Risks: Union health and safety news - Number 1037 - 25 March 2022

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

COVID NEWS

Call for HSE ‘clarity’ on Covid risk assessments
Low paid care workers put their lives on the line

OTHER NEWS
Act now to end the scandal of insecure work
Unions raise alarm over safety of P&O ships
Racism hurts in the jobs market
Saved documents expose Cape asbestos guilt
Union pilots and firefighters link up to train
Reasonable adjustments must not be an afterthought
BBC appeals to UN over online abuse of women journalists
Usdaw calls for action to end to gender violence
Suspended sentenced for unsafe excavation work
Livestock mart fined after fatal incident with bull

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Bangladesh: Inaction on violations of workers’ rights
Korea: Logistics union says no to death from overwork
Global: Fundamental safety move gets closer
USA: Unsafe Amazon cited for ‘wilful serious violation’
 

COVID NEWS

 

Call for HSE ‘clarity’ on Covid risk assessments

Public service union UNISON is warning the UK government’s ‘potentially dangerous’ Living with Covid-19 plans could undermine health and safety law. UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea has written to the chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), expressing the union’s fears over the imminent removal of explicit attention to Covid-19 in risk assessments. The letter asks HSE chief executive Sarah Albon for “clarity” on what the union believes to be “a potentially dangerous move” that could undermine existing health and safety legislation in England. As part of the UK government’s Living with Covid-19 plan, from 1 April, it will remove the health and safety requirement for every employer to explicitly consider Covid-19 in their risk assessments, with the exception of those who specifically work with the virus, such as in laboratories. UNISON has echoed concerns raised by the TUC (Risks 1036) that the move will contradict employers’ existing duties under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, to a make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of employees while at work. The letter from the UNISON leader notes: “As a highly transmissible airborne virus, SARs-CoV-2 will continue to present a foreseeable risk to the health of workers regardless of their working environments. Whilst the consequence of an acute Covid infection may vary from individual to individual, there is a real risk to some of developing longer term health problems and long Covid as a direct result of a workplace exposure.”
UNISON news release.
 

Low paid care workers put their lives on the line

Care workers have ‘put their lives on the line’ for £8.72 an hour throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, UNISON has said. Delegates to UNISON’s community services group conference said is it ‘shameful’ that, throughout the pandemic, social care workers were exposed to deadly risks without appropriate PPE. UNISON national officer for community Andrew Dobbie said: “Delegates to our conference expressed anger at how care workers had been treated during Covid-19, but also pride at the great work so many members had done to care for those who depended upon them during the crisis. Care workers need to be treated as the skilled professionals they are and paid accordingly. We will be working as hard as we can to bring about a transformation of the sector that makes that possible.” The union said low wages and high-pressure conditions have created a ‘revolving door’ culture in care work, where staff turnover is high. Data from the Care Quality Commission in October 2021 showed a vacancy rate of over 10 per cent across regulated care settings in England. CIPD survey findings published in February indicated over half of firms reported having staff affected by long Covid in the last 12 months (Risks 1034).
UNISON news release. More on the hazards of low pay.
 

OTHER NEWS

 

Act now to end the scandal of insecure work

The government must act now to stop ‘rogue employers’ treating workers like disposable labour, unions have said. As well as throwing workers into financial hardship and misery, insecure work is linked to higher rates of occupational injuries, mental health problems and acute and chronic diseases (Risks 1034). The union letter demands that the business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng names a date for the government’s long-overdue employment bill in the wake of “the callous, illegal and pre-meditated firing of 800 workers by P&O Ferries”. General secretaries from the TUC and more than thirty unions including RMT, Nautilus, Unite, UNISON and GMB have written to Kwasi Kwarteng, calling on the government to strengthen employment legislation and make sure the P&O scandal is never allowed to happen again. The TUC said the government first promised an employment bill more than two years ago, which was supposed to boost workers’ rights and make Britain the best place to work in the world. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “This scandal has shown the need for strengthened protections for workers – rogue employers need to know they can’t get away with treating staff like disposable labour.” She added: “P&O has acted appallingly. The company must reinstate its sacked staff without delay, and with no loss of pay – or face serious consequences.” In a 24 March follow-up, O’Grady said: “The government must be prepared to step in and take over P&O’s freight and passenger services if a fit and proper operator cannot be found quickly.” P&O owners DP World refused this week to meet leaders from seafarers’ unions RMT and Nautilus and the TUC.
TUC news release and update. More on insecure work. BALPA news release. Bectu news release. GMB news release. ITF news release. Nautilus news release. Prospect news release. RMT news release. STUC news release. TSSA news release. UNISON blog. Unite news release. CIPD news release.
 

Unions raise alarm over safety of P&O ships

Seafarers’ unions RMT and Nautilus International have written to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to express serious safety concerns about the sacking of P&O Ferries crew and their replacement with agency staff with no experience of the ships. The unions say the replacement staff are only receiving a few days familiarisation and will be put under intense pressure from the company, which “will have the effect of importing a far higher level of safety risk to passengers and workers meaning that lives will be put in jeopardy.” The 24 March letter from Nautilus general secretary Mark Dickinson and RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, which calls for an ‘urgent reply’ from MCA chief executive Brian Johnson, states: “Crew with an average of 20 years’ experience and knowledge of the ships are being replaced by those who will only have a few days experience operating ships, some over thirty years old in a high intensity commercially pressured environment. Areas of concern include familiarisation process for fire safety, ventilation, fuel, ballast and sewage/grey water tanks.” It adds: “There has been no consultation on the safety validation process with RMT nor Nautilus International. We fear commercial pressures will mean that any replacement crew who may be given safety responsibilities on the ship will be hand-picked so as not to raise concerns and threatened with dismissal if they do. Familiarisation and understanding of emergency procedures onboard a vessel of these sizes cannot be obtained overnight, and takes considerable time to familiarise crew with the intimate aspects of drills such as bomb searches, medical evacuations, lifeboat launching, man overboard procedures and firefighting.”
RMT news release.
 

Racism hurts in the jobs market

Ministers must end the racism in the UK jobs market, the TUC has said. The union body was commenting on the government’s 16 March 2022 acceptance of the recommendations of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, published in March 2021 in the Sewell report, which the TUC described as ‘complacent’.  TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Covid-19 has exposed the inequality BME [Black, minority and ethnic] people face in the jobs market. BME workers are far more likely to be in low-paid, insecure jobs, often with fewer rights and no access to sick pay. They’re more likely to be in frontline roles, so have had a higher risk of being exposed to Covid-19 - and they have been three times more likely to die.”  She added: “The Commission had a real chance to recommend decisive action to stamp out this institutional racism. But instead, they denied the experiences of BME workers and were complacent about the UK’s progress towards being an anti-racist society. The government has accepted the recommendations of the Sewell report, which denies systemic and institutional racism, and which failed to recognise or propose action on the institutional racism experienced by BME workers in the workplace. The government should have rejected the report, and instead proposed real action on workplace equality.” The government response came a week after a TUC report warned insecure work was “tightening the grip” of structural racism on the labour market and deepening gender inequalities (Risks 1036). The latest figures published by the ONS show that over one million workers are now on zero hours contracts – which equates to a rise of 40,000 compared to the previous year.
TUC news release. The Guardian.
 

Saved documents expose Cape asbestos guilt

Documents saved from destruction thanks to a court battle waged by an asbestos campaign group have revealed UK multinational Cape was aware decades ago of the high risk of fatal cancer from the use of its top selling Asbestolux insulation board, but still pressured the government successfully in the 1960s and 70s to abandon a planned ‘no dust’ policy. The Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK says the documents it fought to preserve will be vital to future asbestos compensation cases. They were obtained after the Forum commenced court proceedings against Cape following the 2017 case of Concept 70 Limited v Cape Intermediate Holdings Limited (Cape). The documents, which were due to be destroyed before the Forum’s intervention, provide ‘extraordinary evidence’ that Cape was aware of the health risks from work with its asbestos insulation board Asbestolux in the 1950s, but in the 1960s and 70s still pressed the UK government to abandon plans for tight controls to protect its sales. The Forum instructed Harminder Bains, a partner at law firm Leigh Day, to issue an urgent application to preserve the documents. The Supreme Court has now agreed the documents should be preserved. Commenting on the ruling, Jordon Gordon, chair of the Forum, said: “The Forum is now demanding Cape make a donation of £10 million towards mesothelioma research. We believe victims and their families deserve this by way of an apology from Cape for their deliberate deception and shamelessly causing deaths, adding insult by vehemently defending cases.” Harminder Bains of Leigh Day added the documents “show that Cape knew of the high risk of fatal disease, yet deliberately withheld information and lobbied the government to protect their profits. As a result of their greed many men and women including my father have lost their lives.” She added: “This cover up would not have come to the light had it not been for the Forum’s persistence.”
Leigh Day news release. Asbestos Forum. The Guardian.
 

Union pilots and firefighters link up to train

Members of The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have completed a new, innovative and first of its kind training collaboration, which the they say paves the way for future training co-operation between unions. For the first time ever, union reps from the two safety critical fields of aviation and firefighting came together to share experiences and learn new skills that will enable them to help union members tackle health and safety issues in the workplace. The 5-day course saw 20 pilots and firefighters build towards an accredited Level 2 certification in health and safety and plan out ways of delivering the best health and safety representation for their members. BALPA’s Wendy Pursey said: “The high-quality training provided via CONEL College has been exceptional whilst providing our representatives with a very rewarding experience. This is the first time we have collaborated in this way and it certainly shows that unions learning together makes us stronger.” Gareth Beeton, the FBU London region health and safety coordinator, said: “All sectors are under pressure after Covid and due to changes in legislation, so it’s great to get multiple occupations and unions together to gain a broader knowledge of health and safety in the workplace.” He added: “Similarities in the issues and problems being faced between different sectors aren’t unheard of. For example, there are similarities between the campaign we are running on decontamination and cleaning of firefighters and their equipment, and BALPA’s cockpit air quality campaign.”
BALPA news release.
 

Reasonable adjustments must not be an afterthought

The TUC must use its power to argue for legislative changes to strengthen the rights of disabled workers to receive “reasonable adjustments” and for employers to be fined if they do not provide them. A motion passed at the TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference, held online this year, said Employment Tribunals must liaise with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigations employers who are “serial disability discrimination offenders”. Delegates heard from the mover of the motion from the Prison Officers’ Association who said some of her members had been forced out of their jobs because their employer refused to make changes that would have allowed them to carry out their role. NUJ delegate Lynn Degele told the conference she had recently been promoted – her first promotion in 12 years. She said: “This promotion would not have been possible without reasonable adjustments. In my case, as someone who is neurodivergent, diagnosed with ADHD and dyspraxia, this encompasses mind mapping software, speech to text software and a smart pen that allows me to record audio of meetings. It also encompasses flexible working, such as extended time in the middle of the day, which I may use to decompress and pace myself.” She added: “By normalising reasonable adjustments, we can make clearer to employers and disabled workers what is possible. This may help to raise awareness amongst employers so that when they interview a disabled worker, they know that they have a starting point to understand what support will be required and is available.”
NUJ news release. Usdaw news release.
 

BBC appeals to UN over online abuse of women journalists

The BBC World Service has filed a new urgent appeal to the United Nations (UN) against Iran over the online violence faced by women journalists working for BBC News Persian. It says women journalists at BBC News Persian face daily, relentless online attacks and harassment, including threats of rape and death. Liliane Landor, senior controller of BBC international news and director of World Service, said: “We absolutely deplore the violent, misogynistic and gendered harassment our women journalists have to face every day. Trusted and impartial journalism is fundamental to any democracy and it is only by working together that we can ensure the safety of journalists everywhere and ensure women’s voices are included. We have to be able to work unhindered, free from threats and free from abuse.” Paul Siegert, the NUJ’s national broadcasting organiser, commented: "We fully support this campaign in calling for more to be done to stop the appalling online abuse that many women working for BBC News Persian have experienced. Iran must do more to stop and prosecute the people responsible. It’s truly chilling when you hear about some of the threats that women journalists are exposed to on a regularly basis and the NUJ joins with the BBC and calls on the UN to condemn this unacceptable behaviour.”
NUJ news release.
 

Usdaw calls for action to end to gender violence

Usdaw has called for action on the ‘appalling scale and scope’ of violence against women and girls. The retail union’s comments came at Labour’s women’s conference. Ruth Cross, Usdaw’s equalities officer, said “domestic violence, sexual harassment and assault alongside other forms of violence, abuse and intimidation” affect between a quarter and a third of all women during their lifetimes. She added: “Women are twice as likely to feel unsafe when travelling to and from work. They are the majority of public transport users and so cuts to bus, tram and rail services have a disproportionate impact on women. The problem is particularly acute for low paid women who are more likely to be travelling when its dark because they work part-time, late at night or very early in the morning.” She said the union “welcomes Labour’s strategy to eliminate violence against women and girls.”
Usdaw news release.
 

Suspended sentenced for unsafe excavation work

A principal contractor has been handed a suspended jail term after he was found to have supervised unsafe excavation work which put workers in danger and rendered a neighbouring property unstable. Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how between 2019 and 2020 Mustapha Matib had employed several groundworkers to excavate land in Denton, in preparation for the construction of a family home. An inspection was carried out at the site in August 2020 after neighbours raised significant concerns. Work was stopped when serious fall risks and potential collapse were identified. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that as principal contractor Mustapha Matib had failed to prepare a construction phase plan, with risk assessments and method statements detailing how the work would be safely carried out. He also failed to appoint a site manager with suitable skills, knowledge and experience to plan, manage and monitor the work and ensure the health, safety, and welfare of those carrying out the work or others who may be affected by their actions. Mustapha Matib pleaded guilty to two criminal safety offences and was sentenced to sixteen weeks imprisonment suspended for twelve months, ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and pay costs of £5,673.
HSE news release.
 

Livestock mart fined after fatal incident with bull

A livestock auction mart has been fined after an employee was fatally injured when he was struck by a bull as he was helping to load it on to a lorry. Preston Magistrates’ Court heard that on 25 August 2017 Martin Leverton, 70, was helping to move the bull and four cows towards a waiting lorry at the premises of his employer, Gisburn Auction Marts Ltd. Whilst trying to load the livestock into the lorry, the bull turned and attacked him, causing fatal injuries. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that there were not any suitable refuges or barriers within the loading area for those handling the livestock to shelter behind if, for example, cattle became fractious. Gisburn Auction Marts Ltd of Clitheroe, Lancashire, pleaded guilty to a criminal safety offence and was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,819. HSE inspector Anthony Banks commented: “This incident could so easily have been prevented. The bull was able to strike the employee because he had been unable to outrun or out manoeuvre the bull and he was unable to seek protection from any form of refuge or barrier when it began to charge. The company should have undertaken a suitable and sufficient risk assessment to identify, and put in place, the appropriate control measures.”
HSE news release.
 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

 

Bangladesh: Inaction on violations of workers’ rights

New evidence of violations of workers’ rights in Bangladesh in three major economic sectors – the ready-made garment, shipbreaking, and leather sectors – reveals the impact of government inaction on the lives of working people, the global union confederation ITUC has said. The report, released by ITUC ahead of the government’s latest progress report to the ILO Governing Body this week, shows the human face of a government’s failure to put in place labour protections. Interviews with workers in October and November 2021 showed the systematic violations of rights included unsafe workplaces, violence against workers, unfair labour practices, anti-union discrimination and non-payment of wages and benefits. ITUC said workers do not have a safe complaints mechanism, and any attempt to get grievances resolved often results in verbal and physical abuse from the employer and dismissal. “Obstruction and refusal by the government of Bangladesh to improve conditions put workers’ lives at risk. Every day they delay on commitments to reform, another worker and the worker’s family feel the pain of inaction,” said ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow. “As the government of Bangladesh prepares to update the ILO Governing Body on the progress of reform, anti-union discrimination, wage discrimination and unsafe working conditions continue to be reported in three of the country’s largest employment sectors – the ready-made garment, shipbreaking and leather (tannery) sectors.” She added: “The government of Bangladesh must immediately set up a transparent and effective monitoring mechanism for the implementation of the ILO road map and meaningfully consult with tripartite constituents on all the action points.”
ITUC news release and report, We Need a Better Bangladesh: Violations of workers’ rights in the ready-made garment, shipbreaking and leather sectors, 15 March 2022.
 

Korea: Logistics union says no to death from overwork

An agreement negotiated by the Korean CJ Logistics Delivery Workers Union has been described as a step forward in addressing the working conditions that cause death from overwork in the logistics sector. In December the union, part of the Korean Federation of Service Workers Unions (KFSU), had taken strike action against CJ Logistics, Korea’s largest logistic company. The strike ended on 3 March 2022, after the CJ Logistics-Agency Association finally approached the union to negotiate a settlement. A statement from Jin Kyung-Ho, president of the CJ Logistics Delivery Workers Union, noted: “We will not return to the slave-like conditions which result in death from overwork. I hope this agreement will energise us to step up the work to prevent death from overwork with full support from society.” The problem of overwork deaths flared up when more companies turned to e-commerce and promised quick same-day or next-day delivery during the pandemic. As a result the company pocketed a record operating profit of W198.3 billion in 2021 (US$162.1 million). But the union said the workload for thousands of logistics workers climbed exponentially, with logistics companies pressuring delivery workers to perform unpaid work to sort and classify items before the actual delivery occurs. Rajendra Acharya, the Asia and Pacific regional secretary with the global union UNI, commented: “We are in full solidarity with KFSU-CJLWU’s efforts. We are now two years into the pandemic, and this is not the new normal we want to see.” He added: “Essential delivery workers should not be exploited for free labour and risk dying from excessive labour. Major companies like CJ Logistics must rethink their model and treat the delivery workers as workers, not as sub-contractors.”
UNI news release.
 

Global: Fundamental safety move gets closer

A high profile union campaign to get occupational health and safety recognised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as a ‘fundamental’ right at work (Risks 1032) has taken a big step forward. ILO’s Governing Body has agreed an amendment to the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, to include occupational safety and health, will be on the agenda the UN agency’s International Labour Conference in June. According to ILO: “If adopted, the proposed amendment would indicate that all ILO Member States would have an obligation to respect and promote safe and healthy working conditions in the same manner and with the same level of commitment as the four principles currently covered by the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.” Most of the world’s countries – 187 states – are members of the ILO. Recognition would mean occupational health and safety joined freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced or compulsory labour, the abolition of child labour, and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation as one of ILO’s top-level rules. As part of the campaign to secure this recognition, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is urging unions worldwide to again take up the issue of health and safety as an ILO fundamental right on International Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April.
ILO news release. ITUC 28 April #iwmd22 webpages.
 

USA: Unsafe Amazon cited for ‘wilful serious violation’

E-commerce giant Amazon has been cited for a ‘wilful’ serious violation and told to pay a $60,000 fine for knowingly putting workers at risk of injury at a US fulfilment centre. A Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) inspection at the facility in Kent, Washington State, found 10 of the 12 processes L&I evaluated create a serious hazard for work-related back, shoulder, wrist and knee injuries. A citation issued by L&I states: “The employer did not make sure that employees were provided with a workplace free from recognised hazards at Amazon's BFI4 Fulfillment Center in Kent, Washington. Upon inspection, it was found that employees are expected to maintain a very high pace of work.” It added: “Information collected documented that pressure is put on workers to maintain that pace without adequate recovery time to reduce the risk of MSDs [musculoskeletal disorders]. There is a direct connection between Amazon's employee monitoring and discipline systems and workplace musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).” The citation requires Amazon to submit a written plan to L&I within 60 days, detailing methods the company will use to abate the safety issues. It said because it has cited Amazon for similar violations at three Washington locations, the company is aware of these hazards. “Therefore, the most recent violation is classified as a wilful violation and comes with a significantly higher penalty than those issued as a result of earlier inspections.” Amazon has 15 working days from date of issue of the citation – 21 March - to appeal the citation and fine. The company has active appeals in the three previous cases.
Washington State Department of Labor and Industries news release.
 

 

PUBLICATION

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