Risks * Number 1051 * 13 July 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
Keep staff safe as temperatures soar
Ministers must recognise Long Covid as a disability
One in 10 told to work despite infection signs
Ministers must act now as Covid infection rates rise
NHS fights sickness crisis as new Covid wave hits
Greening schools equals jobs plus safety
Union reports fire brigades to HSE
Maritime suicides are ‘unacceptably high’
Transport workers demand extra protection
MPs approve agency worker ‘scab charter’
Strike breaking bill ‘impractical’ and unsafe
Agency workers can’t drive trains
Broadcast bar fired staff after safety complaints

OTHER NEWS
Over 200 die in work-related incidents
Asbestos cancer deaths stay high
Site workers make up a quarter of all deaths
UK falling behind EU on chemicals standards
Rail firms criticised after fatigue near miss
Suspended sentence for dangerous contractor

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Australia: Stricter silica rules will save lives and money
Netherlands: Victory for seafarers on container lashing
USA: Covid risk linked to key jobs
USA: Protecting immigrant workers protects us all
 

UNION NEWS

Keep staff safe as temperatures soar

The TUC is urging employers to make sure their staff are protected from the sun and heat after the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued a heat-health alert. The union body wants a change in the law so that employers must attempt to reduce temperatures if they get above 24 degrees Celsius and workers feel uncomfortable. And employers should be obliged to provide sun protection and water. It would also like ministers to introduce a new absolute maximum indoor temperature, set at 30 degrees C (or 27 degrees C for those doing strenuous jobs), to indicate when work should stop. Working in hot weather can lead to dehydration, muscle cramps, rashes, fainting, and – in the most extreme cases – loss of consciousness and death. Outdoor workers are three times more likely to develop skin cancer.
TUC news release and TUC learning tool, Too hot, too cold - Too hot, too cold. Bectu news release. Fortune Magazine. Sign the petition for a maximum working temperature.
 

Ministers must recognise Long Covid as a disability

The TUC is urging ministers to recognise Long Covid as a disability, warning that many workers are suffering as a result of their jobs. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Two million people in the UK are now estimated to have Long Covid, with those workers in health and social care and education most likely to be affected.” She added: “With millions of people now experiencing Long Covid, we can’t afford to just wait and see what happens. The government must introduce these legal protections now.” The TUC is also calling on government to recognise Covid-19 as an occupational disease. This would entitle employees to protection and compensation if they contracted the virus while working.
TUC news release. Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK: 7 July 2022, ONS.
 

One in 10 told to work despite infection signs

Nearly one in 10 workers with Covid symptoms are being pressured by managers to come into work, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has said. Polling by the TUC reveals that 9 per cent of employees displaying symptoms have been forced into workplaces, and, in the past 12 months, 10 per cent have been asked to work alongside colleagues who had tested positive. TUC health and safety officer Shelly Asquith said vaccines were saving lives but Covid remained a real risk. “Conservative ministers have been too complacent in removing requirements for Covid-specific risk assessments in workplaces,” she said. “Make no mistake about it, this is a class issue. Those on low pay and in insecure work are significantly less likely to receive decent sick pay – with more than a million receiving nothing at all because they don’t earn enough.”
The Observer. The Mirror.
 

Ministers must act now as Covid infection rates rise

A sharp increase in Covid infection rates shows just wishing Covid away is dangerous, health service union UNISON has said. Responding to ‘alarming’ new Office for National Statistics data, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The fact the virus is spreading so quickly during the warmer months should set off alarm bells across the government.” She added: “Simply wishing Covid away is dangerous. If we don’t begin to prepare now for the inevitable winter wave, staff will be absent, services will be compromised and communities will be denied the quality public services they expect. Ministers must learn from the devastating mistakes of their predecessors, get ahead of the Covid curve and protect the vital public services.”
UNISON news release. ONS coronavirus data and latest insights.
 

NHS fights sickness crisis as new Covid wave hits

Hospitals are battling staff absences, exhaustion and persistent backlogs in the wake of the latest wave of Covid, as infection levels continue to rise across the UK. Dr Naru Narayanan, president of the HCSA, a hospital doctors’ union, commented: “NHS staff are already under intense pressure amid a workforce crisis and morale is at rock bottom. Exhausted staff are stepping up to ensure that patient care does not suffer, but every week is a battle to fill rotas.” He added: “The wisdom of watering down infection control procedures and removing face masks now looks decidedly lacking.” Prof Phil Banfield, the BMA council chair, said action was needed and called for a return of mask-wearing for patients, regular NHS staff testing and staff access to high-quality PPE.
The Guardian.
 

Greening schools equals jobs plus safety

Making UK school buildings energy efficient and fit for the future could also make schools safer and create tens of thousands of jobs, according to a new report from the TUC. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “If we invest now to make schools energy efficient, we will save a lot more in the long run. That means more money from school budgets going to education. It means a big cut in carbon emissions. And it means lots of good quality new jobs.” UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The pandemic showed ageing schools are unfit for purpose. Classrooms are too hot in summer, too cold in winter and ventilation is poor. Many still contain asbestos, which puts lives at risk. Patching up crumbling buildings is no longer an option.”
TUC news release and report, Schools built for the future: Why teachers, headteachers, school staff, and construction workers back school buildings upgrades, July 2022.
 

Union reports fire brigades to HSE

The firefighters’ union FBU has reported two fire and rescue services to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and identified several others, over concerns firefighters are to be sent to fires with their breathing equipment turned off. A letter from the union calls for the HSE to “investigate our complaint and use its statutory powers to bring an end” to this policy. Hampshire & Isle of Wight and Dorset & Wiltshire fire and rescue services have already brought in the change. Riccardo la Torre, FBU national officer, said: “The policy aims to push firefighters beyond the duration of a breathing set, let’s be clear that means placing firefighters beyond the point of rescue if they become injured or trapped.” In their letter to the HSE the union says the new system contradicts all expert advice and doesn’t allow firefighters time to don their breathing apparatus or escape to safety.
FBU news release and letter.
 

Maritime suicides are ‘unacceptably high’

Maritime union RMT has said the high levels of suicides at sea demonstrate the need for strong trade unions in supporting the mental wellbeing of seafarers. The union points to a study in the International Maritime Health journal that estimated 5.9 per cent of deaths at sea are connected to suicide. When ‘suspicious’ deaths that were possibly suicides were included, the percentage increased to 18.3 per cent. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “At a time when we are facing a cost-of-living crisis, the impact on our members’ mental health is immense. When it comes to suicide, employers must identify the problem by encouraging reporting, identify behaviours and identify ways to help. RMT is here to assist our members and employers to help with mental wellbeing and maritime workers when they run into difficulties.”
RMT news release.
 

Transport workers demand extra protection

Transport workers are demanding the same legislative protection as emergency service staff when it comes to assaults. Delegates at the RMT’s annual meeting agreed overwhelmingly that having transport workers covered by the Emergency Workers (Offences) Act would mean stronger sentencing guidelines for offenders at a time when assaults on staff are “through the roof,” according to RMT surveys. Central Line West delegate Ross Marshall said: “Several members of my team have end up on long-term sick or on the operating table as a result. This motion sends a message that our transport workers are supported in the same way as emergency service staff are.”
Morning Star.
 

MPs approve agency worker ‘scab charter’

Legal changes that end a ban on agency workers replacing striking workers have been slammed as a ‘scab charter’ that risks public safety and workers’ rights. Ministers approved controversial plans, voting through the regulations on 11 July by 289 votes to 202. The TUC had urged MPs to vote against the “pernicious anti-union measures”, which were also opposed by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC).
TUC news release. REC statement. The Guardian.
 

Strike breaking bill ‘impractical’ and unsafe

A new law that will allow the use of agency workers to replace strikers and which was pushed through by the Conservatives in response to rail strikes has been slammed by rail union RMT. The union’s general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The use of agency labour to break strikes is not only unethical and morally reprehensible; it is totally impracticable. Agency workers will not have the skill, training, or relevant competences to drive a train, to do complex maintenance work on the track, to signal trains or to do a whole host of safety critical work on the network.” He added: “Instead of trying to reduce trade union rights which are already the worst in western Europe, the government should be unshackling Network Rail and the train operating companies so we can secure a negotiated settlement on the railways.”
RMT news release.
 

Agency workers can’t drive trains

Train drivers’ union ASLEF has slammed the government’s ‘petty’ decision to introduce a ‘scab’s charter’ in Britain. It came as the union announced an overwhelming majority of its members working in eight train companies had voted to strike in a dispute over pay. Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, said the law “will put public safety at risk, and encourage not best practice, but worst practice, in British business.” He added: “What the government doesn’t seem to understand is that there aren’t any agency workers who can drive trains, anyway!”
ASLEF news release.
 

Broadcast bar fired staff after safety complaints

Staff at a Glasgow bar and music venue have said they were dismissed or had their hours cut after complaining about health and safety failures. Eleven employees at the Broadcast bar signed a grievance last week listing more than 50 concerns. Their union, Unite, said that within a week two new employees were dismissed - with one subsequently reinstated. Unite say the complaint was signed by 75 per cent of Broadcast's staff and lists “some of the worst breaches of health and safety we've ever dealt with.” The letter identifies several health and safety issues, many supported by photographic evidence, including staff being exposed to black mould in the office, bar and toilets. Broadcast said it was “shocked” by the issues raised and had arranged to meet staff and the union to discuss them.
BBC News Online.
 

OTHER NEWS

 

Over 200 die in work-related incidents

A hundred and twenty-three workers and 80 members of the public were killed in work-related accidents in Great Britain in the last year, according to new figures published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The figures cover the period from April 2021 to March 2022 and relate to work-related accidents alone and do not include deaths arising from occupational diseases or diseases arising from certain occupational exposures (including Covid-19), both of which dwarf the fatality toll. The industries with the highest deaths were construction (30), followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing (22), and manufacturing (22). However, agriculture, forestry and fishing had the highest rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers. The 123 worker deaths in 2021/22 is lower than the previous year, though it is in line with pre-pandemic figures.
HSE news release and report, Fatal injuries in Great Britain, 6 July 2022.
 

Asbestos cancer deaths stay high

Deaths linked to just one asbestos cancer are remaining around the high mark of over 2,500 cases each year, despite Health and Safety Executive (HSE) predictions that a sharp decline would start years ago. The new figures show that 2,544 people died from the disease in 2020. This was 6 per cent higher than the 2,404 deaths in 2019. It is broadly in line with the 2,523 average annual mesothelioma deaths figure over the eight year period from 2012 to 2019. The 2020 figure is the highest since the all-time high of 2,606 mesothelioma deaths was reported in 2016.
Mesothelioma statistics for Great Britain, HSE, 6 July 2022.
 

Site workers make up a quarter of all deaths

Thirty construction workers were killed on sites last year, according to the latest official figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Construction makes up nearly a quarter of the 123 workers killed in work-related accidents across all industries in the UK in the 12 months to March 2022. The 30 figure for construction is lower than the previous five-year average of 36 annual deaths and the previous year’s total of 40 workers killed.
Construction Enquirer.
 

UK falling behind EU on chemicals standards

The UK government confirmation it will not match new EU restrictions on a number of potentially hazardous chemicals will put people at risk, a chemical charity has warned. Chem Trust said there was the prospect of a “chasm” emerging between Brussels and the UK, leaving Britain with weaker regulations on chemicals that are potentially harmful to human health and the environment. Research by Chem Trust found that since Brexit the UK has matched only two out of five EU restrictions on chemicals that could be hazardous, with a further 20 EU restrictions in the pipeline. It is believed a lack of capacity at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is partly to blame for the government’s decision not to match EU levels of restrictions on chemicals. A May report by the National Audit Office warned it could take “a further four years” for HSE to recruit enough staff to ensure it can fully deliver its post-Brexit regulatory functions.
Chem Trust. Business Telegraph.
 

Rail firms criticised after fatigue near miss

A rail maintenance firm and Network Rail have been told to improve management systems after driver fatigue was linked to two trains almost colliding in Leicestershire, with officials noting just 10 seconds separated the engines from disaster. The findings made by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) follow investigations into the near miss at Sileby Junction, near Loughborough, when a rail grinding train and an empty passenger train almost collided on 5 May 2021. Wider concerns about fatigue management with the driver’s company, Colas Rail UK, were also raised by the RAIB. They said the firm’s risk management processes “did not prevent the driver from being affected by fatigue,” believing it was a probable underlying factor in him missing the warnings that led to him passing a red signal.
RAIB news release. Leicester Mercury.
 

Suspended sentence for dangerous contractor

A Blackburn based building contractor has been a suspended jail term after unsafe work methods resulted in a danger to workers and the public and asbestos being disturbed. Mohammed Shafiq, owner of a roller shutter business, purchased a former warehouse in Blackburn to convert into smaller work units, including one for his own use. He was using his own employees for the conversion work, but complaints from the public about unsafe working practices led to a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. Mohammed Shafiq pleaded guilty to criminal breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005. He received a 12-month suspended sentence and was fined £5,000 plus £4,636.08 costs.
HSE news release. LancsLive.
 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

 

Australia: Stricter silica rules will save lives and money

Preventing just five deaths a year caused by exposure to respirable silica would cover all the costs of far stricter controls on the cancer and lung disease-causing dust. Curtin University occupational cancer researchers Renee Carey and Lin Fritschi warn that that without this action, Australian workers over a working lifetime will develop more than 10,000 future lung cancers, or a ‘future excess fraction’ of around 1 per cent of all the lung cancers in the Australian adult population. Preventable exposures would also result in more than 80,000 cases of the often deadly lung scarring disease silicosis. Stopping workers from entering areas near crushers on mine sites would prevent 750 lung cancers and almost 7,500 silicosis cases, they note. They added banning engineered stone could save up to 700 young workers from developing these diseases.
The future burden of lung cancer and silicosis from occupational silica exposure in Australia: A preliminary analysis. Curtin University report commissioned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), 2022. The Conversation.
 

Netherlands: Victory for seafarers on container lashing

Unions have secured an important victory in the campaign for seafarers’ safety as a Dutch court has ruled that ship managers, ship owners and charterers must honour a clause that prevents seafarers from being assigned dangerous lashing work where professional dock workers are available. In 2020, the global union ITF and Dutch seafarers’ unions FNV Havens and Nautilus NL took Marlow Cyprus, Marlow Netherlands and Expert Shipping to court over their refusal to adhere to the Non-Seafarers’ Work Clause in the Netherlands. The companies signed up to the agreement in 2018 and the clause came into force two years later. The ruling from the Rotterdam District Court means that the companies who employ seafarers on shipowners’ behalf, must ensure that cargo handling is performed by trained local dock workers where possible, and not given to seafarers as an additional responsibility.
ITF news release. Nautilus news release.
 

USA: Covid risk linked to key jobs

A US government study has confirmed production, health care, food, construction, mining and certain other groups of workers face a higher risk of Covid-19 infections.  Scientists from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found the major occupational groups of “production", “building and grounds cleaning and maintenance,” “construction and extraction,” “healthcare support,” and “food preparation and serving” had the five highest test positivity percentages (16.7 per cent – 14.4 per cent). Highest detailed occupational categories (28.6 per cent –19.1 per cent) were “massage therapist,” “food processing worker,” “bailiff, correctional officer, or jailer,” “funeral service worker,” “first-line supervisor of production and operating workers,” and “nursing assistant or psychiatric aide.”
Cox-Ganser JM. et al. COVID-19 test positivity by occupation using the Delphi US COVID-19 trends and impact survey, September–November 2020. AJIM. Early view 5 July 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.23410
 

USA: Protecting immigrant workers protects us all

All workers, regardless of their immigration status, must feel free to participate in US Department of Labor (DoL) investigations and proceedings “without fear of retaliation or consequences”, according to a government policy clarification. The DoL has now created a tailored system for workers to register concerns about “abusive and exploitative labour practices,” with some protection from the attention of the immigration services. Liz Shuler, president of the national union federation AFL-CIO, commented: “When immigrant workers are scared into silence, violations go unchecked — and that makes us all less safe at work.”  She added: “We applaud the DoL for clarifying how immigrant workers can request needed protections and call for appropriate staffing and resources to ensure that these important new protocols can be effectively implemented.”
AFL-CIO News reléase. Department of Labor News reléase.

PUBLICATIONS
 

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 2022

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