequences - such as accidents at home or in the workplace, and from drink driving related accidents, or from violence.'

OTHER NEWS

Teacher charged with manslaughter after school trip death

A teacher has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a 10-year-old boy, who drowned on a school trip to the Lake District. In May Lancashire schoolboy Max Palmer was swept downstream in a river close to Glenridding. The youngster was with a party of pupils from Fleetwood High School, Lancashire, where his mother Tricia, who was also on the trip, worked as an educational support assistant. Paul Douglas Ellis, 42, a teacher at Fleetwood High School, is charged with manslaughter and breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act. In a second case, a teacher who led a school boating trip in which a nine-year-old girl drowned has been fined £2,000 by a Portsmouth court. Science teacher Paul Dove, 66, had pleaded guilty to failing to take adequate precautions to protect the health and safety of children in his care. The nine-year-old, Elizabeth Bee, was a pupil at Boundary Oak School, Fareham, when the motorboat carrying nine children from the school capsized in Portsmouth Harbour in September 1999. The school was also fined £20,000 for failing to ensure the safety of its pupils and £5,000 for failing to ensure the safety of staff.

Crackdown on long hours

Junior doctors and some transport staff will be brought within the Working Time Directive during 2003, under new government plans. The proposals will extend the regulations - aimed at improving working conditions and workplace health and safety - to about 770,000 workers. The government is obliged by law to extend the working time regulations to some sectors that are currently exempted, by August 2003. New groups to be covered include junior doctors, some transport workers, railway workers and offshore workers. Announcing the consultation, employment minister Alan Johnson, said: 'We want to extend protection to more workers but also want to ensure their employers can cope with the changes. This consultation is not about whether we extend this protection but exactly how we do it.' Drivers’ union the TGWU said it would be gearing up for the new working hours controls with a campaign for a reduction in hours with no loss in pay.

Innovative stress pilot reduces teacher sick leave

A stressbusting project in York schools has reduced teacher absenteeism by 15 per cent and has been welcomed by teaching union NASUWT. Barrie Ferguson, past president of NASUWT, said the WELL project 'is one of the most positive things that has happened to the teacher workforce in York for sometime. And we are determined to assist its spread throughout all schools in York.' Mandy Coalter of City of York Education Services told the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development AGM that York Council has reduced its absence rates from 10.5 days to 8.9 per employee following a pilot project. 'We adopted an holistic approach by avoiding the stigma of ‘stress’ and recognising the close relationship between physical and mental health,' she said. 'If you are stressed it will affect your health, your performance and the performance of the team and organisation.' Project initiatives included an annual calendar of workload 'hotspots' so that peak times can be planned for, changing the marking policy to stagger workload better, and employing an extra teacher to release other staff from the classroom so they have time to plan. Key stressors identified were level of workload and level of work life balance. Mandy Coalter added 'many causes of stress will be organisational and will need to be addressed by management which needs to be committed to tackling this issue.'

Employers urged to health check their staff

Insurance firm Zurich Municipal is urging public sector employers to implement regular workplace health checks, after a 30 per cent rise in stress-related claims over the last 12 months. The firm has published a series of recommendations that call on employers to improve training as part of a drive to identify and deal with workplace stress. Alan Woof, underwriting director at Zurich Municipal, said increased pressure to improve local services and the fast pace of change was partly to blame. He said that insufficient time and a lack of training was exacerbating workplace stress. The TUC’s own 'stress MOT' (Risks 73) proved a massive success, with thousands of workplaces getting their own health checks from trade union safety reps.

Imaginary events, real risks

'Risk is subjective. It is a word that refers to a future that exists only in the imagination.' This is how HSE introduces its research report, Taking account of societal concerns about risk. It says in the report 'we characterise risk management as a balancing act involving uncertain rewards and costs, describe the different groups with which the HSE must contend in performing its balancing act, note the significance of the different types of risk about which they are concerned, and conclude that attempts to manage risk that a) ignore the rewards of risk taking, and/or b) exclude significant stakeholders, and/or c) fail to appreciate the type of risk it is sought to manage, are unlikely to succeed.'

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Union to pursue 'serial killers'

A mass meeting of 300 Australian Workers' Union delegates has endorsed an AWU campaign for a world-first national database of coroners’ information. The union is to seek federal and state government contributions to an Aus$1.5 million (£532,000) fund for the national coronial database. Victorian coroner Graeme Johnstone told workers a national database would help identify trends that may prevent workplace deaths and other fatalities. He said 7,500 Australians die of unnatural causes, which need to be investigated each year. AWU national secretary Bill Shorten said: 'If a serial killer was on the lose, everyone would be working on the case and identifying patterns to catch them. When a worker is killed in the workplace again and again that is equivalent to a serial killer.' He added: 'The crazy thing is we don't have a resourced system to track down the serial killers.' Mr Shorten said obvious areas for national investigation in the workplace included cancer rates, deaths by falls, forklift fatalities and suicides. The Victorian coroner’s office recently put official safety watchdog WorkSafe Victoria on alert over a number of workplace deaths caused by posthole diggers. Less than two weeks after this warning a worker was seriously injured by a posthole digger in Queensland.

Australia: workers go ape when told to spank the monkey

Protracted strike action looms at Sydney’sTaronga Zoo, where the 350 workers say they are sick of a management regime which links pay rises to their ability to coax animals in their care into procreating. Unions say front page stories of zookeepers being asked to help a sleeping gorilla masturbate is one example of a management gone mad, and point to problems including rampant casualisation, massive unpaid overtime, stress and job-related risks. Public Service Association organiser Stewart Little says the mating requirement is part of an increasingly rigid Performance Management System, being used to block increases in grading and, in some cases, even demote workers. 'You can't control the breeding of an animal - and your pay certainly shouldn't be linked to your ability to do so,' Little says. Meanwhile, the Australian Workers’ Union has launched legal action on behalf of Taronga maintenance workers who have been denied an allowance linked to their requirement to handle faeces.

Australia: Enforcer takes concrete action

The New South Wales minister for industrial relations has announced an official safety blitz on concrete formwork on building sites. John Della Bosca said the action by safety watchdog WorkCover would start in November. 'The Christmas period is approaching. This is traditionally a time when builders attempt to finish projects and risks are heightened,' he said. WorkCover is currently investigating the death of two building workers at Lake Cargelligo. One focus of that investigation is an engineering evaluation of the scaffolding and support structures used by the building contractor during the concrete pour. 'Although that investigation is not yet complete, I am convinced a safety blitz on formwork should commence as soon as possible. The death of two building workers at Lake Cargelligo is a tragedy and we will continue to do all we can to prevent further accidents.'

Australia: Union builds case against drug tests at work

Random drug and alcohol testing in the workplace will be discouraged under new guidelines being developed by union, police, health department and official safety agencies. Union body the New South Wales (NSW) Labor Council has brought together health and safety experts to draw up advice to employers after several companies tried to introduce policies that subject their staff to random testing. A NSW police forensic pharmacologist, Judith Perl, who is advising the Labor Council on the new guidelines, has warned that urine and saliva tests are unreliable. European studies showed many testing devices gave results that would not stand up in court, she said. Dr Perl said that bosses should focus on whether a person's drug or alcohol use impaired their behaviour, rather than simply on whether they had a substance in their body. She added that in most cases, employees found to have substances in their system should be offered rehabilitation or counselling through the company's employee assistance programme, rather than be automatically fired.

China: Coal mine fire kills 30

An underground fire in a coal mine in southern China has killed 30 miners. Another five have survived the disaster in the southern city of Nanning, 350 miles west of Hong Kong. Investigators believe the fire in the Ertang Coal Mine broke out after a power transformer ignited wooden pillars. The area where the miners were working quickly filled with poisonous gas. Safety officials say 4,257 coal miners in China have been killed in the first nine months of this year in fires, floods and explosions.

Finland: Growing problem of drug test use

Finnish companies are initiating employee drug testing programmes, even though employers and unions are yet to reach agreement on the issue. The National Public Health Institute estimates that about 10,000 drug tests will be conducted this year, and as many as 15,000 in 2003. A working group considering the ground rules of drug testing - the third in succession - is expected to present its proposals at the end of this year. Drug testing was initially confined to fields such as transport, security, and rescue work, but now it is expanding to other sectors. According to a the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the number of companies doing drug tests quadrupled in three years, from 103 in 1997 to 464 in 2000. The total number of employees at companies with a drug testing policy increased from 8,560 to 34,700. Finland’s trade unions say they are opposed to random testing.

Greece: Foot dragging on asbestos ban

Not only has Greece failed to take any action in preparation for 2005 European Union ban on the use of asbestos, but it is the seventh largest producer of the mineral worldwide, a top Greek doctor has warned. Hellenic Thoracic Society chair Panayiotis Behrakis said Greece is one of only two EU members not to have adopted any legislation on banning asbestos. A European Union-wide ban takes effect from 2005.

South Africa: Ex-gold miners show high level of lung disease

Shocking findings of the prevalence of lung diseases in former gold mineworkers have been revealed by a University of Transkei study. In a paper titled Patterns of lung disease in the former mine workers of the former Republic of Transkei , Banwari Meel, a doctor at the university’s faculty, found that of the 300 former mineworkers selected at random for testing, 221, or 78.2 per cent, suffered from lung disease. Meel said a 1989 study asserted that the mining industry had contributed directly to the spread of disease in the rural areas by creating conditions in the mines that encouraged the spread of infection and by repatriating those who became ill. Each year from 1980 to 1989 between 1,500 and 3,500 black gold miners were certified under the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act as having silicosis or silico-tuberculosis.

RESOURCES

New Unionism, new website

The TUC's new unionism project 'supports unions in increasing membership, building effective workplace organisation, recruiting and training more workplace reps - making a real difference for union members in the workplace and beyond.' The new unionism website includes sections on union reps, organising and resources. And a 'safety reps' page includes information on: what a safety rep does; safety reps’ legal rights; paid time off for safety rep training; and sources of more information and resources.

Hazards has stories, has resources

The TUC-backed Hazards magazine is out now, featuring news and information and resources on corporate crime, working hours, workplace notices, unions at work and a ‘Made in China’ photofeature. The award-winning Hazards team produce the only TUC-recommended independent health and safety magazine, read by more trade union reps than any other safety magazine. Union subscribers are eligible for massive discounts.

HSE strain injuries web resource

The Health and Safety Executive has created a workplace musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) webpage. HSE says its key messages about MSDs are: there are things that can be done to prevent or minimise MSDs; the prevention measures are cost effective; and you cannot prevent all MSDs, so early reporting of symptoms, proper treatment and suitable rehabilitation is essential. It adds that the regularly updated pages will 'explain what HSE is doing to tackle key issues as well as providing access to a range of information about MSDs.'

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!

National Stress Awareness Day, 6 November

Organised every year by the International Stress Management Association, and backed by the TUC and the HSE. This year’s theme is ‘Managing stress in an ever-changing world’. The TUC will be releasing the findings on stress of the 2002 TUC Survey of Safety Reps the day before.

TUC Organise 2002 Conference, 23 November

Worker Safety Adviser Janice Bentham and Health and Safety Minister Nick Brown MP are part of a glittering array of speakers at the TUC’s annual organising conference in London on Saturday, 23 November. Details are on the web.

Conference on Violence at Work, 2 December

Hosted by the TUC, this conference will be run by the Government Inter-Departmental Committee on Violence to Staff. For further information contact Tom Mellish.

Dates for 2003

International RSI Awareness Day conference, 28 February

The RSI Association are holding a conference in Nottingham to celebrate international Repetitive Strain Injuries awareness day (the last day of February is the only non-repeating date of the year). Further details from the RSI Association.

International Workers Memorial Day, 28 April

This year the theme will be corporate accountability for workers’ health and safety. The TUC will be co-ordinating a series of events around the country. A background briefing on the 2003 theme is available on the page of the TUC website devoted to Workers’ Memorial Day.

European Week for Health and Safety at Work, 13-19 October

The theme for the Week in 2003 will be 'dangerous substances'. The TUC will be stressing the hierarchy of control, and especially the need for substitutes and general toxic use reduction strategies. Key hazards dealt with will include asbestos, asthmagens and solvents.

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 SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER:

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

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 (5,600 words) issued 2 Nov 2002

This page http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-5755-f0.cfm
printed 23 May 2012 at 09:26 hrs by 38.107.179.230