Risks: Union health and safety news - Number 1022 - 18 November 2021 (copy 01)

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

COVID NEWS
Mandatory care vaccines creating staffing ‘black hole’
PM defied mask up request on hospital visit
Worker ‘suspended’ for getting Covid booster jab

OTHER NEWS
UK ratifies prevention of violence at work treaty
Violence against shopworkers widespread but unreported
AI is ‘damaging mental health’ of workers
Union slams school inspections acceleration
Warning on work-related mental health ‘crisis’
Hotel worker overdosed days after being fired
Covid-concerned menopausal key worker killed herself
CWU welcomes tachograph safety agreement
Ferry workers to strike over ‘year of misrule’
Ambulance staff concern over unqualified military role
Night Tube plan places ‘impossible’ demands on staff
Builders are ‘gaming system’ on fire safety rules
Fine after apprentice loses sight in one eye

EVENTS
Health and safety in Scotland’s hands, online conference, 24 November

RESOURCES
Health and access to toilets at work

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Global: Shein garment makers doing 75-hour weeks
Portugal: Bosses banned from messaging staff after hours
Qatar: Migrant workers still exploited ahead of World Cup
USA: Amazon agrees worker ‘right to know’ settlement
 

COVID NEWS

Mandatory care vaccines creating staffing ‘black hole’

The UK government’s mandatory vaccine for care workers is ‘taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut’, the union GMB has said. Commenting immediately after the 11 November deadline for care workers in England to be double vaccinated, GMB national officer Rachel Harrison said: “Any remaining care staff who aren’t vaccinated were dismissed effective midnight last night. Some will remain - those who are going through the medical exemption process have until Christmas to prove they fit the criteria for medical exemptions. Many unvaccinated GMB members have already left their jobs in care - often to work in the NHS where, tragically, they now face losing their jobs once again.” The GMB officer added: “Carers who have lost their jobs through being unvaccinated will have been served their notices of termination and will not be entitled to any pay offs. Some GMB members say they are struggling to apply for out of work benefits.” Harrison concluded: “The government’s approach to mandatory vaccines in care and the NHS is like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It’s cruel, has caused unnecessary heartache and has contributed to care’s potentially catastrophic staffing black hole. Instead of vilifying our care workforce, they deserve to be treated like the trained professionals they are and paid no less than £15 an hour.”
GMB news release.
 

PM defied mask up request on hospital visit

Boris Johnson was warned three times that he would need to wear a mask during a hospital visit but was pictured without one anyway, it has been revealed. The prime minister was photographed without a mask as he walked down a corridor inside Hexham General Hospital in Northumberland last week, but his office subsequently claimed he was following hospital rules (Risks 1021). Johnson has been accused of a “callous disregard” for the NHS after wandering around the hospital without a mask. Susie Flintham of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice told the Mirror: “The PM was putting lives at risk completely unnecessarily by visiting a hospital and refusing to put his mask on, despite being repeatedly asked to. For him to make a point of posing for a photo without a mask is a slap in the face to bereaved families.” The paper reported that sources at Hexham General Hospital confirmed Trust leaders had emailed the prime minister’s team before his visit to tell him masks must be worn in all areas. The hospital trust’s website says: “You must ensure that you wear your covering or mask throughout your visit.” Ian Lavery, MP for the Wansbeck constituency in Northumberland, said: “People were astonished that the prime minister was bowling up the corridor of a hospital without a mask. This shows a callous disregard for patients, visitors and the fantastic workforce, who have been at the frontline throughout the pandemic.”
The Mirror. The Express. The Independent.
 

Worker ‘suspended’ for getting Covid booster jab

A Yorkshire engineering company has been accused of suspending a trade union representative because he went for a Covid-19 booster injection during working hours. GMB member Thomas Keady, 66, is employed as an inspector at Longwood Engineering in Huddersfield and is a member of the GMB. The union said the union rep faces disciplinary action and may lose his job for getting his booster jab in working time. Workers at the site had previously been allowed time off to have their first and second Covid vaccinations but the company decided to change its policy. GMB organiser Andrew Aldwinkle said: “I find it incredible that in the middle of a continuing pandemic, Longwood Engineering would take the decision to suspend anyone for going for a Covid vaccination. Any reasonable employer would give workers time off to go get their jab.” He said: “I have spoken with the company to try and resolve the issue, but they are determined to make an example of our rep. The company needs to take a long hard look at itself and start to act reasonably, reinstate our rep immediately and get round the table to have a discussion on how we can avoid this situation going forward.”
Huddersfield Examiner. Morning Star.
 

OTHER NEWS

UK ratifies prevention of violence at work treaty

The TUC has welcomed the UK ratification of an international treaty on prevention of violence and harassment at work. The union body was commenting after work and pensions secretary Thérèse Coffey told the comments the UK was putting measures in train to ratify the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 190 on violence and harassment. The statement from the minister added: “Following our response to the sexual harassment in the workplace consultation, published earlier this year, the government will also be introducing a new proactive duty requiring employers to take steps to prevent their employees from experiencing sexual harassment and introducing explicit protections for employees from harassment by third parties, for example customers or clients.” She said the move will also “motivate employers to make improvements to workplace practices and culture.” TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Ratifying the convention is a welcome statement of intent – it now comes down to the action and enforcement that follows. No matter who you are, or the job you do, you should be safe from violence and harassment at work. But each year thousands of UK workers are assaulted, abused and harassed while trying to do their job. And we have even seen a rise in violence and abuse towards key workers in the pandemic.” The TUC leader added: “Unions, government and industry must now work together on the laws and workplace policies needed to prevent abuse and punish those responsible. This should include recognising that not every worker faces the same risks. Insecure workers, frontline staff, women, Black workers and those with other protected characteristics face greater risks that must be addressed.”
TUC news release. Statement by Thérèse Coffey, secretary of state for work and pensions, 15 November 2021. NUJ news release.
ILO Convention 190, Violence and harassment convention 2019.
 

Violence against shopworkers widespread but unreported

Almost nine out of ten shopworkers have faced abuse at work in the last year but nearly half are not confident that reporting abuse to their employer will make a difference, a survey by the retail union Usdaw has found. The interim results of the union’s annual survey, based on responses from nearly 3,500 retail staff, show that in the last twelve months 89 per cent have experienced verbal abuse, almost two-thirds (64 per cent) have been threatened by a customer and over one in ten (11 per cent) have been assaulted. However, 46 per cent said they were not confident that reporting abuse, threats and violence would make a difference. The survey found 7 per cent of those who had been assaulted did not report the incident. Paddy Lillis, the Usdaw general secretary, commented: “It is shocking that 9 in 10 of our members working in retail are suffering abuse from customers, with far too many experiencing threats and violence. So it is extremely worrying that half are not confident that reporting these issues will make any difference.” He added: “This is a hugely important issue for our members and they are saying loud and clear that enough is enough. The alarm bells are ringing and it is time for the government to make a difference. They can act quickly by supporting the Lords protection of workers amendments to their flagship policing bill. When retail employers, leading retail bodies, the Home Affairs Select Committee and the shopworkers’ trade union jointly call for legislation, it is time to listen.”
 Usdaw news release.
 

AI is ‘damaging mental health’ of workers

Monitoring of workers and setting performance targets through algorithms is damaging employees’ mental health and needs to be controlled by new legislation, according to a group of MPs and peers. An ‘accountability for algorithms act’ would ensure that companies evaluate the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) performance-driven regimes such as queue monitoring in supermarkets or deliveries-per-hour guidelines for delivery drivers, said the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on the future of work. “Pervasive monitoring and target-setting technologies, in particular, are associated with pronounced negative impacts on mental and physical wellbeing as workers experience the extreme pressure of constant, real-time micro-management and automated assessment,” noted the APPG members in their report, ‘The New Frontier: Artificial Intelligence at Work.’ The report recommends bringing in a new algorithms act, which it says would establish “a clear direction to ensure AI puts people first.” It warns that “use of algorithmic surveillance, management and monitoring technologies that undertake new advisory functions, as well as traditional ones, has significantly increased during the pandemic.” Under the act workers would be given the right to be involved in the design and use of algorithm-driven systems, where computers make and execute decisions about fundamental aspects of someone’s work – including in some cases allocation of shifts and pay, or whether they get a job in the first place. Tory MP David Davis, the chair of the APPG on the future of work, said: “It is clear that, if not properly regulated, algorithmic systems can have harmful effects on health and prosperity.” ‘The Amazonian Era’, a May report from the Institute for the Future of Work, included testimony from workers that AI target-setting produced high levels of anxiety. Some working drivers said they were forced to cut corners because of time constraints and manufacturing workers said constant logging for their activities on shifts led to more intensive work.
APPG on the future of work website and The New Frontier: Artificial Intelligence at Work: A final report produced by the  All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Future of Work, November 2021.  The Guardian.
 

Union slams school inspections acceleration

UK government plans to accelerate Ofsted inspections for schools and further education will exacerbate the problems facing already exhausted and stressed teaching staff, the union NEU has warned. The union was commenting after Ofsted said it “has been asked by government to inspect all schools and further education (FE) providers by summer 2025, to give a quicker assessment of how well education is recovering from the pandemic.” The education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, said: “Accelerating the rate of Ofsted inspections over the coming years will provide parents with an up-to-date picture and swifter recognition of the hard work of leaders and teachers.” Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, responded: “Inadequate inspections, whether accelerated or not, will not give parents confidence about school and college quality. Acceleration will require the recruitment of additional inspectors - adding to the considerable concern already expressed by school leaders about the quality of the current inspectorate.” She added: “Government ministers are showing, yet again, that they have no understanding of the exhaustion and stress felt by teachers and leaders. Inspection adds hugely to the stress they face coping with high rates of Covid infection in schools and college and with an inspectorate which has failed to understand, or appreciate, that Covid is still causing huge problems in our education system.”
NEU news release. Ofsted news release. The Guardian.
 

Warning on work-related mental health ‘crisis’

Work-related stress and poor mental health ‘risk becoming a health and safety crisis for Great Britain’s workplaces’, the UK’s workplace safety regulator has warned. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said last year more than 17 million working days were lost as a result of stress, anxiety, or depression. HSE added its new ‘Working Minds’ campaign aims to help businesses recognise the signs of work-related stress and make tackling related issues routine. The regulator said it is calling for a culture change across Britain’s workplaces, to ensure psychological risks are treated the same as physical ones in health and safety risk management. HSE’s chief executive Sarah Albon said: “Work-related stress and poor mental health should be treated with the same significance as risks of poor physical health and injury. In terms of the affect it has on workers, significant and long-term stress can limit performance and impact personal lives.” She added: “No worker should suffer in silence and if we don’t act now to improve workers’ mental health, this could evolve into a health and safety crisis.” HSE said it is reminding business that no matter where people work, employers have a legal duty to assess the risks in the workplace, not just in terms of potential hazards and physical safety. They should also promote good working practices. It says this promotes an open environment where employees can share their concerns and discuss options to ease pressures. Sarah Albon added: “Our campaign is focused on giving employers a clear reminder of their duties while championing reducing work-related stress and promoting good mental health at work.” HSE has been criticised by the TUC for it virtually total failure to take enforcement action on psychosocial hazards at work, and a refusal to recognise, record and address work-related suicide risks (Risks 1017).
HSE news release and Working Minds campaign. Morning Star.
RESOURCES: TUC guide to responding to harmful work-related stress. Tackling workplace stress using the HSE Stress Management Standards, TUC and HSE guidance for health and safety representatives. TUC workbook on mental health in the workplace. TUC mental health awareness training. TUC health, safety and wellbeing guide.
Hazards stress and mental health webpages.
 

Hotel worker overdosed days after being fired

A hotel bar worker who had struggled with alcohol and drug problems died after a deliberate overdose of a painkiller, four days after he lost his job. Simon David Pick had also struggled with debts in the last years of his life, an inquest heard. On 8 May this year, an ambulance was called to the 37-year-old’s home, and he told paramedics that “he wished to end his life.” He died in hospital two day later. A post mortem found he died of multiple organ failure, hyperacute liver failure, the painkiller overdose and had suffered from depression. Speaking at the inquest, his brother Nathan said: “Simon worked in hospitality all his life, he struggled with alcohol and drug dependency. He got fired from his job on the 6th from a hotel company and I think that was the catalyst for the decision that he made.” Area coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp concluded that Mr Pick’s death was as a result of suicide. She said during the inquest: “It seems as though Simon had some demons, but he also found it difficult to cope with some of the things that life threw at him, and he got himself into a situation which at times he felt overwhelming.”
Hampshire Chronicle.
RESOURCES: Work and suicide: A TUC guide to prevention for trade union activists. ‘Don’t despair’ pin-up-at-work suicide prevention poster. More on work-related suicides.
ACTION! Use the Hazards e-postcard to tell the HSE to recognise, record and take action to prevent work-related suicides. www.hazards.org/hsesuicide
 

Covid-concerned menopausal key worker killed herself

A menopausal supermarket worker killed herself two days after being signed off with anxiety because of her fear of falling ill with Covid, an inquest has heard. Linda Salmon, 56, took her own life in April last year after her anxiety worsened during the Covid pandemic. Her husband David said he had not realised the menopause could lead to suicidal thoughts. Mr Salmon, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, said: “The physical side of symptoms you might see, but the mental ones are hidden.” When the national lockdown happened, mother-of-two Mrs Salmon was working as a key worker in a supermarket, but felt anxious about possibly falling ill with Covid. She was signed off work with anxiety and several days later she took her own life. Mr Salmon, who had been with Linda for 41 years, said he believed the menopause was a “big contribution” to her mental state and that worries about the pandemic had “pushed her over the edge.” He said he now wanted to help other partners and families spot symptoms so he can prevent others from suffering as he has. A government survey found that three in five menopausal women were negatively affected at work by their symptoms, with nearly 900,000 women in the UK leaving their jobs because of it (Risks 1018). The TUC and many unions have long-established policies on addressing menopause-related issues at work.
BBC News Online and video report. The Mirror. Yorkshire Live.
Resources: TUC menopause at work interactive guide and Supporting working women through the menopause: guidance for union representatives. Menopause is a workplace issue guide, UNISON.
 

CWU welcomes tachograph safety agreement

A new tachograph infringements agreement covering CWU members working as cash and valuables in transit (CViT) drivers has been introduced following negotiations between the union and Post Office. CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey said the update to tachograph rules introduced new supportive rather than ‘punitive’ procedures suitable for the digital age. “Tachographs are now all digital and infringement reporting is pretty much immediate now – so an updated operational agreement was absolutely necessary and we’ve jointly agreed with the business the appropriate technological changes,” he said. “But we’ve also ensured suitable protections remain in place for our members and we’ve taken the opportunity to alter the overall focus of the system towards corrective rather than punitive measures.” CWU said the updated ‘Tachograph Infringement Monitoring System’ (TIMS) “includes a firm commitment to achieving the necessary standards through coaching, guidance and support to help members comply with the legal requirements.”
CWU news release.
 

Ferry workers to strike over ‘year of misrule’

Workers on London’s Woolwich Ferry have voted for further strike action after nearly ‘a year of misrule’ by Transport for London (TfL) bosses, including inadequate safety training for new recruits. Unite said the ferry operation has been plagued by poor employment relations for years, first with the previous operator Briggs Marine Contractors Ltd and now with TfL, which has led to more than 30 days of strike action during 2021. Unite represents the 58 ferry workers who have again voted for strike action with a 90 per cent majority. The union says issues behind the vote include the victimisation of two Unite reps, a failure to agree a new pay and reward scheme, the excessive use of agency staff and the failure to provide adequate health and safety training to new employees. The union says these are issues which have arisen since TfL took back control from the ‘discredited’ Briggs Marine Contractors Ltd in January this year. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham, who has visited the ferry workers’ picket line, said: “We expected better of Transport for London (TfL) when it took over the running of the ferry, but the years of mismanagement, involving other operators, have been continued with TfL. However, there is still an opportunity for them to retrieve the situation by entering into a constructive dialogue with Unite - though time is running out.”
Unite news release.
 

Ambulance staff concern over unqualified military role

The GMB has launched a formal dispute with the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST), citing bullying and harassment from the management over the service’s use of underqualified military help. Clinical staff have raised concerns surrounding the scale of military involvement in emergency call outs. The union said the Welsh government had pledged military support would be limited ‘lower acuity, non-emergency’ work. However, the GMB is concerned its use has become more widespread. It is concerned that whereas ambulance staff must undertake ‘blue light training’ to be able to drive an ambulance on emergency status, this training is not available to military personnel who are instead given a two-day familiarisation course. In response, the union has lodged a dispute with the trust and written to the Welsh government to raise its concerns about the extent of the military involvement. GMB said it believes that the use of inadequately trained military personnel ‘further drives down staff morale, with the proportion of trust staff off due to stress and ill-health over 11 per cent and rising.’ Nathan Holman, GMB regional organiser said: “Our members’ mental health and their safety is our number one priority, and we will not accept the bullying and cajoling from the management at WAST.” He added: “You cannot use underqualified staff to plug the holes in the service. At the end of the day it’s not just our members jobs that are at risk, but the users of the service too.”
GMB news release.
 

Night Tube plan places ‘impossible’ demands on staff

Tube union RMT has warned plans for the reintroduction of the Night Tube in London will place ‘unacceptable and intolerable demands’ on staff. A statement from the union’s national executive said RMT “has made every effort to reach an agreement with LUL [London Underground Ltd] that allows for the staffing of night-tube services without imposing unacceptable additional night and weekend working onto our members.” But it added: “LUL management has failed to engage positively with us and we are left with no alternative than to resume industrial action in furtherance of our demands.” Strike action on the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines is scheduled for later this month. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “No one has worked harder to ensure a safe environment for women on London Underground than the RMT. While Tube bosses have axed staff and left stations routinely unstaffed, with all of the obvious risks, we have campaigned relentlessly for the front line, physical presence of visible staff on stations and platforms. We are now being repaid by the imposition of working arrangements that would wreck the work-life balance of our members.” He added: “We warned months ago that slashing two hundred Night Tube train driver positions would create a staffing nightmare and LU need to start facing up to that reality. The union remains available for talks.”
RMT news release.
 

Builders are ‘gaming system’ on fire safety rules

The firefighters’ union FBU has criticised the government for a lack of action on the building safety crisis, after the London Fire Brigade said that builders were able to “game the system” and avoid fire rules. The union said that the “massive” building safety crisis in the UK exposed by the Grenfell disaster could be resolved if the government provided “the regulations and funding necessary to solve this crisis,” including “watertight legislation that prevents dodges and loopholes like this being possible.” FBU assistant general secretary Andy Dark said: “There is a massive building safety crisis across the UK, and residents are rightly concerned about safety in their homes. We have been increasingly concerned with the growing evidence suggesting that the Westminster government, landlords and the construction industry are trying to avoid taking responsibility. It comes as no surprise that players within the building sector are ‘gaming the system' to avoid compliance with the extremely limited improvements in the building regulations.” He added: “Ministers should listen to fire professionals and provide the regulations and funding necessary to solve this crisis. The prime minister should be taking personal charge of introducing immediate action and introduce watertight legislation that prevents dodges and loopholes like this being possible. Hand-wringing and mealy-mouthed words from the government are worthless. It’s actions that matter.”
FBU news release.
 

Fine after apprentice loses sight in one eye

A Bradford-based construction company has been fined after an apprentice was injured at work, leading to significant sight loss in his right eye. Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how Pearl Services UK Ltd had been contracted to carry out refurbishment of a retail store in the city. On the 23 February 2020 employees were erecting PVC hoarding within the store to separate the refurbishment work area from members of the public.  An apprentice decorator who was helping joiners set up the hoarding, struck one of the PVC panels using a mallet, causing it to splinter. A fragment penetrated the apprentice’s right eye, causing serious injury and loss of sight. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the incident has resulted in a life-changing permanent injury, despite a number of post-accident operations. HSE’s investigation found that Pearl Services UK Ltd had failed to suitably plan, manage and monitor the project. Risk assessments and method statements had not fully identified the need to wear safety eyewear during the erection of the hoarding. In addition to this, the supervisor had failed to ensure that the documentation available on-site was communicated to the operatives before commencing work. Although safety eyewear was available on site, the wearing of it had not been made mandatory, neither were checks carried out to ensure it was worn. Pearl Services UK Limited pleaded guilty to a criminal safety offence and was fined £16,500 and ordered to pay costs of £5,778.40.
HSE news release. Construction Enquirer.
 

EVENTS

Health and safety in Scotland’s hands, online conference, 24 November

The Scottish Hazards conference is to take place on 24 November. The online event has the theme ‘Health and safety in Scotland’s hands’. The opening session will hear from Shavanah Taj and Roz Foyer, general secretaries of the Wales TUC and Scottish TUC respectively. Scottish Hazards says both trade union bodies along with the majority of trade unions share its view that health and safety regulation and enforcement should be devolved powers. “This session will hopefully set the foundation for future cooperation between the STUC, Wales TUC and Scottish Hazards to campaign for changes in devolution settlements to make this happen,” it says. A second session will provide delegates with an update on the Scottish Hazards’ work over the past year as well as plans moving forward. Breakout rooms will allow delegates the opportunity to inform this work.
Register for Health and Safety in Scotland’s Hands, online, Wednesday 24 November, 11.00am-2.00pm. Further information.
 

RESOURCES

Health and access to toilets at work

A new report from the train drivers’ union ASLEF, ‘Health implications of not having access to toilets at work’, says a lack of access during the working day is a human rights issue, an occupational health and safety issue, an equality issue, and a public health issue. It says workers must be provided safe, clean and appropriate toilet facilities and the opportunities to use them. The report includes an extensive resources list.
Health implications of not having access to toilets at work, ASLEF, November 2021 – publication alert and online resource list and full report.
Hazards resources on toilet breaks at work.
 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Global: Shein garment makers doing 75-hour weeks

Workers for some suppliers of the Chinese fashion giant Shein are doing excessive overtime, an investigation by a non-governmental organisation has found. A number of staff across six sites in Guangzhou were found to be working 75-hour weeks in the probe by Swiss advocacy group Public Eye. David Hachfeld of Public Eye said there was “enormous pressure” on staff to turn clothes around quickly. Public Eye's researchers visited 17 of the 1,000 factories supplying Shein and its parent company Zoetop, near the Shein headquarters in Guangzhou. It interviewed 10 workers across six of those sites, which were solely receiving orders from Shein at the time. The sites included informal workshops “with no emergency exits and with barred windows that would have fatal implications in the event of a fire,” Public Eye said. It reported that the workers said they clocked three shifts per day, often with only one day off a month. Public Eye suggested the fact that workers, mainly migrants, are paid per item of clothing encourages them to work long hours. These long hours violate local labour laws, which set out a maximum working day of eight hours, as well as a 40-hour working week. Shein is winning over young shoppers in the US, UK, Europe and Australia by producing fast fashion even faster, and often at cheaper prices, than its rivals Boohoo or Asos. Mr Hachfeld, who is also the director of the Clean Clothes Campaign in Switzerland, suggested that the long hours observed were “directly linked” to the piece-rate system, which is widespread in China. In a “good month” several workers said that they might make up to 10,000 Yuan (£1,186). In slow months, their pay could be two-thirds lower. Data provider CB Insights estimated the revenues of the private company topped 63.5bn yuan (£7.4bn) in 2020.
Public Eye news release. BBC News Online.
 

Portugal: Bosses banned from messaging staff after hours

Portugal has banned bosses from text messaging and emailing staff out of working hours as part of new laws dubbed the “right to rest.” The move is part of changes being introduced to improve work-life balance in response to an expansion of working from home in the country. Companies with more than 10 staff could face fines if they contact employees outside their contracted hours. There are also new rules on allowing staff with children to work remotely. Parents will be allowed to work at home indefinitely without seeking prior approval from their employers until their child turns eight. And companies may also have to contribute to higher household bills from being home-based, such as energy and internet costs. Measures to tackle the isolation remote workers can feel are also included, with companies expected to organise regular face-to-face meetings. However, some elements of the package were not approved by Portugal's parliament, including a “right to disconnect” allowing staff to turn off all work devices out of hours. An August 2021 report from the thinktank Autonomy proposed draft UK legislation that would create a right to disconnect. The proposal was based on French law (Risks 782), which stipulates employees do not have to take calls or read emails related to work during their time off (Risks 1010). UK union Prospect is running a high profile right to disconnect campaign.
BBC News Online. Prospect ‘right to disconnect’ campaign.
 

Qatar: Migrant workers still exploited ahead of World Cup

Reforms in Qatar have stalled with a year to go before the 2022 football World Cup, leaving thousands of migrant workers trapped and exploited, according to a new report by Amnesty International. Last year Qatar passed two laws to end restrictions on migrant workers leaving the country or changing jobs without their employer’s permission, which were widely welcomed. However, A new 48-page Amnesty report, ‘Reality Check 2021’, has accused the authorities of “complacency” in applying the laws and says it has led to the worst elements of the kafala system, which binds workers to their employer, resurfacing. Other practices, such as withholding salaries and benefits to make it harder for workers to leave their jobs, are also still going on, according to Amnesty. “Apparent complacency by the authorities is leaving thousands of workers at continued risk of exploitation by unscrupulous employers, with many unable to change jobs and facing wage theft,” said Mark Dummett, the human rights organisation’s global issues programme director. “They have little hope of remedy, compensation or justice. After the World Cup, the fate of the workers who remain in Qatar will be even more uncertain.” In August Amnesty also accused the country of failing to investigate the deaths of thousands of migrant workers in the past decade. It has now urged Fifa to call on the Qatar government to fulfil its programme of labour reforms before the opening match of the World Cup on 21 November next year. Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, said the Football Association could do more to press the authorities in Doha. “The exploitation of Qatar’s massive migrant workforce has already cast a dark shadow over next year’s World Cup, and the FA ought to use the remaining year until kick-off to push for lasting labour reforms in Qatar,” he said. “The FA is part of the Uefa Working Group on Workers’ Rights in Qatar and can press the Doha authorities over strengthening migrant worker protections, investigating worker deaths and helping to fashion a tournament with a genuinely positive legacy.”
Amnesty International news release. Uefa Working Group on Workers’ Rights in Qatar. The Guardian. BBC News Online.
 

USA: Amazon agrees worker ‘right to know’ settlement

Amazon has reached a legal settlement in California over a legal complaint it failed to adequately inform its warehouse workers about Covid-19 cases in the workplace. California's attorney general said workers had been left ‘terrified and powerless’. As part of the stipulated judgment, Amazon will modify its Covid-19 notifications to workers and local health agencies, submit to monitoring regarding its Covid-19 notifications, and pay $500,000 (£370,000) toward further enforcement of California’s consumer protection laws. The retail giant did not admit wrongdoing. Amazon said the law did not require it to share total numbers of cases with staff, but it had now started to do so. It is the first application of California’s “right to know” rules that require employers to keep staff notified. The legislation requires firms to inform workers promptly of potential Covid exposures at their work sites, to tell them about pandemic-related protections, benefits, disinfection and safety plans, and to report cases to local health agencies. “As the company enjoyed booming and historic sales with its stock price doubling, Amazon failed to adequately notify warehouse workers and local health agencies of Covid case numbers, often leaving them unable to effectively track the spread of the virus,” California's attorney general Rob Bonta said. “This left many workers understandably terrified and powerless to make informed decisions to protect themselves and to protect their loved ones.” The agreement applies only to California, where Amazon employs around 150,000 workers, and must still be approved by a judge.
California Attorney General news release, the stipulated judgment and original complaint. BBC News Online.

 

PUBLICATION

 

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 2021

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