Risks is the TUC's weekly newsletter for safety reps and others, sponsored by Thompsons Solicitors.
COVID NEWS OTHER NEWS ACTION INTERNATIONAL NEWS PUBLICATION TUC COURSES FOR SAFETY REPS Unions are calling for the government to delay the introduction of mandatory vaccinations for NHS workers in bid to avert a ‘catastrophic’ staffing crisis. NHS England data shows 39,142 NHS staff at hospital trusts in England were absent for Covid-19 reasons on 2 January, up 59 per cent on the previous week (24,632) and more than three times the number at the start of December (12,508). The TUC is warning that the introduction of the mandatory vaccination policy will exacerbate this crisis, creating a bureaucratic and staffing nightmare for NHS Trusts and making it impossible to maintain safe staffing levels in the coming weeks. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “We are in the middle of an NHS staffing crisis, borne not only from Covid absences, but also long-term problems that need long-term solutions. Now is not the right time to introduce more bureaucracy. Legislation for this policy has passed but this is precisely the wrong time to implement it. NHS Trusts need to focus their resources on patient care.” She added: “We need to keep patients safe and maintain safe staffing levels. As hospitals declare critical incidents amid a surge in Covid cases, the NHS cannot afford to lose experienced and skilled staff.” The union GMB said the ‘catastrophic’ NHS Covid staffing crisis is the 'bitter fruit’ of a decade of Conservative cuts, dating back long before the pandemic. It said 39,142 NHS staff at hospital trusts in England were absent for Covid-related reasons on 2 January, up 59 per cent from 24,632 the previous week and more than three times the 12,508 at the start of December. Rachel Harrison, GMB national officer, said: “This is crisis caused by cuts and exposed by Covid.”
TUC news release.
CSP news release.
GMB news release.
BBC News Online.
The TUC has criticised the prime minister’s announcement of a workplace ‘priority testing scheme’ that will guarantee Covid tests for only a tiny fraction of all key workers. The union body was commenting after Boris Johnson told a 4 January press conference the UK government had “identified 100,000 critical workers, in areas from food processing to transport to our border force - and from 10 January we’ll be rolling out lateral flow testing for all these workers, available on every working day.” However, the TUC said that under the government’s own definition of a key worker, 10.6 million of those employed - 33 per cent of the total workforce - are in key worker occupations and industries. It said this meant the scheme will guarantee daily Covid tests for only 1 per cent of key workers. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “This scheme will only reach one in every hundred key workers. It’s hopelessly inadequate. Key workers do their vital work in teams. Surgeons and nurses need cleaners and porters. Food supply needs producers, warehouse staff, drivers, and retailers. Ministers must explain who is left out, and what they should do if they can’t get tested.” The TUC leader added: “The prime minister has known about the shortage of tests for weeks. It beggars belief that he is doing so little, so late.” GMB director of safety Dan Shears called the small scale scheme a “recipe for disaster,” adding: “This is gesture politics of the worst kind. The new testing rules cover just a tiny fraction of the UK’s 10 million key workers and will be completely ineffective. Meanwhile scrapping the need for a PCR test following a positive lateral flow (LFT) will massively skew the infection figures. A positive LFT is only added to official figures if someone inputs results into the NHS system themselves - most won’t do this.”
TUC news release.
No.10 Downing Street news release and
Prime minister’s press conference opening statement, 4 January 2022.
GMB news release.
Morning Star.
UK government plans to ease Covid test rules are ‘undoubtedly a bad idea’, the union GMB has said. From 11 January, people in England without symptoms will no longer need to confirm a positive lateral flow test with a PCR test. Announcing the new rules, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) chief executive Dr Jenny Harries said: “While cases of Covid continue to rise, this tried-and-tested approach means that LFDs [lateral flow devices] can be used confidently to indicate Covid-19 infection without the need for PCR confirmation.” She added: "I'm really grateful to the public and all of our critical workers who continue to test regularly and self-isolate when necessary, along with other practical and important public health behaviours, as this is the most effective way of stopping the spread of the virus and keeping our friends, families and communities safe.” But Dan Shears, director of health and safety at the GMB, commented: “This is undoubtedly a bad idea - it suppresses official figures and ensures asymptomatic carriers will never be identified. It is also clear recognition that the testing system is stretched beyond breaking point by Omicron.” He warned: “This decision will have another very significant implication: Workers who have asymptomatic Covid, then develop Long Covid, will not be able to substantiate their condition. Workers face losing both support and pay in the future, through no fault of their own.”
GMB news release.
UK Health Security Agency news release.
BBC News Online.
Two Bedford Borough Council care workers are relying on food banks to survive, after Long Covid saw them use up all their sick pay allowance. Their union Unite said the cases – which followed catching Covid during a large outbreak in their workplace - raised issues for other UK workplaces where employees also suffer from chronic after effects of the infection. It called for council bosses to pay its two members full sick pay while they recover, a discretion that is allowed under the ‘Green Book’ national agreement. Unite regional officer Richard Gates said: “The impact of Long Covid has resulted in both members having days when they can’t even get out of bed, brain fog, no energy, and breathlessness, so the last thing they need on top of this is the stress and worry of having no money and the prospect of being taken through the sickness absence procedure over being off from work. It is not right that they are relying on food banks and benefits to survive.” The two Bedford council workers contracted Covid at the end of 2020 and have both been off sick since with a diagnosis of Long Covid, which followed an outbreak at their workplace resulting in 30 per cent of the staff group testing positive. Calling on the council to follow the example of the local health trust, which provides full sick pay for workers with Long Covid, Richard Gates said the two affected workers “should be supported by their employer at this time of financial difficulty, a discretion given to the council by the ‘Green Book’ national agreement – but council bosses are refusing to exercise this discretion for these employees.”
Unite news release.
With 1-in-20 teachers off work on 6 January as a result of Covid, it has become abundantly clear that the omicron variant is having a ‘highly significant’ impact on the operation of schools, teaching union NEU has said. Latest official figures show 8.6 per cent of teachers and school leaders were absent on 6 January - and 4.9 per cent were absent because of Covid, up from 3 per cent on 16 December. In addition, 8.9 per cent of teaching assistants and other staff were absent from open schools, up from 7.3 per cent. Commenting on the official absence data for education settings in England published on 11 January, Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of NEU, said: “It is now abundantly clear that the effects of omicron on the operation of schools are highly significant. With almost 1-in-20 staff absent due to Covid last Thursday, there is no reason to suppose this will ease soon.” He added: 'Government needs to act decisively and give schools the equipment they need to ensure proper ventilation in schools and colleges in an attempt to keep Covid infection as low as possible. Relying on a workforce of retired teachers appearing from thin air and in record time is just not enough to meet this challenge.” The NEU leader concluded: “These attendance reports must now also return from being fortnightly to weekly, in the same format as before last summer. This is a critical time for schools and colleges and we must see emerging trends quickly rather than in the rear-view mirror.”
NEU news release.
Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: 23 March 2020 to 6 January 2022, Department for Education, 11 January 2022.
BBC News Online.
Nearly a quarter of teachers say staff absences due to Covid-19 are having a major impact on their schools, research by the teaching union NASUWT has found. Of nearly 7,000 teachers who responded to the union’s survey, 23 per cent said absences were having a major impact and 61 per cent said they were having some impact as schools returned over the last week. Almost half (46 per cent) of teachers are having to cover for absent colleagues and only 44 per cent said their school had a plan in place for deploying CO
2 monitors. Some 18 per cent said there was no plan in place. NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “Higher rates of staff absence are making a very challenging situation much worse for schools struggling to maintain appropriate staffing levels without disrupting pupils’ education.” He added: “It is disturbing that teachers tell us that in some schools there is no effective system in place for deploying CO
2 monitors in classrooms. Urgent additional investment is needed in providing air filtration units to every classroom where they are needed. Ensuring good ventilation is vital to minimising further disruption to pupils’ education.” The NASUWT leader warned: “Inviting schools to bid for the limited number of air purifiers that are being made available by the government is simply not good enough [
Risks 1027]. The safety of pupils and staff in classrooms should not be a lottery.”
NASUWT news release and
news release on school ventilation.
Using support staff to cover for teachers isolating with Covid is the wrong approach to dealing with the school staffing crisis and ensuring pupils’ education continues, UNISON has warned. The union was speaking out after the Department for Education (DfE) issued guidance encouraging schools to use support staff “more flexibly” as children return after the Christmas break. UNISON said it recognised the rapid spread of omicron is causing high numbers of staff absences in schools and that learning must continue for pupils. However, the union says using low-waged employees as teachers on the cheap amounts to exploitation and is inappropriate. Ministers have also asked schools to consider “combining classes”, but UNISON said this could put staff and pupils at risk by increasing virus transmission and may disrupt education. UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards said: “Schools should remain open to all and maintain face-to-face education. But this shouldn’t be at any cost. Unsafe practices and inappropriate arrangements to cover for teachers aren’t the way to protect education.” He added: “Merging classes during a pandemic undermines everything schools have done to try to limit the virus spread. The education benefits are minimal when classrooms are overcrowded, and health risks to pupils and staff increase. Pupils deserve the best quality education, but this can only be achieved with the right measures in place. Ministers must do everything in their power to keep schools, pupils and staff safe.”
UNISON news release.
There were 110 cases of Covid reported by DVLA staff in Swansea last week, the union PCS has indicated. It said the daily figure was higher than last year when the site was declared a “breakout” site by health authorities. PCS also said it is worried some Covid safety measures could be abandoned. It added there were 35 new cases reported on 6 January, but added the automated line where DVLA employees report their absences was “full up” because so many were trying to call. DVLA management had agreed measures with the union before Christmas to allow “higher levels of working from home as well as a rota system to reduce numbers on the Swansea/Morriston site,” the union said. Andrew Lloyd, PCS national officer, commented: “We breathed a sigh of relief as just before Christmas management of the DVLA appeared not to want to repeat the mistakes they made previously. Hearing that these measures may be abandoned because this omicron strain is milder is deeply worrying, our members have suffered enough, their anxiety levels are through the roof.” He added: “If the new measures are not put in place then undoubtedly members may respond as they have before.” The union said there had been in excess of 1,700 cases of Covid at DVLA since the start of the pandemic. A spokesperson for the government agency said: “We have stringent safety measures on site for those staff who deal with customer calls and also open, process and despatch the 60,000 items of mail we receive every day.”
BBC News Online.
Almost 60 employees of a Scottish hospitality group have accused it of multiple health and safety failings at its bars in Dundee and Glasgow. Staff say MacMerry 300 and Abandon Ship Ltd failed to inform them about potential close contacts with those testing positive for Covid-19. The group runs 13 bars and restaurants across the two cities. Unite said the collective grievance was signed by 58 current employees and 13 people who previously worked for the group. It accuses the group of “the mistreatment of workers across all venues" and failure to adhere to “the most basic legal obligations of duty of care towards staff.” The formal grievance submitted by Unite includes claims that those waiting on PCR results were expected or felt pressured to come to work until their results were official. It notes: “Staff members who know they are close contacts with positive colleagues are being told to come in to work until they are contacted by NHS track and trace, thereby knowingly putting other staff and customers at risk through none of their own choosing. A refusal to do this was met with threats of disciplinary action.” The grievance says staff felt uncomfortable attending work during an “active outbreak” but were threatened with disciplinary action, and that management didn’t provide guidance on lateral flow testing, hygiene, cleaning or social distancing measures. It adds staff had to source their own PPE. A spokesperson for MacMerry 300 insisted the company is “happy to listen.”
The National.
BBC News Online.
Daily Record.
Unite Hospitality website and
twitter page.
Lecturers’ union UCU has condemned the University of Huddersfield after a sacked lecturer secured a £100,000 award because the institution refused to reinstate him, despite being ordered to do so by an employment tribunal. The tribunal ruled in July 2021 that Jonathan Duxbury, who had stress and mental health problems related to poor management practices, had won the right to return to work and should be reinstated by the university into his role as a senior lecturer in the department of accounting, finance and economics (
Risks 1008). However, the university ignored the ruling, refusing repeatedly to reinstate Mr Duxbury despite the union and its lawyers reminding the institution of its legal obligations under the tribunal's ruling. In a damning criticism, the tribunal judge had said the university had been “wholly unreasonable” and had adopted a “wholly closed mind” to Mr Duxbury's “reasonable expectation that his health would be properly considered and the disciplinary approach be abandoned.” At a final hearing on 4 January 2022, the university, while admitting that they could comply with the reinstatement order, chose not to allow the 57-year-old to return to work. UCU described the university's actions as being “cold and calculated” and called for reform to the employment tribunal system so that employers cannot undermine rulings. UCU regional support official Max Beckmann said: “The fact the university chose not to allow Mr Duxbury to work to retirement, which would have likely cost more than the settlement awarded by the tribunal, says a great deal about the ethics of its leadership and how the institution treats its staff.”
UCU news release.
Unite has criticised the ‘blind intransigence’ of Go North West bus bosses who have dismissed a veteran bus driver after a new bus design left her unable to operate the vehicle safely. Tracey Scholes, 57, was dismissed after 34 years of service. The bus driver, who stands at 1.52m (five feet) tall, lost her job because she lacks the “capability” to drive the new model of bus used on her route. The combination of a change in position of wing mirrors and the pillar on an assault screen installed to protect drivers means Scholes would have to lean back to use the mirror – leaving her unable to reach the pedals. “When I started that job 34 years ago, I could drive everything in that depot. And since they’ve done this, I can’t drive that bus now,” she said. “If a bicycle or pedestrian was to walk up the near side of the vehicle … I can’t see that, it blocks my vision and that’s not safe.” After raising concerns with her employer, Go North West – part of the Go-Ahead group - she was initially suspended and later dismissed with 12 weeks’ notice after refusing alternative work on fewer hours. Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, called for Scholes to be reinstated on full pay and full hours. “She has given 34 years of unblemished service. It seems inconceivable, that due to the blind intransigence of its local management in Manchester, Go-Ahead is now ready to watch unlimited damage to its international reputation as a result of the tawdry treatment of Tracey.”
Unite news release.
The Guardian.
Manchester Evening News.
The government is failing to monitor how many foreign lorries are entering and leaving the UK under a controversial scheme introduced last year, the union Unite has found. It says a panic move aimed at tackling the HGV driver crisis saw the government change the cabotage rules at the end of October (
Risks 1021). This allowed companies from anywhere in the world to send lorries with foreign drivers to the UK to work unlimited hours, making unlimited deliveries, in any 14-day period. For that time the drivers can sleep in their cabs. After the two weeks is up they are supposed to leave the UK. But the Department for Transport (DfT) has now confirmed, in its response to a Unite freedom of information (FOI) request, that it does not monitor compliance with the relaxed rules. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is sheer incompetence by the government, which is playing Russian roulette with British road users. It introduced this knee-jerk reaction to the lorry driver crisis last year, now they tell us they don’t know how many foreign lorry drivers have come, how many hours they work when they are here, and if they go home after the 14-day working period. It’s literally an accident waiting to happen, based on the illegal super-exploitation of these drivers.” She added that if Unite “receives any evidence that a failure to abide by the UK’s employment laws, road safety rules or driving regulations is impacting on the jobs and conditions of our lorry delivery members, then we will take action to stop that.”
Unite news release.
Morning Star.
Unite is calling on the UK government to abandon a relaxation to the fit note system the union believes is ‘dangerous’ and could damage workers’ health. The changes, announced before Christmas and set to run until at least 26 January, mean an employee who is off sick can only ask for a fit note from their GP after 28 days of absence, rather than the usual seven days. The government said it was making the changes to relieve pressure on GPs and allow them to concentrate on getting patients the Covid booster vaccine. But Unite said possible adverse consequences of the fit note change include unscrupulous employers putting pressure on employees’ to return to work sooner than they should. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the government had not consulted unions on the changes, which Unite believes could also undermine sickness absence policies. “The changes to the fit note scheme is a dangerous backward step and could damage the long term health of workers. Unite is urging the government to not extend the expanded time period for fit notes beyond the end of January and should not be repeated,” she said. “If any employer thinks they can use the government’s changes to reduce sick pay or to introduce harsher sickness and absence policies they need to think again as Unite will not allow our members terms and conditions to be eroded.” Doctors in Unite chair Jackie Applebee said: “Fit note extensions are a drop in the ocean and will not save the NHS. GPs are suffering significant burnout due to years of increased workloads coupled with a decreasing workforce. The extension of self-certification for minor illnesses from 7 to 28 days is in the grander scheme of things unlikely to make a significant difference.”
Unite news release.
London Transport union RMT confirms has confirmed that members voted yes for strike action and action short of a strike. The ballot of over 10,000 members saw 94 per cent vote in favour of a strike. The ballot took place after London Underground members were refused assurances on jobs, pensions and working conditions in the midst of what RMT described as “an on-going financial crisis driven by central government.” RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said; “A financial crisis at LUL has been deliberately engineered by the government to drive a cuts’ agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten the working conditions and pensions of our members.” He added: “The ballot has now closed and the union is considering the result and what action to put on. It must never be forgotten that these are the same transport staff praised as heroes for carrying London through Covid for nearly two years, often at serious personal risk, who now have no option but to rise up and defend their livelihoods. The politicians need to wake up to the fact that transport staff will not pay the price for this cynically engineered crisis and we will coordinate a campaign of resistance with colleagues from other unions impacted by this threat.”
RMT news release.
A Scottish law introduced to protect shopworkers from violence and abuse has had a marked impact on reporting of cases which must be further encouraged, the retail union Usdaw has said. It says new figures from the Scottish Business Resilience Centre show 285 incidents of abuse or threats against shopworkers in Scotland in the three months after the Protection of Workers Act came into force in August 2021. The law made it a specific offence to threaten or abuse retail staff. Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis said: “Usdaw’s message to members has long been ‘Report it to sort it’, so we welcome that the new law in Scotland is encouraging reporting.” But he added: “It has been a terrible year for our members, with over 90 per cent of shopworkers suffering abuse, more than two-thirds threatened and one in seven assaulted. We are saying loud and clear that enough is enough, abuse should never be part of the job.” The union leader concluded: “We need the Scottish government, police and retailers to continue to promote the new law. We want the public to understand that assaulting and abusing shopworkers is totally unacceptable and will land them with stiffer penalties. The protection of shopworkers legislation in Scotland should result in retail staff getting the respect they deserve.”
Usdaw news release and
Freedom from Fear Campaign.
Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Act 2021.
Morning Star.
BBC News Online.
The union GMB has accused Carmarthenshire Council of jeopardising residents’ safety during a gritter strike. The union criticised the authority's ‘reckless behaviour’, after residents were told arrangements were in place to ‘ensure the safety of travelling residents’ during the industrial action. Gritters in Carmarthenshire went on strike on 5 January 2022 after the council failed to adhere to a collective agreement signed with gritting staff back in 2020. Unions had agreed with the council to undertake only emergency cover, leaving the majority of roads ungritted at a time weather forecasts predicted ice and sleet. Speaking as the action was underway last week, GMB organiser Peter Hill commented: “Large chunks of the road network were not gritted last night, and it will remain the case for the next 48 hours.” He said the council should have warned residents against unnecessary travel.
GMB news release.
Researchers at University College London are recruiting households to take part in Virus Watch - a national study of Covid-19 across England and Wales. The latest phase of the study has focused on occupational risks of Covid-19 and their prevention. The study would now like to include more people from a wide range of occupations. It notes: “All you need is an email address and the internet (at home or on your phone) to complete short, regular surveys about your household. Adults will be asked to take finger prick blood samples every other month (up to 3 in total) to test their immune response. As we gather the results from our study, you’ll be able to see them on our website.”
More information on Virus watch how to join.
Workers employed in a South Australian meat processing plant co-owned by one of the world’s largest agribusinesses are being forced to report for duty at one of its giant abattoirs even though they have tested positive for Covid and are actively infectious, unions have revealed. Teys Australia is forcing workers to wear special yellow hairnets as a sign of their Covid status. The company is the country’s second largest meat processing company and is a joint venture between Teys Brothers and the multinational Cargill. Australian national union federation ACTU said the devastating impacts of forcing meat processing workers to work while Covid positive has already been witnessed at other Cargill facilities throughout the world (
Risks 996,
Risks 980). ACTU president Michele O’Neil said: “Teys Australia’s behaviour in forcing abattoir workers to keep coming into work even when they are infected with the Covid virus is dangerous and disgraceful.” Accusing the government and health authorities of complicity in the practice, she added: “Teys’ decision to force workers to wear yellow hairnets to indicate whether or not they are infected with the Covid virus is offensive. It is an affront to human dignity that is reminiscent of some of the worst behaviours in recent human history. Teys’ failure to appreciate this shows that the company either has no judgment, or no values, or both.” She said the national government must ban working while infected and “abandon plans to water down OHS laws when National Cabinet meets.” Last week the union UFCW reported that a Cargill plant in Alberta that in 2020 was the site of Canada’s largest Covid-19 outbreak with at least 950 workers infected (
Risks 946), had been hit again with ‘at least’ 45 new cases.
ACTU news release.
CBC News.
Thousands of Australian workers are isolating without pay and are unable to access Paid Pandemic Leave because of the Morrison government’s ‘ridiculous and dangerous’ definition of a ‘close contact’ which is limited to household contacts only, national union federation ACTU has said. The union movement is urging the national government to immediately change the definition of a ‘close contact’ to include contact with a Covid positive case that happens in the workplace. This will ensure that workers who are isolating or awaiting a test result can access Paid Pandemic Leave. ACTU assistant secretary Liam O’Brien said: “It is ridiculous to think that omicron only spreads in the home and that only household contacts should be considered close contacts and eligible for payment. Workers are currently being forced into isolation without pay when exposed at work. This is ridiculous and dangerous.” He added: “Scott Morrison’s failure to secure free and accessible rapid tests is forcing Australia back into lockdown. Workplace close contacts must be able to access the same economic support as everyone else. Scott Morrison has a safe workplace, he and his workmates get free rapid tests whenever they need. Free and accessible rapid tests are the only way we keep workplaces safe, small businesses open and the community safe.”
ACTU news release.
SDA union news release.
‘Deplorable’ conditions in a Perth laundry led to the death of a worker on Christmas Eve, unions have said. Zenaida Fabian, 55, who worked 60-hour weeks at South Pacific Laundry, collapsed inside the factory about 8.20pm on 22 December and died two days later after suffering from a blood clot and cerebral aneurysm. The United Workers Union and the manufacturing union CFMMEU investigated the tragedy and slammed the working conditions in the factory. They found workers were toiling in extreme heat with machinery exhaust fans blowing hot air directly onto their workstations. Several workers reported to the union officials that they suffered from heat stroke and breathing difficulty while working in the factory. The only water machine available to sweltering workers was broken and workers were processing dirty bedding with no PPE because it was too hot to wear. The dreadful conditions were evidently taking a toll on the workers, with union officials stating workers 'had panic attacks coming to work'. “Conditions inside were deplorable - the worst I've ever seen,” one union representative told the West Australian newspaper. The workers of the factory, many of whom only spoke limited English, were regularly forced to work six or seven days a week by South Pacific Laundry.
West Australian.
Daily Mail.
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