Risks * Number 1049 * 30 June 2022

Risks is the TUC's weekly newsletter for safety reps and others, sponsored by Thompsons Solicitors.

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of RISKS, the TUC’s weekly update on union health and safety news.
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UNION NEWS

Strike breaking plan will ‘endanger public safety’

The government’s decision on 23 June 2022 to lift the ban on the use of agency workers during strikes will endanger public safety, the TUC has warned. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “These plans are a deliberate attempt to undermine the right to strike and to reduce workers’ bargaining power. Bringing in less qualified agency staff to deliver important services will endanger public safety, worsen disputes and poison industrial relations.” The TUC and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) issued a joint statement on 20 June calling on the government to abandon its plan to lift the ban on agency workers filling in during strikes.  
TUC news release and TUC/REC joint statement. Unite news release.
 

Agency worker plans ‘desperate and dangerous.’

Plans to change the law so that agency workers can be used to cover strikes have been condemned as ‘desperate and dangerous’ by the rail union TSSA. The rail union’s general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “Bringing in strike breaking workers who do not possess the knowledge or skills to run a safe railway is deeply troubling.” He added: “Ministers really should think again and ditch these proposals before a mistake is made which costs lives on our railways." TSSA is also demanding an investigation into rail safety after reports of multiple trains being sent in the wrong direction and some attempting to leave stations when signals were on red during strike action on 21 June.
TSSA news release and investigation demand news release.
 

Workers’ rights warning over post-Brexit trade deals

Ministers have been accused by the TUC of pushing for post-Brexit trade deals with more than a dozen countries that do not guarantee workers’ rights or systematically violate employee protections. The union body said ministers were in active talks with 13 nations with a worrying track record on employment rights, including Brazil, Burundi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in order to secure trade deals after leaving the EU. The TUC said the continued failure to properly consult unions in trade talks was leaving workers around the world worse off, with ministers agreeing deals lacking any enforceable labour standards. Out of the 67 non-EU countries the government has negotiated trade deals with, as many as five are listed in the 10 “worst countries in the world for workers” according to an index published by the global union confederation ITUC.
The Guardian.
 

Most sick workers in Wales carry on working

A shocking number of people have continued to work while unwell during the pandemic, according to a new survey.  YouGov polling, commissioned by Wales Trades Union Congress (Wales TUC), reveals that two-thirds (65 per cent) of people who were sick in the last 12 months had carried on working. The trade union body – which represents around 400,000 workers in Wales through its affiliated unions – said this shows how the sick pay system is failing workers and is a danger to public health. Shavanah Taj, Wales TUC general secretary, said: “The reality is that the majority of workers in Wales have gone to work while they’re sick during a pandemic. The UK’s sick pay system is a liability, and this will only get worse as more people struggle to make ends meet because of the cost of living emergency.”
Wales TUC news release.
 

Absence of sick pay for care workers exposed

More than half of care workers employed in the private sector receive under £100 a week if they take time off sick, with many getting nothing at all, a UNISON survey has found. The results highlight the precariousness of low-paid care staff in unstable employment who fear the consequences of taking time off when ill, the union said. More than 2,000 people working in social care – and employed either by private companies or in the not-for-profit sector – took part in the survey.  Nearly half (48 per cent) said that they normally only receive statutory sick pay (SSP, currently £99.35 a week) if they’re absent due to ill health. And a further one in twelve (8 per cent) say they get no pay at all.
UNISON news release.
 

Ambulance staff unable to drive new vehicles

Dozens of staff at an ambulance trust are unable to drive its £54m fleet of new vehicles due to their height or body shape. Documents obtained by freedom of information requests reveal a string of problems with converted Fiat Ducatos, which replaced ageing Mercedes vans at the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST). The vehicles are part of an NHS drive to standardise its fleet and are being adopted by trusts across the country. The trust brought in a specialist to assess 160 staff members who had reported a range of problems. Ninety-four were identified as being unable to drive the vehicles. Complaints ranged from back pain, not being able to see out of the windscreen properly to knees and shins scraping the dashboard. The trust branch of the union UNISON is now working with colleagues around the UK to challenge the national specification.
BBC News Online. The Guardian.
 

OTHER NEWS

Shocking scale of abuse facing frontline staff

Abuse and violence towards shop workers and service staff is on the rise again, research shows, with a quarter of those reporting hostility blaming the cost of living crisis putting increased stress on customers. Figures from the trade body the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) revealed 44 per cent of frontline retail staff have experienced hostility from customers in the past six months – up by a quarter from the figure of 35 per cent in February. The findings came on 28 June, as new powers under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 came into force which will allow for stiffer penalties for those who attack and abuse shopworkers. Commenting on the ICS figures, retail union Usdaw called for more action to ensure that abuse, threats and violence against shopworkers are taken seriously.
Usdaw news release. The Guardian.
 

Boss jailed for 13 years after pig feed drowning tragedy

An owner of a food waste recycling company that was convicted of corporate manslaughter after the tragic deaths of two employees has been jailed. Nathan Walker, 19, and 35-year-old Gavin Rawson died in 2016 after falling into a road haulage tanker containing semi-liquid pig feed at Greenfeeds Ltd. Sixty-year-old Gillian Leivers, who was responsible for the day-to-day running of the site, was handed a 13-year prison sentence after being found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter at an earlier trial. Her husband, Ian Leivers, 59, who owned and ran the company with his wife, was jailed for 20 months after being found guilty of criminal breaches of safety law. Stewart Brown, 69, who was the transport manager, was sentenced to a year in jail, suspended for two years, after being convicted of a criminal safety breach. Gillian and Ian Leivers were also disqualified by the court from being company directors for 15 years and 10 years, respectively. Greenfeeds Ltd, which is in liquidation, was fined £2 million.
Leicester Police news release and related releases on Nathan Walker and Gavin Rawson. Melton Times. The Lincolnite. The Guardian. BBC News Online.
 

Deadly history shouldn’t be allowed to repeat itself

The parents of a man who was one of two killed in horrific incident at Greenfeed Ltd have asked why regulators had not been allows to continue operating after an early death in similar circumstances.  Gavin Rawson's mother Linda said her son and Mr Walker had “no hope whatsoever” of escaping a pig feed tanker, due to the lack of ladders inside the tank and breathing equipment on the site. “It was inevitable somebody was going to get hurt,” she said. She demanded to know why the company was allowed to continue, following an incident in 2005 that saw Greenfeeds convicted in 2006 for criminal breaches after the death of an employee involved in tanker cleaning. She said: “Why was there no other enforcement to stop them? If the food industry was stricter, they should go in, check them and close them down. Why weren't they closed down after 2005? Why were they allowed to get away with it?”
BBC News Online.
 

‘Due diligence’ failure led to horror fall

A Blackburn warehouse firm has been fined for failing to undertake ‘due diligence’ checks on a roofing firm.  Floors ‘n’ Carpets Limited was prosecuted after an inadequately trained employee of roofing contractor Nizamuddin Gorji fell approximately 30 feet through a glass skylight on a warehouse roof, resulting in life changing injuries.  Gorji was engaged by the firm to over-clad the existing roof. On 14 May 2020, one of the workers, Taj Zahir, fell through the roof sustaining serious injuries to his pelvis, arm, knee and face and has undergone extensive surgery since. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Floors ‘n’ Carpets Limited failed to undertake due diligence checks on the roofing contractor’s documents and ensure a construction phase plan was prepared prior to work commencing. The firm was fined £96,000 plus £36,919.75 costs.
HSE news release.
 

Carlsberg fined £3m following ammonia tragedy

Carlsberg has been fined £3 million following a November 2016 ammonia gas leak from a refrigeration system at one of its breweries that killed father-of-two David Chandler, 45, and seriously injured David Beak, now 57. Both were employees of sub-contractor Speedrite NE Ltd. Birmingham Crown Court heard Carlsberg had failed to put in place appropriate isolation controls at its Northampton brewery to prevent exposure to ammonia before work started to remove a compressor from a refrigeration system. Twenty people needed hospital checks. Carlsberg Supply Company UK Ltd, who were summonsed under their new company name of Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company, pleaded guilty to three criminal safety offences and was fined £3 million with costs of £90,000.
HSE news release. Northampton Chronicle.
 

EVENTS

Protecting workers from extreme temperatures, webinar, 30 June

As temperatures soar throughout the summer employers are responsible for providing a working environment that is reasonably practical, safe and without risks to health. Join us for a discussion with TUC safety specialist Shelly Asquith, Ian Hodson, BFAWU president and safety lead and Sarah Lyons, lead officer for health, safety and environment at NEU, who will discuss what reps can do to ensure their employers assess risks and introduce any necessary prevention or control measures in the workplace. The TUC will also launch a new TUC Education e-learning resource for reps: ‘Too hot, too cold - How to protect workers from extreme temperatures and fight climate change.’
Protecting workers from extreme temperatures in the workplace, webinar, Thursday 30 June, 2pm. Register. TUC Education online micro-learning resources on tackling extreme temperatures and fighting climate change.
 

Find out about ‘fundamental’ safety, 1-3-30pm, 11 July online

An online information session hosted by the ILO International Training Centre is to be held on 11 July on the topic ‘A Safe and Healthy Working Environment is now a Fundamental Principle and Right at Work’. The session will provide detail on the game-changing June ILO decision, which elevated occupational health and safety to join the four other ‘fundamental’ rights at work [the right to organise, and protection from child labour, forced labour and discrimination at work] that must be observed by all ILO’s 187 member states. These core ILO safety rights include a duty on employers to consult with workers and their representatives, training, and the right to refuse dangerous work.
A Safe and Healthy Working Environment is now a Fundamental Principle and Right at Work, 1.30-3.00pm UK time, Monday 11 July [in English, with simultaneous interpretation to French and Spanish]. Register online.
 

UK Hazards Conference, Keele, 29-31 July 2022

The National Hazards Conference, the biggest and best workers’ health and safety event in the UK, will again be face-to-face this year. The Hazards Campaign-organised conference, on the theme ‘Decent work is safe and healthy’, is returning to its usual Keele University venue after two years online. This year, there is also an online option for those who would rather not attend in person. The conference, which features top speakers and a wide range of workshops and provides unparalleled opportunities to network and exchange ideas, relies on delegate fees and union sponsorship to survive.
UK Hazards Conference, Keele University, 29-31 July 2022. Online booking form and programme to download or complete online. Sponsorship form.
For further information, email hazconf@gmhazards.org.uk or call 07734 317158.
 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Global: Time to raise our game on fundamental safety

After a stunning global union campaign against determined resistance, occupational health and safety last month joined the big four – child labour, forced labour, discrimination and the right to organise – in the ILO’s top priority universal labour rights.  But Owen Tudor, deputy general secretary of the international union confederation ITUC, has said this “is only the beginning.”  Writing in Hazards magazine, he noted: “Unions and safety campaigners, victims’ families and others will need to raise our game.” He said the ITUC “looks forward to working with grassroots campaigners in the Hazards movement to make sure we put the gains we have made in Geneva into practical effect in every workplace on the planet, for every worker whatever their employment contract, regardless of gender, race or job.”
Owen Tudor, The Fifth Element, Hazards magazine, 2022. BWI news release.
 

Europe: Firefighters discuss work cancer response

The UK Fire Brigades Union’s pioneering DECON project has been showcased at a meeting of the Europe-wide European Public Service Union (EPSU) Firefighters’ Network. Riccardo la Torre, FBU national officer, said: “DECON is here to stay in the UK fire and rescue service. It’s got the entire sector speaking about the risk posed, and now firefighters from across Europe are keen to learn from each other.” He added: “This meeting was also a huge opportunity for us to listen and discuss these issues, and we look forward to getting back to the UK and working with fire and rescue services to make progress on DECON and saving firefighters from early, needless deaths. Neither the bosses or the government have done this domestically, it’s been down to FBU members and the Firefighters 100 Lottery to carry out this life-saving work.”
FBU news release and DECON project.
 

Europe: Danger alert for defective 3M asbestos masks

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has drawn the attention of all its European affiliates to a warning about defective Proflow asbestos masks manufactured by the US 3M corporation. These protective masks are the most widely used in asbestos removal operations throughout Europe. In France alone, they are regularly worn by more than 25,000 workers.
ETUI news release.
 

Europe: Pollution causes 10 per cent of all cancer cases

Exposure to air pollution, second-hand smoke, radon, ultraviolet radiation, asbestos, certain chemicals and other pollutants causes over 10 per cent of all cancer cases in Europe, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report. Most of these environmental and occupational cancer risks can be reduced by preventing pollution and changing behaviours, according to 'Beating cancer — the role of Europe’s environment.’ Reducing exposure to these risks offers an effective and cost-effective way of reducing cancer cases and associated deaths, it says.
EEA news release and Beating cancer — the role of Europe’s environment
 

TUC Hazards at Work 6th Edition

Stock Code: HS111
Price £22 RRP £52
Also now available as an eBook
This is the Sixth edition of the TUC's best-selling guide to health and safety at work.
Used by reps, officers, employers, professionals in the field and even enforcement officers. This incredibly popular book is now even more informative at over 400 pages, an invaluable resource, which incorporates common hazards and cause of ill health at work, and how to assess and prevent them.
The book also contains HSE and other guidance, extensive checklists, case studies and web resources.
Order your copy
There are discounts on bulk orders, over 5 copies, please contact us for details.
Those on TUC approved courses can receive discount, please call for details 0207 467 1294. Or email at: publications@tuc.org.uk
 

TUC COURSES FOR SAFETY REPS

Courses for 2022

Find the latest courses at https://www.tuc.org.uk/TUCcourses