Number 1066 * 03 November 2022

Union News

Night workers face lower pay and higher risks

The 3.2 million workers who regularly work nights face lower pay and higher work-related risks to their health, the TUC has warned.  A new analysis published by the union body reveals that 3 in 10 (28 per cent) night-workers earn less than £10 and 7 in 10 (69 per cent) earn less than £15 an hour, roughly the UK median wage. The TUC adds that in addition to no evidence of ‘premium pay’, the health risks of regular night work include cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression. It adds workers, particularly women, are at greater risk of harassment and attacks in their journey to and from work when it’s late at night. The TUC says employers should consider the health hazards of night working in risk assessments and take responsibility for workers’ safety travelling to and from the workplace at night. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said night workers deserve better pay and conditions, adding: “Working through the night is tough – with night-workers at higher risk of health problems and disruption to their daily lives.”
TUC news release.

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Tram staff anger over treatment of terminally ill workers

GMB members working across Nottingham’s tram network have begun balloting for industrial action over the mistreatment of two terminally ill GMB members employed by Keolis, the company responsible for the city's tram system. The move was announced after the company said it would slash the pay of veteran workers Robert Currie and David Brown as they battle life-threatening conditions. Keolis is a signatory to the ‘Dying to Work Charter’, the agreement with GMB and the TUC to guarantee vital protection for workers when facing terminal illness. Management has now indicated it could withdraw from the agreement. Colin Whyatt, GMB organiser, said: “GMB members are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with colleagues facing these hardships and will take the decision on the next steps in their campaign in the coming weeks.”
GMB news release.

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New guide on shooting intimate scenes 

Creatives union Bectu has published guidance for shooting intimate scenes in the UK film and TV industry. Authored by its Intimacy Coordinators Branch, practicing intimacy coordinators and film and TV professionals, the guide establishes a set of industry standards. Head of Bectu Philippa Childs said: “Intimacy coordination provides vital support for artists during the preparation, rehearsal and shooting of intimate action and its increasing use is a welcome move to further establish an environment of safety for actors on set.” Bectu Intimacy Coordinators Branch Chair Yarit Dor said: “Our aim was to create a guidance that shows the full scope of what it takes to shoot intimate action and the web of safety that includes all departments in the process. We will continue to update it as the practice evolves.” 
Bectu news release and full guidance.

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End impunity for crimes against journalists - NUJ

UK journalists’ union NUJ is backing a call for an end to violence against journalists and for those responsible to be held to account. On 2 November 2022, International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, the NUJ said it was throwing its weight behind the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) campaign. Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: “Today, the NUJ is launching a new safety toolkit offering practical tips to journalists to help protect them wherever they work. Information on cyber threats, mental health support and physical safety all feature in the much-needed resource.” She added: “We continue to support members and work with sister unions globally to highlight the damaging impact crimes against journalists has on individuals, their families and the press.”
NUJ news release. IFJ news release.

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Aberdeen school action over 'violent' pupils

Teachers at an Aberdeen school are being balloted for industrial action over escalating pupil violence against staff. The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said there were serious concerns over the safety of staff at Northfield Academy. EIS Aberdeen local association joint secretary Heather Collie said teachers were well accustomed to dealing with pupil indiscipline, but added: “What will always be unacceptable, however, is where challenging behaviour escalates to become violence or the threat of violence against a member of teaching staff.” She said: “It is, unfortunately, the case that violence against teachers, both physical and verbal, perpetrated by a very small percentage of pupils, has become far too frequent at Northfield Academy.”

EIS news release. BBC News Online.

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MPs bullying and humiliating staff, inquiry told

MPs’ staff are being undermined, humiliated and shouted at in public, according to anonymised evidence given to an inquiry by the Speaker of the House of Commons. In submissions to the Speaker’s conference on employment of members’ staff, two unions, Unite and the GMB, said the current system for supporting those who work for MPs was not adequate. Separate surveys by the unions found widespread bullying and harassment of MPs’ staff. Under current rules, MPs directly employ their staff, allowing them to set pay, review performance and dictate hiring and firing. However, some politicians have never had previous experience of running an office. The Speaker’s conference will set out its terms of inquiry in the coming days, and will publish a range of options for improving the system for MPs’ staff in the new year, with a view to a final report in 2023.
The Guardian.

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Surveillance software being used on tech workers

One in five tech workers are subject to employee monitoring or gathering technologies, according to a new Prospect survey of members and non-members in tech jobs. The union surveyed 376 tech workers to access their priorities and concerns in the workplace. Only 11 per cent of respondents reported being very sure what data their employer collects about them and why. Andrew Pakes, Prospect research director, said: “Digital technology means that we can now work almost anywhere, but it also means our work can follow us everywhere. The fact that this surveillance is affecting tech workers shows the extent to which digital technology is changing how we are managed and work. The survey highlights the need to update employment rights now to cover data use and monitoring technologies.” Excessive monitoring has been linked to stress, strain injuries and other adverse health effects.
Prospect news release.
 Other News

HSE must combat AI spying at work

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) must be empowered to combat the creeping use of artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor staff in the workplace, MPs have been told. Dr Matthew Cole from the Fairwork, which promotes better working practices for app-based employees, was addressing an evidence session called by the cross-party digital, culture, media and sport committee, which is investigating the growing spread of Alexa, Siri, wearable Fitbits and other smart technology in homes, offices and factories nationwide. Cole backed calls from unions for the “empowerment of labour inspectorates which need to play a greater role in the regulation of AI systems.” He added: “HSE should play a greater role in the regulation of AI systems, to uphold standards of employment.” Cole said “excessive monitoring” can lead to “increased stress and anxiety and we know they can have significant negative impact on health.”
Connected tech: smart or sinister?, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee investigation, 1 November 2022 oral hearings and video of evidence session. Fairwork. Morning Star.

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Many skip work and get sick over hygiene shame

People's inability to afford essential hygiene products is leaving many too ashamed to go to work and is adversely affecting their physical and mental health, a charity has revealed. Hygiene Bank suggests 3.2 million UK adults are affected by so-called hygiene poverty, where items like soap, toothpaste and period products are unaffordable - with 12 per cent saying they have avoided facing colleagues as a result. Three in five (61 per cent) experiencing hygiene poverty say it has negatively impacted their mental health and a third their physical health. Hygiene Bank said its survey of nearly 2,200 people, in partnership with polling company YouGov, suggests the numbers impacted by hygiene poverty equated to 6 per cent of all UK adults, rising to 13 per cent from lower income households and 21 per cent of disabled people. The data in the report draws on surveys conducted between October 2021 and February 2022, before the recent surge in the cost of living, meaning the pressures described are now likely to be even worse, says the charity.
Hygiene Bank: Hygiene Poverty 2022, October 2022. BBC News Online.

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HSE blasts offshore firm over asbestos risk

The UK’s safety regulator has reprimanded Apache over its handling of incidents in which offshore workers were potentially exposed to asbestos on its Forties Charlie platform. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued the North Sea operator with two improvement notices after it discovered a six-week delay to the firm’s incident reporting, and a lack of key safety paperwork. HSE said that asbestos fibres may have been unintentionally disturbed during fabric maintenance work on Forties Charlie on 10 April 2022. Apache determined there may have been a risk on 11 June but failed to notify the HSE of the occurrence until 10 August, following up with an official report on 15 August – 45 working days after the incident had been confirmed. HSE had earlier warned the company to revise its reporting procedures on Apache assets, noting that during another inspection on Forties Delta in March 2021, it uncovered two dangerous occurrences of which had not been notified.
Energy Voice.

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Director gets community order after fire risk failings

A building firm has been fined £600,000 and its director has been ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and fined £4,200 following serious and repeated failings in managing the risk of fire during work at a construction site. In January 2018, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) proactive inspection took place at a S&S Quality Building Contractors Limited at a construction site in Brentwood, after a concern was raised that people were sleeping on site. The firm had previously been subject to HSE interventions after risks of a fire had been identified across a number of sites over several years. S&S Quality Building Contractors Limited was fined £600,000 plus costs of £36,894. Company director Shlomo Pines pleaded guilty to a criminal safety offence and received a community order to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and was fined £4,200.
HSE news release.Events

Scottish Hazards Conference, 17 November 2022

The 22nd Scottish Hazards national conference will take place on 17 November, on the theme ‘Organising for Safe and Healthy Work’. Speakers at the in-person event including STUC deputy general secretary Dave Moxham will give updates on campaign issues, including the Fair Work Construction Inquiry and Long Covid. There will also be workshops on: Toxics Use Reduction; Long Covid - Law and Practice: Fire Safety - Cameron House Case Study; Mental Health and Hybrid Working; and Neurodiversity.
Register for the Scottish Hazards National Conference, 10am – 3.30pm, City of Glasgow College, Glasgow, 17 November 2022. The cost is £60 per delegate, which includes lunch.International News

Canada: Manufacturing had most workplace Covid deaths

Working in manufacturing came with the highest risk of work-related Covid death in Ontario, official figures from the Canadian province have shown. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board fatality reports, from the start of the pandemic to the end of 2021, reveal the vast majority of those who died had working class jobs. Many received no pay from their employers as they tried to recover. The fatality reports reveal that manufacturing suffered the single greatest number of fatalities - more than any other sector, including health care. Together, manufacturing, including food processing, and warehousing accounted for more than one third of all workplace fatalities, a Toronto Star data analysis shows. Health care, including long-term care as well as home and residential care, accounted for the second highest number of deaths, with a fifth of total claims.
Toronto Star.

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Gibraltar: No excuse for online abuse of teachers

Teaching union NASUWT has welcomed a statement from the Gibraltar government criticising online abuse of teaching staff. The union is now urging the government, school employers and social media companies to take action immediately to protect teachers and pupils. NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “The NASUWT is clear: there is no excuse for abuse of teachers - online or offline. Gibraltar’s teachers deserve no less than to work in the same safe, respectful, and supportive conditions that they actively create for our pupil’s learning environments.” He added: “Actions not words are required from employers, ministers, and social media companies to protect teachers and pupils from the complex and ever-growing risks of online harms.”
NASUWT news release.

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Turkey: Arrests over deadly coal mine blast

Eight suspects have been remanded in custody for “causing the deaths of multiple persons by gross negligence” in an investigation into the 14 October mine explosion in the Amasra, Turkey. Forty-one mine workers were killed and more than 20 others were injured in the firedamp explosion in the mine operated by the Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise Institution (TTK). On 27 October, 24 suspects, executives, occupational safety managers and engineers, were detained. A report from the Amasra Chief Public Prosecutor's Office indicated there had been insufficient investments and systems to discharge accumulated gas and dust in the tunnels. Inspection and occupational safety measures were also insufficient.
Bianet.

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USA: Serious biolabs incidents go undisclosed

Hundreds of dangerous incidents in US biolabs have occurred but were not disclosed to the public, Freedom of Information Act requests have revealed. An Intercept investigation based on over 5,500 pages of National Institutes of Health documents involving 18 years of lab incident reports has uncovered a litany of mishaps, from malfunctioning equipment to a sedated macaque coming back to life and biting a researcher hard enough to lacerate their hand. Several happened while scientists were handling deadly or debilitating viruses in highly secure labs, with some incidents leading to illness. Documents show that incidents happen even in highly secure BSL3 and BSL4 labs, and that in some cases they lead to infection.
The Intercept.