Number 1070 *2 December 2022

Union News

Don't scrap EU rules, firms and unions say

Business groups and unions are urging the government not to go ahead with plans to ditch a wide range of EU laws, warning the move could put “vital protections” at risk. In a joint letter, groups including the TUC and the Institute of Directors called on ministers to withdraw its Retained EU Law bill. The letter, which was addressed to the business secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “We are concerned that if passed into law, [the bill] could cause significant confusion and disruption for businesses, working people and those seeking to protect the environment. The bill would automatically sweep away thousands of pieces of legislation and established legal principles.” The groups warn that the bill could endanger important rights derived from EU law, including holiday pay, safe working hours and protection from discrimination.
IoD news release. BBC News Online.

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University staff ‘absolutely burnt out’

University staff are suffering as a result of high workloads and precarious contracts, a UCU official has said. More than 70,000 staff at 150 universities across Britain, who are members of UCU, walked out last week in an ongoing dispute over pay, pensions and conditions. Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, UCU Scotland’s Mary Senior said staff are “absolutely burnt out” given their current conditions. She added: “Hundreds of university staff in Scotland are on short-term, fixed-term and hourly paid contracts. Their pay has lost value by 25 per cent since 2009. They are faced with unsafe workloads and precarious contracts in the sector. Those on hourly paid contracts aren’t often paid for the time to mark essays or to provide the extra support students need. We really are in an unsustainable situation.”
UCU news release. Morning Star.

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Working conditions poor at Boohoo warehouse

John Lyttle, the CEO of online fashion retailer Boohoo, is being urged to join a discussion ‘without preconditions’ with Usdaw following the latest revelations of poor conditions at the firm’s Burnley warehouse. An undercover reporter from the Times found workers “are forced to walk the equivalent of a half-marathon per shift in a sweltering warehouse in which night-time temperatures can reach 32C. Staff label themselves ‘slaves’ and have complained of racism, sexual harassment, gruelling targets, inadequate training and ill-fitting safety equipment. The harsh conditions have led to workers collapsing in the aisles, with an ambulance called to the site once a month on average.” Usdaw regional secretary Mike Aylward said “our message to Boohoo is clear, end your anti-union stance and refusal to talk because together we can resolve the very many issues your staff have endured over the years.”
Usdaw news release The Times.

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Flawed system for sorting ministerial bad behaviour

There are fundamental problems with the system of dealing with unacceptable ministerial behaviour, civil service union Prospect has said. The union was commenting after the government announced it has appointed an independent lawyer to look into allegations of bullying against justice secretary Dominic Raab. The findings of the investigation will be made public but the final decision will be left to the Prime Minister.
Prospect news release.

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FBU responds to damning criticism of London brigade

The firefighters’ union FBU has responded to an independent report that found incidents of misogyny, racism and bullying in the London Fire Brigade (LFB). The review was commissioned after the suicide of trainee firefighter Jaden Francois-Esprit, aged 21, in August 2020, which came after racist bullying. Gareth Cook, FBU regional organiser for London, said: “There is no place for such behaviour or attitudes within the fire and rescue service or within our trade union.” He added at that “the review highlights that morale and engagement in London Fire Brigade are low – 40 per cent are frustrated in their job. Staff shortages, poor workforce planning, no leave availability, poor work-life balance and low recognition are cited. The review also finds there is a need for increased trauma specialism and mental health awareness. For us these findings of poor morale and a need for better mental health structures are highly linked.”
FBU news release. The Guardian.

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Pilots start fatigue talks with Jet2

A collective conciliation process to resolve scheduling and rostering issues has started between the airline Jet2 and the pilots’ union BALPA. BALPA scheduling specialist Ian White said: “BALPA work closely with most UK airlines in a joint approach to the vital areas of crew scheduling and fatigue management, this joint approach is not only beneficial to the company’s pilots but also to the operators, in identifying potential scheduling issues and making positive changes before any major issues arise.”
BALPA news release.

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Freezing DVLA staff told to wear more clothes

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been accused of ‘recklessly’ telling staff to work in its Swansea HQ after the central heating broke last week. Laura Bee, an industrial officer with the civil service union PCS, said there was no hot water in toilets and workers were told to wear more clothes. She said temperatures dropped below 11 Celsius in the building, which was “not safe” for workers. Government guidelines say temperatures should not drop below 16C (61F) in office environments. Bee added the temporary heaters provided were small and unsuitable. “It's not lost on us that the DVLA saw the biggest Covid outbreak in the government estate, and we now see reckless actions to keep the site open, despite the fact that staff aren't able to wash their hands after using the toilet facilities, in hot water,” she said.
BBC News Online.

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Amazon workers protest on Black Friday

Amazon staff and their supporters have staged rallies in dozens of countries worldwide to demand better conditions while kicking off fresh efforts to unionise the retail giant’s workforce. The protests were timed to coincide with Black Friday on 25 November, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Amazon workers say Black Friday puts additional stress on them as they struggle to keep up with demand. Christie Hoffman, general secretary of the global union UNI, which is part of the Make Amazon Pay coalition, said: “It’s time for the tech giant to cease their awful, unsafe practices immediately, respect the law and negotiate with the workers who want to make their jobs better.”
Morning Star. The Guardian.

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Child dies after school infection outbreak

One child has died and another has been hospitalised after a bacterial infection outbreak at a primary school in Surrey. The UK Health Security Agency said the pupils at Ashford Church of England Primary School caught the invasive Group A Streptococcal infection (iGAS). Pupils and staff are being prescribed antibiotics. The bacteria, which is sometimes called Strep A, can cause Strep Throat, Scarlet Fever and other conditions. Early treatment with antibiotics is important as it helps reduce the risk of complications and the spread of the infection. Ruth Hutchinson, director of public health at Surrey County Council, said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of a pupil at Ashford Church of England School and we offer our sincere condolences to their family, friends and the whole school community, who are in our thoughts.”
BBC News Online.

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Top WHO scientist admits airborne Covid errors

The World Health Organisation’s outgoing chief scientist has expressed regret over the organisation’s early handling of the Covid pandemic. Soumya Swaminathan, 63, admitted that the WHO should have acknowledged earlier on that SARS-CoV-2 could be transmitted through the air as she reflected on her time in the post. Unions and many scientists urged WHO from early in the pandemic to introduce more protective guidelines to prevent airborne transmission of Covid-19. WHO instead issued and defended repeatedly guidelines recommending protective respirators for only a small minority of frontline workers, and downplayed the importance of good ventilation and physical distancing. The global union confederation ITUC challenged WHO at the outset on its “patently dangerous” recommendations. Most work-related Covid deaths occurred in the lengthy period where WHO refused to revise its guidance and recommend more protective measures.
Science.
Rory O’Neill. WHO Knew. How the World Health Organization (WHO) Became a Dangerous Interloper on Workplace Health and Safety and COVID-19

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Stressed out man found dead at workplace

A man who struggled with mental health difficulties should have been 'prevented' from going to his workplace, where he was found dead, an inquest has heard. Wayne Mason, 49, killed himself at Claxton Engineering Limited in Great Yarmouth on 17 March this year. The inquest, sitting at Norfolk County Hall heard that Mr Mason, who suffered from anxiety and depression, was signed off work by his GP seven days before his death. A statement by his sister Stephanie Mason read to the inquest stated her brother continued to go to work “unchallenged” and that his mental health issues were partly caused by work stress but “nothing was put in place to prevent him going to work”. Dr Myles Duffield, the deceased man's GP, told the hearing: “I didn't want him anywhere near work.” Samantha Goward, assistant coroner for Norfolk, recorded a conclusion of suicide.
Great Yarmouth Mercury
ACTION! Tell the HSE to recognise, record and take action to prevent work-related suicides.

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Work-stressed doctor took her own life

A hospital doctor took her own life after ‘struggling to cope’ with work stresses and a family bereavement, an inquest has ruled. Birmingham Queen Elizabeth Hospital junior doctor Dr Vaishnavi Kumar, who felt 'belittled' at work, often returned home crying. The 35-year-old, known as Vaish, who previously told how the Covid pandemic had “taken its toll”, took a lethal cocktail of medication before waiting more than three hours to call for an ambulance. By the time she arrived at hospital, she was critically ill and died on 22 June this year. Her father Ravi Kumar, who is also a doctor, told Birmingham Coroner's Court his daughter felt the hospital was a “hypercritical environment to work in.” Birmingham and Solihull assistant coroner Ian Dreelan, recording a conclusion of suicide, cited a “combination of factors”, including an underlying medical condition and “the family bereavement she had suffered and the work stress she had experienced and mentioned to a clinician when she sought help.”
Birmingham Mail.

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Payout after wind farm worker froze to death

The family of a security guard who froze to death at a Scottish wind farm has received a six-figure sum in compensation. Ronnie Alexander, 74, died in hospital after being found lying in snow at the site near New Cumnock, East Ayrshire. CSM Facilities and Farrans Construction, who were fined last year for criminal safety offences, will both pay half of the compensation. Mr Alexander was working as a security guard at the Afton wind farm construction site when the area was hit by heavy snow on 21 January 2018. A search was mounted after he failed to return home and mountain rescuers found him about a mile from his cabin more than six hours after his shift had finished. He was airlifted to hospital where he died of hypothermia. A generator had broken down and there was no back-up to provide heat, light or power. Security guards had no way of contacting the emergency services because of the patchy mobile phone service in the area.
BBC News Online.

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Trawler boss fined 10 years after safety crime

A trawler owner who told a crew to keep fishing instead of seeking medical help for an injured colleague has been fined £13,500 – over a decade after the incident. TN Trawlers Ltd director Thomas Nicholson, 60, who was not on the vessel at the time of the incident, admitted breaches of maritime safety law. In a text exchange with the skipper, he had insisted crewman Joel Quince, who had been knocked unconscious and was bleeding heavily from a head wound, needed only painkillers and a hot drink. As a result, there was a delay of 22 hours before the scallop dredger Philomena got back to shore. The injured man then had to phone a seaman’s mission to arrange transport to hospital. Sheriff Andrew McIntyre also ordered Nicholson to pay £3,000 compensation to the injured worker.
Daily Record.

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Boss gets community order after worker crushed

A demolition firm has been fined and one of its directors ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work after a 20-year-old worker was crushed, suffering life-changing injuries. Ace Demolition Services Ltd had been contracted by Southend Borough Council to demolish Futures Community College in Southend-on-Sea. Shannon Brasier, who was 20 at the time, was working with a colleague to load a fuel hose into the rear compartment of a 21-tonne excavator, when the excavator moved round and crushed her against a mobile fuel tank. She was fortunate to survive. The firm was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £9,731 costs. Company director John Gilligan, who was responsible for supervising the work, was given a 12-month community order with a requirement to undertake 250 hours of unpaid work.
HSE news release. Essex Live.

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Health board workers got vibration syndrome

A Welsh health board has been fined after three employees were diagnosed with Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). Powys Teaching Health Board required its employees to routinely operate handheld power tools such as lawn mowers, strimmers and hedge cutters without carrying out an assessment of the risks from exposure to vibration. There was no monitoring, or any estimate of exposure to vibration, even though employees, particularly during the summer months, operated handheld power tools for several hours a day. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the health board, which was fined £160,000 plus £5,599 costs, had ignored requests from its own occupational health department to conduct a risk assessment.
HSE news release.
 

International News

Australia: Union demands action on deadly stone

Pressure is growing on the Australian government to end the use of engineered stone products that can cause disabling and often fatal silicosis in the workers who handle them. Construction union CFMMEU warned that if the federal government does not ban production, importation and use of the material by July 2024, it will instruct its members not to handle it. Incoming CFMMEU national secretary Zach Smith said: “This product is killing workers and the reality is Australian workers will keep dying unless we ban engineered stone.” According to a 2021 report by the Australian government's National Dust Disease Taskforce, nearly one in four workers exposed to silica dust from engineered stone before 2018 has been diagnosed with silicosis. It can also cause lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.
ABC News. The Age.

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Dominican Republic: US acts on forced labour imports

The US government announced on 23 November that it will detain all imports of sugar and related products made in the Dominican Republic by Central Romana Corporation Ltd, amid allegations it uses forced labour. A US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) investigation found that the company isolated workers, withheld wages, fostered abusive working and living conditions and pushed for excessive overtime. CBP acting commissioner Troy Miller said: “The agency will continue to set a high global standard by aggressively investigating allegations of forced labour in US supply chains and keeping tainted merchandise out of the United States.”
CBP news release. Yahoo News.

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Europe: Stop bosses firing revenge porn victims

Bosses should be prevented from discriminating against victims of revenge porn and other forms of online sexual harassment at work as part of an EU directive on combating violence against women, the Europe-wide union confederation ETUC has said. Employers now routinely carry out online searches for prospective employees, which research has found has resulted in discrimination against victims of cyber violence in the labour market. ETUC acting general secretary Esther Lynch said: “The impact of image-based abuse on women’s economic security is violent and long lasting - it could not be clearer that it is a workplace issue yet that is not recognised in the draft directive… trade unions call on MEPs and ministers to ensure employers can no longer make victims pay the price of cyber violence.”
ETUC news release.

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Korea: Truck strike over broken safety promise

Truck drivers in South Korea announced indefinite strike action from 24 November after the government sparked fury by reversing its promises on Safe Rates legislation. The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) affiliate Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union (KPTU-TruckSol) called a halt to a strike in June after eight days when the government and industry agreed to continue and expand the Safe Rates programme. But since then, the government has caved to pressure from big business and done everything possible to block progress. “The government is backtracking on its promise to the detriment of workers and public safety,” said Bongju Lee, KPTU-TruckSol president. “We are prepared to strike until that changes. Legislation to make Safe Rates permanent and expand coverage must pass in the National Assembly. It’s as simple as that.”
ITF news release.