Hazards news; font-weight: lighter;.class1 A:link { text-decoration: none; font-size:12px line-height:14px;}.class1 A:visited {text-decoration: none}.class1 A:active {text-decoration: none}.class1 A:hover {text-decoration: none; color: #365C63;} Search Hazards Search Hazards Hazards news archives 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004/3 Hazards news archives 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004/3  Hazards news, 13 March 2010 Britain: Hands up for toilet breaks at work Employers should not be able to penalise staff for using the toilet in work time and should provide decent, clean lavatories, the TUC has said. The union body is calling for a change in the law to bring workplace loos into the 21st century. TUC news release • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 USA: BP fined again for ‘wilful’ safety breachesThe US government safety watchdog has fined British oil giant BP PLC $3 million (£2m), citing a catalogue of ‘wilful’ safety breaches at its Toledo, Ohio, refinery. The move comes just four months after it imposed a record safety penalty on the company over its refinery in Texas.OSHA news release • Wall Street Journal • BP’s health and safety record • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: The smell of grease paint – and dead mice The vermin problem in London's ageing theatres is “running out of control”, a survey by actors’ union Equity has found. Threequarters of theatre actors and stage managers reported regular infestations in their workplaces, including rats, mice and fleas. Equity news release • The Guardian • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: Overwork stress costs worker his job A university worker who had to work 65 hours a week has received £110,000 in compensation after he had to give up work due to stress. UCU member Mark Bannister, 49, had a history of anxiety and depression and despite complaining about the excessive workload, nothing was done to alleviate the pressure. UCU news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Global: Greenpeace adds to Samsung pressureA global electronics giant embroiled in an occupational cancer scandal has been accused by Greenpeace of reneging on a promise to phase out toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases. This week climbers from the environmental group scaled the Benelux headquarters of the Korean multinational Samsung, sticking the message “Samsung = Broken Promises” in giant letters onto the front of the building. Greenpeace news release • Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Sign the SHARPs petition urging Samsung to act on occupational cancer risks • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: Rail workers back action on safety Network Rail maintenance workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action over safety. The RMT members voted 77 per cent for strike action and by 89 per cent for action short of a strike “over plans by the company to axe up to 1,500 safety critical jobs and to rip up national agreements on working practices,” says the union. RMT news release • TSSA news release • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Global: Body repeats call for an asbestos banOver 10 years after a global society of occupational medicine experts called for a worldwide asbestos ban, it has reiterated its call and said any further delay will carry a high cost in human lives. The Collegium Ramazzini notes: “All countries of the world have an obligation to their citizens to join in the international endeavour to ban all forms of asbestos,” adding: “An international ban on asbestos is urgently needed.”International Ban Asbestos Secretariat • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: Guards keep trains safe Train operating companies up and down the UK have been asked to confirm they will retain the safety critical role of train guards. The call, in a letter from rail union RMT, comes as the union launches a new ‘Keep the guard on the train – keep the train safe’ campaign. RMT news release • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Europe: Agreement leads to safer needle rules Health unions have welcomed a new Europe-wide law to help protect health care workers from the agony of needlestick injuries and infections. The directive gives legal teeth to a framework agreement reached by European trade union and employers’ organisations in June last year, which included guidance for training, support and prevention of needlestick injuries. EPSU news release • PSI news release • UNISON news release • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: ‘Revolving door’ contracts hurt charity workers More than 90 per cent of voluntary sector staff feel their well-being is being undermined due to the financial crisis facing charities. Rachael Maskell, Unite’s national officer for the sector, said: “The shocking results of our survey show a sector hit by a short-term ‘revolving doors’ contract culture which is having an serious adverse affect on employees’ health and well-being.” Unite news release • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: Jolting pastries caused back injury A bakery delivery driver who damaged his back pushing pastries was forced to take almost a year off work. The member of bakery union BFAWU suffered the injury working for Peter Cathedral Bakers in Durham in May 2007. BFAWU news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: CWU welcomes dangerous dogs move A government consultation aimed at strengthening the Dangerous Dogs Act has been welcomed by the postal workers’ union CWU. Under the government proposals, which come after a lengthy campaign spearheaded by CWU, dog owners could be required to take out third party insurance and to have their dog microchipped and there could be New Dog Control Notices for misbehaving animals, or "Dogbos". Defra news release and Dangerous dogs consultation • CWU news release • BBC News Online • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: Blacklister is beyond reach of tribunals Campaigners have condemned the lack of protection given by UK employment law to many trade unionists falling victim of employer blacklists. They were speaking out after an 8 March written judgement from the first full-merits blacklisting Employment Tribunal, Dooley v Balfour Beatty, found in favour of the company – despite the company admitting using the illegal blacklist to seek the dismissal of sub-contracted bricklayer Mick Dooley. Blacklist blog • Labournet • The Guardian • 13 March 2010 France: ‘Radical change’ after telecom suicides France Télécom’s new management must move quickly “to take charge and encourage radical change” if it is to put an end to a suicide crisis, according to a study commissioned by the company. The team of Stéphane Richard, who formally succeeded Didier Lombard as chief executive on 1 March, has a “few weeks” to install a new style of leadership to address the crisis, according to an interim report from Technologia, a human resources consulting firm. Telecom TV • New York Times • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: Contractor fined for failing to provide toilets A Bridlington building firm boss has been fined for not providing adequate toilet and washing facilities for staff on a construction site. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Bryan Ellis Brown, a partner in Bryan Brown & Son, of Flamborough, Bridlington, after finding problems on the site on 23 July 2009 which the firm then failed to remedy. HSE news release • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: Business told to make it quieter An initiative has been launched to encourage manufacturers to make quieter machinery and businesses to use it, in a bid to reduce noise-related ill health in the workplace. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says its 'Buy Quiet' campaign is about getting everyone with an interest - manufacturers, suppliers, employers, unions, insurers and consultants - looking at what they can do to reduce the risk. HSE news release and noise webpages • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: Roads continue to kill off the record Road safety campaigners and industry representatives have challenged the government to start official reporting of work related road crashes. The call came after road safety minister Paul Clark told a road safety conference this month: “Work related driving remains a great concern to all of us involved in road safety because around 75 per cent of all work-related deaths are out on the road.” Paul Clark’s speech to the Brake Fleet Safety Forum conference • Brake • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Britain: Royal Mail fined over employee death Royal Mail has been fined following the death of an employee who was crushed by a reversing HGV. Yard shunter Colin Smith, 57, was fatally injured in September 2006 at Royal Mail’s Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre (HWDC). HSE news release • Risks 447 • 13 March 2010 Hazards news, 6 March 2010 Britain: TUC lays down ‘good work’ challenge The TUC is challenging the government and employers to ensure that workplaces don’t just prevent staff from becoming ill, but actively promote good health and well-being through ‘good work’. ‘In sickness and in health?’, argues that around one-third of our waking hours are spent at work, and that our working lives help to define who we are, where and how well we live, and even how long we live. TUC news release • In sickness or in health?, TUC, March 2010 [pdf] • TUC Touchstone pamphlets • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Turkey: ‘Obvious negligence’ in deadly mine blastA gas explosion on 23 February that killed 13 workers in a Turkish mine was the result of “obvious negligence”, according to a top union official. Tayfun Görgün, president of the mining union DEV MADEN-SEN, said there were clear faults with the mine's ventilation, early warning system and auditing. Bianet • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: Unpaid overtime reaches ‘extreme’ levels The number of people working ‘extreme’ levels of unpaid overtime soared to almost 900,000 last year, with teachers and lawyers the most likely to put in hours of extra work, according to new figures released by the TUC. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “A long hours culture is bad for workers' health and family life - whether the hours are paid or not.” TUC news release • Work Your Proper Hours Day • UNISON news release • UCU news release • The Guardian • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: Race is on for an ethical London Olympics Playfair 2012 has launched a campaign for an ethical London Olympic Games. The coalition, co-ordinated by the TUC and Labour Behind the Label (LBL) and which involves unions and other campaigning organisations, wants the organisers of the London Olympics to ensure that workers making sportswear for the 2012 Games won't be working in appalling and degrading conditions. TUC news release • Playfair 2012 • Playfair 2008 clearing the hurdles website • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: GMB fights to protect security guards A new campaign is aiming to tackle the increasing number of attacks on security guards at work. Security industry union GMB, whose SafeGuard campaign was launched on 1 March at the House of Commons, is asking all Britain’s security companies to sign the GMB SafeGuard Charter, committing them to act to tackle the attacks on 350,000 licensed security staff in the course of their work. GMB news release and SafeGuard charter [pdf] • GMB Security website • BSIA news release • SMT Online • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Church must act on clergy bullying A culture of bullying has yet to be understood or addressed in the church and in other faiths, the union Unite is warning. Unite national officer Rachael Maskell will tell a London ‘Define Bullying’ event on 11 March of the large number of calls and emails - about 50 - the union has received in the wake of the Mark Sharpe victimisation case. Unite news release • Define bullying event, 11 March • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: New blacklisting regulations “too weak” Construction union UCATT has said it is “bitterly disappointed” with the new anti-blacklisting regulations, repeating its warning the measures are so weak that they will not prevent blacklisting from occurring. Employment relations minister Lord Young announced the new measures, which came into effect on 2 March. BIS news release • UCATT news release • Blacklist blog • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: Is drug testing an issue in your workplace? Reports from unions and the shopfloor suggest there has been an upturn in the number of firms introducing – or at least proposing to introduce – drug testing programmes at work. The TUC is investigating the phenomenon, and says it has aware of “growing concern on random drug testing in non-critical employment areas”. Email details of drug testing case histories, workplace practices and policies to the TUC health and safety department or post to Hugh Robertson, TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS • Hazards magazine drug and alcohol webpages • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: Watchdog confirms RMT rail safety fears Rail union RMT has demanded an immediate halt to plans to axe up to 1,500 safety-critical Network Rail maintenance jobs after an official probe called for “a significant change in attitudes and behaviours throughout” the company. The call, in a letter from Bill Emery, the chief executive of the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), to Network Rail boss Iain Coucher, came as a damning report from ORR identified major safety concerns related to implementation of Network Rail’s maintenance restructuring. ORR news release and letter to Iain Coucher, Network Rail [pdf] • RMT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: RMT demands action against Network Rail RMT has demanded urgent legal action against Network Rail after an improvement notice served on the company highlighted “systemic” failings in its track-work safety regime. The improvement notice, issued by railways inspector Liesel von Metz on 23 February, concerns lines between Cardiff Central and the Valleys and fleshes out a prohibition notice served earlier in the month. RMT news release • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Korea: Urgent action call on Samsung cancersA cancer cluster is affecting young workers exposed to toxic chemicals at electronics manufacturer Samsung in Korea, union and safety campaigners have warned. A petition calling for Samsung to accept responsibility for the problem, compensate victims and remedy the health and safety problems is being circulated worldwide by Supporters for the Health And Rights of People in the Semiconductor industry (SHARPs), the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU), Asian Network for the Rights Of Occupational Accident Victims (ANROAV) and International Campaign for Responsible Technology (ICRT). ANROAV news release • AMRC news release • Good Electronics news release • Sign the SHARPs petition • Global Unions cancer campaign • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: Union welcomes ship fatigue inspections The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has warned that serious action will be taken against shipping companies found to be cutting staffing levels and flouting hours of rest requirements. The statement from the marine safety body has been welcomed by seafarers’ union Nautilus. MCA news release • Nautilus news release • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: HSE launches site crackdown The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has started an intensive inspection initiative aimed at stopping dangerous practices on building sites across Great Britain. The watchdog says it wants to raise awareness of construction site risks and prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths. HSE news release • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Bangladesh: Anger as garment workers perishAt least 21 workers have been killed in a fire at the Garib & Garib Sweater Factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh. Patrick Itschert, general secretary of ITGLWF, the global union federation for the sector, said: “This tragedy, which echoes so many others in Bangladesh’s garment sector, is a brutal reminder of the grossly inadequate safety measures in place in Bangladesh’s garment factories.” ITGLWF news release • Morning Star • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: Campaigners welcome new cranes law Unions and campaigners have welcomed confirmation that a crane safety law will come into effect next month. Liliana Alexa, the Battersea resident who spearheaded the campaign for a law and whose son Michael Alexa, 23, was killed by a crane collapse whilst cleaning his car, welcomed the new measures. GMB news release • BCDAG news release • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: Steel giant Corus gets away with a £5,000 fine Steel giant Corus has been fined £5,000 after a worker was seriously injured while clearing a jam in the production line at a factory in Skinningrove, East Cleveland. The fine will not make a significant dent in the company coffers: the firm’s website notes: “Corus is Europe's second largest steel producer with annual revenues of around £12 billion and a crude steel production of over 20 million tonnes.” HSE news release • More on the Corus safety record • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: Council fined after road worker dies Rotherham Council has been fined £75,000 after employee Gordon Duffield was killed by a reversing truck. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also prosecuted contractor Brocklebank & Company (Demolition) Limited over the incident during a council road surfacing operation. HSE news release • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Britain: The lifesaving union effect Hazards magazine has updated its webpages on the extremely positive “union effect” on workplace health and safety. A new pin-up-at-work guide notes that “union workplaces are safer workplaces” and urges workers “to get organised – or you might not live to regret it.” Hazards ‘union effect’ webpages and 28 April poster • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Australia: Tragedies linked to compensation worries Injured workers in South Australia are going without food and medication and some have been driven to suicide because they cannot afford basic necessities, it has been claimed. SA Unions, the umbrella organisation for unions in the state, is campaigning to “restore fairness” in the system, which is says is currently “the costliest, least fair and most poorly managed workers compensation scheme in the nation.” Ann Bressington news release • SA Unions news release • The WorkCover Suicide video can be viewed on the Todaytonight website • Risks 446 • 6 March 2010 Hazards news, 27 February 2010 Britain: Leaked Tube staffing plan raises alarm London Underground (LU) has formulated secret plans to axe hundreds of jobs, rail union RMT has warned. It says the move would “devastate” Tube safety. RMT says the internal LU management report, ‘Minimum Staffing Levels’ calls for “hacking back” staffing levels to the “absolute bare bones” introduced in the aftermath of the Kings Cross fire in 1987 which claimed 31 lives. RMT news release • The Independent • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 USA: Campaigners attack Walmart’s sick policyCampaign group WakeUpWalmart.com and a coalition of supporters is campaigning against Walmart’s “irresponsible” sick leave policy. Last year Walmart – the world’s largest retailer – was on the end of critical press coverage when it was revealed it gave employees "demerits" that can lead to dismissal when they call in sick. UFCW news release and related WakeUpWalmart campaign video • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Costa Rica/Britain: Protest over banana worker victimisation GMB has protested to the Archbishop of Westminster and the Pope about a Catholic church organisation that the UK union says spearheads anti-union activities in Costa Rica. The union, which is working with the banana workers’ union SITRAP in Costa Rica, wants “to secure an end to the Pope John XXIII School in the capital San Jose being used to promote the anti-trade union strategies of the employers in Costa Rica’s tropical fruit plantations.” GMB news release • 27 February 2010 Mexico: Widows seek justice for 65 mine deaths Families of coal miners killed four years ago in an explosion at the Pasta de Conchos mine in Coahuila, Mexico, have filed a US-union backed legal case in US federal court seeking damages from Grupo Mexico Inc. The lawsuit was filed by the United Steelworkers union (USW) on behalf of three widows whose husbands were among 65 coal miners killed in the disaster. USW news release • IMF news report • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette • Arizona Star • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Project to help vulnerable site workers Construction union UCATT has launched a project to provide assistance to construction workers facing exploitation or forced to work in dangerous circumstances. The Vulnerable Workers Project, which will run for two years throughout England, is funded by the government’s Union Modernisation Fund. UCATT news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Former Lucas worker seeks cancer help A Lancashire cancer survivor is urging his former work colleagues to come forward to provide information about his exposure to chemicals at work. Terry Burns, 51, who is being treated for bladder cancer, is calling for his former work mates at Lucas Aerospace to come forward to help piece together information about his working conditions. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Anyone who worked with Mr Burns at Lucas Aerospace from 1978 to 2000 and who may have useful information should contact Marion Voss on 08000 224 224 • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Faulty brakes and faulty bosses caused crash A GMB member who had complained about defective brakes on his work van has received a payout after the vehicle subsequently crashed. Michael Ross, 46, had asked his employer, AMEY, to check the van’s brakes on three occasions but was told each time that there was nothing wrong with them. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Work killers could be forced to advertise crimes Companies convicted of corporate manslaughter could be forced to take out adverts publicising their conviction as a result of new measures, the justice ministry has said. Courts will now be able to hand out publicity orders to firms and public bodies where gross corporate health and safety failures caused a person's death. Ministry of Justice news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Serial offender trumpets safety ‘milestone’ A company that says it is the UK’s leading waste and recycling firm and that parades its environmental and safety credentials has been a serial safety offender over the last five years. Health and safety magazine Hazards charges that while no mention of a conviction in February relating to an employee’s death appears on the Veolia ES website, “the company is less reticent when it comes to boasting about its safety successes.” Hazards ‘green jobs, safe job’ blog • 27 February 2010 Europe: Green capitalism can be just as deadlyIf you are one of those employed in the rapidly expanding green jobs sector, don’t assume your green employer is any less likely to exploit and endanger you. According to Laurent Vogel, director of the European TUC’s health and safety research arm, HESA, “private management of environmental protection activities does sacrifice working conditions for the sake of competitiveness.”The relative appeal of green jobs • Just Transition editorial, Laurent Vogel, February 2010 • Green jobs, safe jobs blog • 27 February 2010 Britain: Boss fined for unsafe work on roof A roofing firm boss has been fined £4,950 after putting himself and two of his employees at risk of falling more than seven metres from a building. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Dean Paul Shaw, 44, trading as Streamline Guttering and Cladding, of Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, for allowing work to take place on a roof without adequate safety equipment to stop him or his workers falling. HSE news release and Shattered Lives campaign website • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Property developer faces the courts A Bradford property developer has been fined £10,000 for serious safety failings that endangered the lives of workers on a refurbishment project in Hull. HQ Leisure Limited pleaded guilty at Hull Magistrates Court to one breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, two breaches of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and three breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. HSE news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Government acts on asbestos illness The Ministry of Justice has announced a range of measures to support people who have been exposed to asbestos. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the decision not to compensate new cases of pleural plaques was “disappointing” but added “the other measures announced will be of real benefit to those who develop a disease as a result of exposure to asbestos”. Ministry of Justice news release and statement from Jack Straw • DWP news release • TUC news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Mixed verdict from asbestos victims Asbestos victims’ organisations and personnel injury lawyers have given a mixed verdict on the government’s moves on pleural plaques and asbestos compensation and research. Asbestos Forum news release [pdf] • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: UCATT says victims have been ‘abandoned’ Construction union UCATT has expressed disappointment after the government ‘abandoned’ the majority of pleural plaques victims in England and Wales. The union was speaking out after justice secretary Jack Straw confirmed on 25 February the government would only compensate pleural plaques victims who had lodged a legal case prior to a 2007 Law Lords decision to bar compensation. UCATT news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Flawed evidence denied asbestos victims People killed by asbestos diseases have been wrongly denied compensation because the courts have relied on flawed medical evidence, a landmark case has shown. The judge said that the asbestos level of 20 million fibres for confirmation of asbestos disease was “set too high, probably significantly too high” and found in favour of asbestosis widow Della Sabin and awarded her £100,000 in compensation. Pannone LLP news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Compensation law moves forward in Scotland A Labour MSP said he is “delighted” to have won cross-party support for his proposed shake-up of compensation laws for wrongful deaths in Scotland. Bill Butler has put forward a Member’s Bill aimed at speeding up the process of paying compensation to victims of disease and accidents, including those caused by or related to work. Bill Butler blog • The Herald • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Australia: Payout after skin cancer deathA record six figure payout has been given to an Australian widow after her construction worker husband died at 43 from skin cancer. The family of construction worker Rohan Crotty – his 39 year-old wife Jo-Anne and four sons aged five and under – have been left in mourning after Rohan died in July last year within two years of being diagnosed with melanoma. News.com.au • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Tower crane registration scheme becomes law A new law to improve the safety of tower cranes on construction sites was laid before parliament this week, paving the way for the start of a statutory registration scheme. The regulations, developed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a high profile campaign by safety activists and unions, will come into force on 6 April. DWP news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Hole in ship was plugged with a rag The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has detained a 2,000 ton ship using a rag to plug a hole in its cracked hull. The Russian registered cargo vessel Baltiyskiy 110 has been issued with a Detention Notice due to failure to comply with merchant legislation in Fowey, Cornwall. MCA news release • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Britain: Unexploded bombs left at recycling centre A Welsh council has warned people to be more responsible after an unexploded artillery shell, detonators and marine flares were dumped at its local authority recycling centres. Powys Council said it had been forced to call out Army bomb disposal experts and police three times during the last five months. Powys Council news release • Green jobs, safe jobs blog • BBC News Online • Risks 445 • 27 February 2010 Hazards news, 20 February 2010 Britain: TUC issues warning on new fit notes The TUC has warned employers against using the introduction of a new medical statement or 'fit note' to try to force workers back to work before they are ready. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said “if employers see the changes as a green light to force workers back to work before they are well enough to return, in the long run, it will only lead to increased sickness absence and unnecessary conflict.” TUC press notice • DWP guidance • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Belgium: Train staff strike after fatal crashTrain workers in southern Belgium went on spontaneous strike in protest against what they believe were dangerous working practices immediately after two commuters crashed at Halle, just outside Brussels, killing 18 people. The strike was widely followed and led to widespread disruption to train services in southern Belgium. Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: TUC issues fit note guide to union reps At the same time as the government launched its guidance for employers on the new 'fit note' arrangements, the TUC published advice to unions and workplace representatives on how to prepare for the changes. The guide says the key to ensuring that workers are not forced back to work early, or on reduced pay, is for them to have proper union representation and access to grievance procedures. TUC guidance • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: Union calls for action on baggage limits Unite the union have been running a campaign to try to prevent baggage handlers from having their backs damaged by having to move heavy luggage. Unite says that baggage handlers are five times more likely to be injured, although the cramped conditions they work under are also a major factor. Unite release • HSE release • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 USA: The true cost of a valentine's giftThe US National Labor Committee launched a campaign for St Valentine's Day to protest about the death of over 2,000 India workers, including children who have contracted silicosis while grinding gemstones-heart shaped agate pendants and ornaments, earrings, bracelets for export to countries like the United States. Youtube video • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: Rail firm issued prohibition notice over staff cuts Network has been served a Prohibition Notice by the Office of Rail Regulation over a shortage of lookouts to ensure safe track working in South Wales. The notice states that the inspector is 'of the opinion that there is an immediate risk of harm to the trackworkers undertaking foot patrols on the railway line between Cardiff Central and Aberdare, Rhymney, Treherbert and Merthyr Tydfil.” RMT release • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: Rail unions to ballot on safety fears Two rail unions are to ballot their members for industrial action over the threat from Network Rail to axe up to 1500 safety-critical maintenance jobs. The two unions, TSSA and RMT have repeatedly raised concerns over the effect that these cuts will have on the safety of the national rail network. TSSA release • RMT release • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 USA: Shock tactic in New York asbestos protestA New York union branch has found a novel way of highlighting both the dangers of asbestos and also the importance of unionisation in protecting the safety of both workers and the public. The union has put a coffin outside the offices of a company that is using non-unionised workers to remove asbestos. Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: Social workers and carers under attack Trade union UNISON has warned that violence and abuse against social workers and people working in social care, has reached 'chronic' levels, with attacks and abuse becoming a regular occurrence. UNISON ten point plan • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: TUC criticises low fines despite new laws The TUC has expressed concern that courts are continuing to impose ridiculously low fines on employers who are found guilty of health and safety offences despite recent laws that aimed to increase penalties. The health and safety at work offences act, which came into effect last year removed the limit on most offences by allowing them to be tried in higher courts and at the same time raised the maximum fine which could be imposed in the lower courts to £20,000. HSE press notice • HSE press notice • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: Safety campaigners back TUC on sentencing Safety campaigners have backed the TUC's call for greater penalties against companies that kill workers, following the publication of government sentencing guidelines. IOSH press release • FACK release • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: HSE warns oil industry HSE chair Judith Hackitt has warned the UK oil and gas industry that they must not allow short-term business pressures to blind them to the real and potentially devastating human and business consequences of neglecting process safety and asset integrity. Unions have campaigned for many years for a tougher line against the oil and gas extraction and processing industry which, they claim has a lack safety culture and are not doing enough to ensure that their ageing rigs are safe. HSE press release • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: Compensation for asbestos victim's family A union has obtained compensation of £230,000 for the family of an Exeter engineer who died from asbestos related disease mesothelioma. The Unite member worked for Lucas Industries from 1960 until the 1980s and came into contact with asbestos when carrying out heat tests wearing asbestos gauntlets. Thompsons Solicitors press release • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: Construction firm fined after worker run over Construction giant Carillion has been fined £185,000 after an Oldham worker suffered life-threatening injuries when he was run over by a reversing truck at the Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale in 2008. A Ford Transit truck was reversing on the construction site when it hit Michael Gresty who was helping to build a new track around a large pond. Press notice • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: Shorter hours the key to a better future A UK think tank has said that shorter working hours will be better for workers and the environment - but only if there is greater pay equity. Despite a recent trend to increased working time the new economics foundation (nef) forecasts a major shift in the length of the formal working week as a consequence of dealing with key economic, social and environmental problems. Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risks 444 • 20 February 2010 Britain: Serial offender fined after recycling bin death A company that says it is the UK’s leading waste and recycling firm and that parades its environmental and safety credentials has been fined £130,000 after a worker was killed when a 1,100-litre recycling bin fell on his head. Green jobs, safe jobs blog • 20 February 2010 Hazards news, 13 February 2010 Britain: Unions welcome asbestos scheme consultation Unions and asbestos campaigners have welcomed a consultation by the government on the setting up of a fund to pay compensation to those who develop diseases many years after exposure where the insurer cannot be traced. The Department for Work and Pensions has published a consultation paper which sets out plans to create an Employers' Liability Tracing Office to help people track down their employers' liability insurance policies, and an Employers' Liability Insurance Bureau to provide a fund of last resort for those who are unable to trace them. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Canada: Union testifies to helicopter crash inquiryA Canadian union has called for major changes in the way that the helicopter industry operates to ensure that there are no further tragedies such as the one last March when a Cougar chopper fell into the sea about 60 kilometres east of St. John's killing 17 of 18 people aboard. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Britain: PM meets union to discuss new dog laws Officials from the Communications Workers Union have met the Prime Minister as part of their campaign to get dangerous dog legislation changed. The union has been waging a long-standing campaign to close a loophole in the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act which fails to provide legal redress for people attacked by animals on private property. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Britain: Cooker company ignored lifting regulations Factory worker Michael Mountford from Stoke on Trent suffered serious damage to his shoulder and neck while putting together heavy cookers for Indesit Company UK, based in Blythe Bridge, Staffordshire. His job on the assembly line involved lifting the cookers before adding parts to them. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 El Salvador: Forced labour supplies western market The true cost of cheap imports to markets like Europe and the US has been exposed by a report from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) of into the free trade export zones in El Salvador. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Britain: Union alleges bullying by BA Members of the Unite the union have accused British Airways of behaviour that amounted to bullying after the airline put up a 'graffiti wall' in its headquarters building and encouraged comments that were derogatory and insulting to cabin crew. The incident happened while Unite was balloting cabin crew over industrial action as part of a long-running dispute. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 USA: Long hours linked to deadly gas explosionWorkers in a Connecticut power plant that was rocked by an explosion which killed five people last week were often working more than 80 hours a week, reports say. It is also alleged that workers at the Kleen Energy Systems plant smelled gas less than an hour beforehand and were told to open doors wider for air. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Britain: Strike over train safety concerns RMT members working for Scotrail are to strike over safety concerns after the company announced plans to introduce driver-only operation on the new Airdrie-Bathgate line. Members voted by a margin of nearly five to one on an 82 per cent turnout to strike for 24 hours on February 20, March 1 and March 13. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Britain: Compensation after asbestos exposure A former power station worker Clifford King, 85, from Newark in Nottinghamshire has received compensation thanks to his union, Unite, taking up his claim for damages after he was diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 USA: Poisonous record of prison e-waste recyclingUS prisoners and staff supervisors were exposed for years to excessive levels of toxic heavy metals during computer recycling operations, a government workplace health research agency has confirmed. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) report, however, says the absence of recordkeeping inside the prisons, made it impossible to confirm any health problems from these illegal levels of exposure. Green jobs, safe jobs blog • 13 February 2010 Britain: Company fined for poisoning its workers A recycling company and its director have been fined a total of £145,000 for exposing workers to toxic mercury fumes at a site in Huddersfield. Electrical Waste Recycling Group Ltd recycles electrical equipment, including fluorescent light tubes containing mercury and TV sets and monitors containing lead at a plant in School Lane, Kirkheaton. Green jobs, safe jobs blog • 13 February 2010 Britain: Stonemasons suffer long-term lung damage A York-based company of stonemasons William Anelay Limited, of York, was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £6,000 by York Crown Court after pleading guilty of breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The court heard that two employees, who had been working for the company as stonemasons for many years, fell ill after being exposed to uncontrolled levels of respirable crystalline silica, which is caused primarily by dry stone carving without extraction ventilation or use of protective equipment. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Thailand: Railway workers need supportAn international campaign has been launched to support six Thai union officials who have been sacked after union members refused to drive trains they believed were unsafe. The action also happened after the Thai national rail company (SRT) had cut jobs. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Britain: Guideline on Corporate Manslaughter published The Sentencing Guidelines Council have published guidance for courts in dealing with companies and organisations that cause death through a gross breach of care or where breach of health and safety requirements are a significant cause of the death. The council guidelines, effective from 15 February 2010, state fines for companies and organisations found guilty of corporate manslaughter may be millions of pounds and should seldom be below £500,000. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Britain: Company fined after bowling alley death A leisure company, Mitchells and Butler Retail Ltd, which ran the former Hollywood Bowl site in East London, has been fined £40,000 after pleading guilty to a health and safety breach in a prosecution brought by Newham Council. Ferdinand de la Cruz was crushed to death by a ten-pin bowling machine he was cleaning because the company had not provided adequate protection - namely a guard that would have prevented the awful accident. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Britain: Verdict of unlawful killing reinstated An inquest has heard that a pit worker died from a gas leak because his employer did not enforce its health and safety policy. Richard Clarkson, 26, died in 2004 in an argon gas-filled pit at Bodycote Ltd metal parts factory in Hereford and his colleague, Stuart Jordan, who tried to help him also died. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Europe: Dangerous substances risk campaign European health and safety inspectors are to run a Europe-wide inspection campaign to improve working conditions associated with the use of dangerous substances in the workplace. The campaign, which will run from January 2010 to March 2011, is being run by SLIC, the European Union Senior Labour Inspectors Committee, and is supported by the European Commission. Risks 443 • 13 February 2010 Hazards news, 6 February 2010 Britain: Unions make work safer every day The worldwide theme for Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April this year is to be ‘Unions make work safer.” The general theme – unions at national level can adapt it to fit local campaigns and priorities – was announced in a circular this week from the International Trade Union Confederation. It followed a consultation with national union centres and international union organisations. The circular notes: “The ITUC, in cooperation with Hazards and Global Unions, will produce background material for 28 April. It is for this purpose that we would like trade unions to send us information, success stories and resources on the effect trade unions have on improving occupational health and safety and ultimately saving lives, in order to incorporate them in the background materials.” So, tell TUC what union safety organisation in your workplace has done – through active safety reps, effective safety committees, mapping exercises and union insistence that health and safety is a priority - to make work healthier and safer all round. Send examples to TUC. TUC Workers’ Memorial Day webpages and union effect briefing • Global 28 April webpage and facebook page • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Union welcome for 28 April recognition The UK government’s official recognition of Workers’ Memorial Day has been met with a lot of praise from unions and a bit of now-we’ll-have-some-more-thank-you. Ronnie Draper, president of the bakers’ union BFAWU said the “fantastic” news was “testament to the campaigning strength of trade unions and other pressure groups.” He added: “The slogan ‘Remember The Dead, Fight for the Living’ must never be forgotten, it should be used as a constant reminder that lives lost at work should not be in vain, and the protection of workers must be our ultimate goal.” Bob Monks, general secretary of the road transport union URTU, said: “The official day will help promote our campaigns to highlight and prevent workplace accidents in the road haulage, distribution and logistics industry.” Dave Prentis, UNISON general secretary, said it was good news that had “been a long time coming”. He added: “Too many workers are still suffering because of workplace injuries. By marking Workers’ Memorial Day nationally, it will act as a reminder for all employers that they have a legal duty to protect their staff.” Alan Ritchie, general secretary of the construction union UCATT, said it was “an important first step in the campaign to establish Workers’ Memorial Day as a bank holiday, in order to ensure that all workers have an opportunity to remember their friends and colleagues who have been killed or injured at work.” BFAWU news release • URTU news release • UCATT news release • UNISON news release • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Campaigners point to true work toll Union-backed workplace justice and safety groups have said the government’s formal recognition of Workers’ Memorial Day should be backed up with a new system of official statistics to recognise that tens of thousands, not hundreds, are killed by work every year. Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) and the Hazards Campaign say the real toll demonstrates why there needs to be a renewed government emphasis on health and safety enforcement. FACK founder member Linzi Herbertson said: “We want all those killed by work either in incidents or through illnesses caused by bad working conditions, to be remembered. FACK members cannot understand why some workers killed at sea, or in the air, or on the roads, or through work stress suicide, plus all the members of the public killed by work activities, are not included in the official figures” published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Both FACK and the Hazards Campaign say these HSE figures systematically under-estimate the deadly impact of work-related ill-health. Hilda Palmer of the Hazards Campaign said “if we include the many thousands who die from illnesses caused by their working conditions the total could be as high as 50,000 a year! Government has long been criticised for under-estimating deaths from work- related cancers which even the most conservative estimate by global experts is about 18,000 each year.” FACK news release • Hazards Campaign news release • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 USA: Training alone is never enoughHealth and safety training at work is a good thing - but will only result in safer, healthier workplaces if there is management commitment and worker involvement. This is the finding of a detailed review by the US government’s occupational health research body NIOSH and researchers from Canada’s Institute for Work and Health (IWH). NIOSH Science Blog • A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Training & Education for the Protection of Workers • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Call for vigilance after bridge deaths Construction union UCATT is calling for increased vigilance and is demanding companies do not take a complacent attitude to safety, after two bridge workers in Scotland were killed within hours of each other. Both men were undertaking painting and blasting duties and both deaths occurred on rail bridges. UCATT news release • ORR statement • BBC News Online • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Firefighters 'arrest' over warehouse deaths Firefighters’ union FBU has expressed concern after being told three managers were to be arrested in relation to the deaths of four firefighters in a 2007 warehouse blaze. FBU news release • BBC News Online • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Philippines: Unions launch asbestos e-campaignUnions in the Philippines have launched an email campaign to press for a ban on all asbestos use. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) and the Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) campaign is urging the country’s Senate to pass Senate Bill 741, banning asbestos. Ban Asbestos Philippines news release • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Body armour hurt council worker A community enforcement officer who was injured by ill-fitting, second hand body armour, has received a £2,000 payout. UNISON member Anthony Roach, from Eaglescliffe in Teesside, was left with serious back and shoulder problems after being provided the faulty police cast-offs. UNISON news release • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Claims firm ditched deaf worker An engineering worker who was exposed to dangerous levels of noise at work for over 20 years has received a £13,500 payout – after a claims management firm dropped the case. Unite member Ashiq Hussain Shah, 58, suffered the hearing damage while working for Bradford-based motor parts manufacturer Federal Mogul from 1989. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 India: Shipbreaking workers denied drinking waterShipbreaking workers toiling in Mumbai, India, are being denied access to drinking water, putting lives at risk, unions have warned. Global union federation the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) has been working closely with the shipbreaking workers as part of its union building project which has seen 2,500 workers organised in Mumbai, and a further 6,500 in Alang. IMF news report • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Doctors won’t decide on fitness to work The new fit note will not give doctors the option to deem a patient “fit for work”, only whether they may be fit for some work, the government has indicated. The final decision will instead be a matter for the employee and the employer under the new system, due to come into force on 6 April. Reforming the Medical Statement: Government response to the consultation on draft regulations: The Social Security (Medical Evidence) and the Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) Regulations 2010, DWP, January 2010 [pdf]. Personnel Today • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Risk assessment may have stopped knife death A simple risk assessment may have averted an incident when a mental health worker was stabbed to death, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said. Mental health charity Mental Health Matters was fined £30,000 and ordered to page £20,000 costs after admitting failing to protect employee Ashleigh Ewing, 22, who was stabbed to death by a paranoid schizophrenic. HSE news release • BBC News Online • The Journal • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Fined £7,500 after builder’s death A Bolton housebuilding company has been fined £7,500 after one of its workers fell to his death. DC Kennedy Homes Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after Ian Smith, 64, was killed when he fell from an unstable ladder. HSE news release and Shattered Lives campaign • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Rail regulator moves in on jobs axe row RMT has welcomed confirmation that the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has approached the government directly regarding the rail union’s safety concerns at Network Rail. The union had highlighted the safety implications of Network Rail’s plan to axe 1,500 maintenance jobs. RMT news release • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Britain: Network Rail ‘madness’ jeopardises progress It would be ‘madness’ to let Network Rail jeopardise safety improvements on the rails by axing maintenance jobs, rail union RMT. The union was commenting after a Railway Safety Standards Board (RSSB) report showed encouraging safety improvements on the rail network. RSSB news release [pdf] • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 HSE slips and trips website – rebranded To coincide with the launch of phase 3 of its ‘Shattered Lives campaign’, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) slips and trips website has been rebranded with what the watchdog describes as a new design, better navigation, news and resources. HSE slips and trips website • STEP • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Europe: Construction unions reject deregulation The European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) has denounced European Commission (EC) proposals for health and safety deregulation. The EC’s October 2009 action programme, which forms part of a European Union “Better Regulation” push, calls for certain firms to be exempted from core health and safety requirements. ETUI-HESA news briefing • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Global: Scientists slam Canada’s asbestos trade Over a hundred prominent scientists in 28 countries have challenged Quebec Premier Jean Charest, who embarked on a trade mission to India on 31 January, to stop Quebec's export of asbestos to the developing world. The assault on Canada’s deadly trade came ahead of the mission to India, a key export market for Canada’s asbestos. RightOn Canada news release and letter to Premier Charest [pdf] • Montreal Gazette • CBC News • CTV News • ETUI-HESA news report • Risks 442 • 6 February 2010 Hazards news, 30 January 2010 Britain: Workers’ Memorial Day – it’s official! The UK will officially recognise Workers’ Memorial Day to commemorate thousands of people who have died, been seriously injured or made ill through their work, cabinet minister Yvette Cooper has announced. To mark the day this year, the TUC is calling for two minute’s silence in workplaces up and down the country at noon on Wednesday 28 April. DWP news release • TUC news release and Workers’ Memorial Day webpages • International 28 April website • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Sharp increase in violent attacks The TUC has called for a “zero tolerance” approach to violent crime at work after a new analysis showed the number of physical assaults against workers last year was up 50 per cent on the previous year. Violence at work: Findings from the 2008/09 British Crime Survey, HSE, January 2010 [pdf] • TUC news release • BBC News Online • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 USA: Toxic chemicals law reform callAn overhaul of the US federal toxic chemical law to reduce the level of toxic exposures to workers, families and children is urgently required, campaigners have said. The union USW, the Learning Disabilities Association, the Cancer Institute and the Pennsylvania Nurses Association joined forces to call for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act.USW news release • The health case for reforming Toxic Substances Control Act • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Firefighter warns workers to log accidents A firefighter has said workers should make sure they log all workplace injuries and incidents, no matter how minor, after developing a debilitating condition from what at first appeared to be an insignificant niggle. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: RMT dossier exposes rail safety failures RMT has warned that a safety crisis on the rails could get dramatically worse if Network Rail is allowed to proceed with plans to shed 1,500 safety critical maintenance posts. On 27 January, the union handed a damning dossier to MPs, outlining reports of a “serious deterioration in safety” alongside damaging maintenance cuts. RMT news release • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 New Zealand: Unions welcome poisonings probeThe Maritime Union of New Zealand has welcomed new research on nerve disease and the toxic fumigant methyl bromide. Concerns were raised after port workers exposed to the gas developed Motor Neurone disease, with one port town having a rate of the disease 25 times the national average. Maritime Union news release • TVNZ • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Scotrail ‘bullies’ supervisors to train as guards Rail firm Scotrail is bullying managerial and supervisory staff into taking a quickie training course so they can act as train guards. The courses, described by rail union RMT as “dangerously compressed”, are Scotrail’s contingency plan in the event of industrial action over the imposition of Driver Only Operation (DOO) on the Airdrie/Bathgate line. RMT news release • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: ‘Inadequate’ blacklisting law is delayed Construction union UCATT says it has won a delay in the implementation of a blacklisting law, after raising concerns about the adequacy of the measures. The union says it wrote to and contacted directly members of the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, expressing “grave concerns” about the proposed law. UCATT news release • Blacklist blog • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Police worker receives £10,000 after fall A police receptionist has received more than £10,000 in compensation after getting ‘triplash’ when her foot caught in loose wires. The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union member, who had earlier reported the trip hazard, was left with serious whiplash injuries to her shoulder and neck following the incident. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 India: Agate workers get silicosis, not compoThousands of agate polishers in Gujarat are getting a deadly occupational disease – but missing out on compensation because they work in their own homes. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the state government to speed up the compensation process for silicosis victims in what is typically a cottage industry. Indian Express • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Former BT worker gets asbestos cancer A former BT engineer has received “substantial” compensation after his employers admitted exposing him to asbestos. Unite member Vaughan Toms, 62, was diagnosed with the asbestos cancer mesothelioma in November 2008 after complaining about being breathless to his doctor. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Bill calls for safety duties on directors A Labour MP is pressing for a new law to place legally binding, explicit safety duties on company directors. Aberdeen North MP Frank Doran presented his Health and Safety (Company Director Liability) Bill in a House of Commons debate on 19 January. House of Commons debate, Hansard, 19 January 2010. Health and Safety (Company Director Liability) Bill • Theyworkforyou.com • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Company finez for Heathrow crush death A major airport services company has been fined £90,000 following the death of an employee crushed by an electric vehicle at Heathrow airport. Maintenance engineer Mohammed Taj, 52, died in March 2008, when the “tug” used for pulling baggage and other supplies to planes, fell on his head. HSE news release • Hillingdon Times • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Massive cement explosion injures worker A Scottish oil service firm has been fined £14,000 after an explosion sent five tonnes of cement powder into the atmosphere, injuring a worker. Peterhead-based Cebo UK pleaded guilty to two failures to comply with its pollution prevention and control (PPC) permit when the case was heard at Peterhead Sheriff Court. SEPA news release • Press and Journal • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Confused recycling sector is still deadly If you work in waste and recycling, you might not be reassured to hear it has a work fatality rate nine times the national average. And you might be even more alarmed when you hear some privatisation-happy local authorities are clueless when it comes to their legal responsibility to keep you safe. HSE news release and new waste sector resources • Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Global: NHS supplies made in very unhealthy conditions Doctors are calling for action to eliminate child labour and dangerous working conditions in the production of NHS supplies. The BMA’s Medical Fair and Ethical Trade group this week launched an information campaign telling doctors about the labour abuses evident in the production of NHS medical supplies. BMA news release • Fair Medical Trade website, facebook group and leaflet [pdf] • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Lords seek pre-employment health check ban The use of pre-employment health checks could be made illegal if a Lords amendment to the Equality Bill becomes law. This week, the House of Lords introduced the ground-breaking clause into the Equality Bill that would, for the first time, prevent employers asking candidates questions about their health that are unrelated to the job role. House of Lords debate, Hansard, 19 January 2009 • Personnel Today • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Britain: Vehicle spot checks on load safety Spot checks on hundreds of vehicles will take place in the coming weeks in support of a new drive to ensure that loads are being transported securely. The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) new load safety campaign is focused on reducing the number of death and injuries linked to workplace transport. HSE news release and load safety campaign • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 China: Work diseases emerge from the shadows The Southern People Weekly magazine this month listed Zhang Haichao, a 28-year-old rural resident of Henan Province, as a mover and shaker in Chinese society. Zhang became famous after receiving an open-chest operation in July 2009. This attracted intense public attention not because the procedure treated an exotic disease, but because it put the fate of victims of occupational diseases in the spotlight. Beijing Review • Risks 441 • 30 January 2010 Hazards news, 23 January 2010 Britain: RMT secures safe staffing milestoneRail union RMT this week struck a deal to guarantee safe staffing levels on East Coast Main line trains. RMT says the agreement to keep train guards is “an important victory in the fight against Driver Only Operation (DOO).” RMT news release • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Aslef go slow ‘saves lives’ A union call for train drivers to drive slowly – no more than 20 mph – over open level crossings has been praised after it was claimed to have saved at least one life. ASLEF general secretary Keith Norman commented: “Others may talk about level crossing safety, but our union actually does something about it, adding: “I hope others, like Network Rail, will follow our lead and get serious about this continuous loss of life.” ASLEF news release • John O’Groat Journal • Daily Record • Press and Journal • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 USA: OSHA chief calls for good safe green jobsThe newly installed leader of the US government’s workplace safety watchdog has made his first public act a call for green jobs to be good, safe jobs. Dr David Michaels, the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), called for greater worker involvement and said: “We must push worker health and safety as a critical, necessary, and recognised element of green design, green lifecycle analysis and green contracts.” Video and transcript of speech by David Michaels, head of OSHA • NIOSH green, safe and healthy jobs webpages • Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Blacklist law won’t end ‘despicable’ practice Construction union UCATT has said it is ‘deeply disappointed’ with the government’s ‘fundamentally flawed’ blacklisting regulations. The union had told ministers the regulations as originally drafted would not end blacklisting and had hoped the government would revise the proposed law, but this has not happened. UCATT news release • Building • Blacklist blog • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Shop union presses for assaults law People who assault shopworkers in Scotland could get tougher penalties if a new bill is successful, says retail union Usdaw. The Workers (Aggravated Offences) Bill is being brought by Hugh Henry MSP and calls for the assault of shopworkers to be recognised as an aggravated crime. Usdaw news release • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 USA: Black workers put in radiation risk jobsThe Studsvik Memphis Processing Facility in Tennessee, a US company that processes nuclear waste, has agreed to settle compensation claims with black employees who were assigned to jobs with higher radiation exposures but who then had their dose meters doctored to show lower exposure levels. “Some of the discrimination allege d in this case is unusually extreme because of the physical danger it created for African American employees,” said Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) acting chair Stuart J Ishimaru. EEOC news release • Memphis Commercial Appeal • UPI.com • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Broken ankle leads to lifetime clot risk A driver who faces the risk of developing a life-threatening blood clot after breaking his ankle at work has received £20,000 in provisional damages. The 53-year-old GMB member from Kent, whose name has not been released, will have to take medication for the rest of his life to avoid a potentially fatal clot from occurring after he developed Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) as a result of the break. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Employers are failing to prevent falls An outreach play and learning worker for Staffordshire County Council received £6,250 after slipping on ice in December 2008. UNISON member Sandra Lewis, 50, broke her left wrist and suffered severe bruising to her hips in the slip at Queen’s St Community Centre in Burton. UNISON news release • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 China: Apple supplier hit by poisonings protestWorkers at a Chinese factory that supplies Apple touchscreens smashed vehicles and factory facilities last week in a protest over safety and pay. The China Daily reported that the more than 2,000 workers were involved in the protest at the United Win (China) Technology Ltd Co factory where they say there have been deaths from over-exposure to n-hexane, a toxic solvent used to clean the screens. China Daily • Breitbart • San Jose Business Journal • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Scaffolder survives a 40ft fall A Unite member who survived a 40ft fall has been awarded £90,000 in compensation. Trevor Cox, 43, at the time an advanced scaffolder with Wakefield-based Cape Industrial Services, was off work for eight months with his injuries after the incident in July 2007. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Injury pain led to morphine addiction A care assistant who developed a dependence on morphine following a serious workplace injury has received £18,000 in compensation. The GMB member from North Yorkshire, whose name has not been released, was off work for several months after she was hit on the ankle by a hoist, used to move immobile patients. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Lunch breaks led to asbestos cancer A gardener exposed to asbestos when he took his lunch break in a boiler room has been awarded £205,000 compensation after developing a deadly cancer. UNISON helped the 57-year-old, identified as Mr Gaffney, to claim the compensation after he was exposed to asbestos while working for the University of Liverpool during the 1980s. UNISON news release • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Shock global safety ranking for the UK The UK does not make Europe’s top 20 for occupational health and safety performance and only just scrapes into the top 30 worldwide, according to a new ranking topped by Denmark. The Health and Safety Risk Index (HSRI) ranks the UK the 30 safest nation; among the 30 OECD nations, the UK is ranked at a lowly 20th – although some other major OECD nations have worse still rankings, including the USA, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Maplecroft news release • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: BAE fined over woman’s blast death Defence company BAE has been fined £80,000 over the death of a worker who was killed in a blast at its explosives factory in Lancashire. Lynda Wilkins was working with lead styphnate, a sensitive primary explosive, in March 2005 when she was killed at the Chorley site. HSE news release • Lancashire Evening Post • BBC News Online • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Bangladesh: Pesticides pushers kill thousands Thousands of Bangladeshi workers are dying of pesticide poisoning each year, as a result of unsafe use of often banned pesticides. Meanwhile, safer, greener approaches to production are ignored in the face of a sustained and richly-resourced lobbying campaign by multinational pesticide producers. Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Young worker crushed to death A construction company has been fined after a young employee had his head crushed at a site in Gloucestershire. Macob Administration Limited, based in Bridgend, Wales, was charged by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after 23-year-old Lance Taylor was killed on a Gloucester construction site on 11 February 2005. HSE news release • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Head’s suicide 'linked' to school inspection The death of an “outstanding” headteacher was “inextricably linked” to the outcome of a school inspection, a sheriff has concluded. Irene Hogg's body was discovered at a secluded spot near Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders in March 2008, days after she received critical feedback from the visit. The Independent • The Guardian • Border Telegraph • The Herald. Hazards work-related suicides news and resources • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Cancer-linked pesticides used in schools At least four potentially cancer causing pesticides are being used in UK schools, placing staff and pupils at risk, according to a new survey. The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and Pesticides Action Network (PAN) snapshot of English, Welsh and Scottish school authorities also reveals that in addition to the four possible carcinogens – dichlobenil, oxadiazon, sulfosulfuron and mecoprop - seven of the pesticides used in schools may pose other serious health risks. HEAL news release [pdf] and full survey report [pdf] • PAN UK • 23 January 2010 Britain: Compensation reform must not hurt justice Proposed reforms to the civil compensation system must not compromise access to justice, the TUC has said. The union body was commenting on the publication of the final report of the Civil Litigation Costs Review by Lord Justice Jackson, whose proposals would introduce the biggest ever shake-up to the costs of taking cases through the civil courts. Judicial Communications Office news release and the Jackson Review • TUC news release • BBC News Online • The Independent • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Britain: Union disgust at asbestos law appeal Insurers have appealed against the decision to allow legislation giving victims of an asbestos-related illness in Scotland the right to claim damages. Last week, a judge rejected a bid to invalidate The Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions)(Scotland) Act which came into force last year and which allows sufferers of pleural plaques, a usually benign scarring of the lungs, to make compensation claims. UCATT news release • ABI news release • BBC News Online • Risks 440 • 23 January 2010 Hazards news, 16 January 2010 Britain: Over five million worked for free Over five million workers across the UK gave away £27.4 billion in unpaid overtime in 2009, a TUC analysis of official statistics has found. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “This long hours culture causes stress and damages people's health.” TUC news release • Work Your Proper Hours Day • The Independent • Personnel Today • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Bullied hospital worker had breakdown A bullied NHS manager, who suffered a nervous breakdown after being harassed over a three year period, has been awarded £150,000 in compensation. Nanette Bowen, a 55-year-old UNISON member from Llanelli, suffered stress and panic attacks, was signed off sick and, on one occasion, she was rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack. UNISON news release • BBC News Online • Morning Star • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 USA: Better enforcement equals fewer mine deathsMining deaths in the US fell to an all-time low last year, and two of the key reasons, said the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), are stronger enforcement of mine safety laws and the tougher mine safety rules passed in 2006 after a series of explosions, fires and other deadly incidents. MSHA figures show 18 coal miners were killed in 2009 and 16 workers in metal/nonmetal mines were killed - a drop from 2008’s total of 53 deaths. MSHA news release • AFL-CIO Now Blog • Charleston Gazette • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Dog attack led to plastic surgery A postwoman who was scarred for life after a vicious dog attack has been awarded £70,000 in an out-of-court payout. The CWU member, whose name has not been released, was delivering post to a farm in February 2007 when a German Shepherd dog attacked her. CWU news release • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Official sums wrong on pleural plaques Construction union UCATT has demanded urgent answers after discovering the government's liability for pleural plaques victims is a fraction of what had previously been claimed. The union says the government’s fear of footing a high compensation bill is the “principal reason” behind the lengthy delays in announcing a decision on pleural plaques compensation. UCATT news release • Morning Star • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 South Korea: Ex-Samsung workers seek cancer justiceA group of former Samsung Electronics workers and family members of deceased workers in Korea are suing a state labour welfare institute for failing to recognise cases of leukaemia they say were called by work. If their bid is successful, they would be eligible for state compensation. Korea Times • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Some asbestos diseases are compensated While the insurance industry fights to stop pleural plaques being compensated and the government fights the urge to make a decision, other asbestos related conditions are attracting payouts – thanks to union legal services. UNISON news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Don’t axe safety critical rail jobs A 27 January rally and lobby of parliament will call for Network Rail to abandon plans to axe nearly 1,500 safety-critical maintenance jobs. The RMT lobby will take place under the banner ‘Cuts Cost Lives’. RMT news release • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Is your OHS OK? You might feel lucky to be covered by an occupational health service when you go to work, but is the system really up to scratch? Well, now you can check as the UK has introduced the first ever OHS performance standards. FOM news release • Standards for Accreditation for Occupational Health Services [pdf] • Hazards guide to getting the most out of your occupational health services • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Global: Olympics run the risk of labour abuses In the run-up to the Winter Olympic Games, to be held in Vancouver, Canada in February, an international coalition is calling on global sportswear companies to respect labour rights. The group has rated the commitments made by the major sportswear brands to eliminate sweatshop abuses in their supply chains. ITUC news release • The company ratings and ads can be found on a new Play Fair Coalition ‘Clearing the hurdles’ website • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Shock at work deaths penalty proposals Not linking fines with turnover is a “gross undermining” of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (CMCHA), trade union law firm Thompsons Solicitors has warned. It says one of the main reasons behind the legislation was public disquiet at large companies who had killed workers receiving minimal or no sentences – but the new proposals fail to address this concern. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Four figure fine for four finger loss A plastics recycling company has been fined £2,500 after a worker had four of his fingers severed. Wesley Dickinson, 22, was trying to remove a guillotine jam at Centriforce Products Ltd in Liverpool when his fingers became trapped. HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Fine after aircraft painter fell off plane Aircraft painting company Air Livery has been fined after a worker fell from an aeroplane wing, breaking and dislocating both his elbows. Robert Lupton fell more than 20ft (seven metres) from the Boeing 777 plane he was working on at the company's Filton base. Bristol Evening Post • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Small fine after serious telehandler injury A construction company from Gateshead has been fined £4,500 after one of its workers was seriously injured when a forklift truck telehandler he was operating overturned. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Meldrum Construction Services Ltd following the incident on 16 July 2008. HSE news release • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Shoplifting is not a victimless crime Retailers have reported a sharp surge in shoplifting during the recession – matched by an increase in violence against shop staff. The latest crime survey by the trade body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) shows at least 22,000 staff nationwide say they were targeted by customers in 2009. BRC news release • Usdaw news release and Freedom from Fear campaign • UNI news release • . BBC News Online • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Insurers defeated over plaques law Insurance giants have lost a legal bid to overturn a Scottish law which allows victims of an asbestos-related condition to claim damages. Unions and asbestos campaigners welcomed the Court of Session ruling supporting the pleural plaques law that came into force in Scotland last June. Court of Session opinion on the Judicial Review • Unite news release • GMB news release • UCATT news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • . Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • ABI news release • The Herald • STV News • Daily Mirror • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Britain: Workers 'robbed of life and compensation' Victims of industrial diseases are being denied their full payments, as benefits are clawed back, according to an article in the Independent. Campaigners have told the paper that victims of industrial diseases such as the asbestos cancer mesothelioma are being “robbed” of government compensation because of an “unjust and indefensible” loophole in the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) scheme. The Independent • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Bangladesh: Eight workers die in shipyard blast Bangladesh’s notoriously deadly shipbreaking yards have claimed eight more lives. The workers at the Rahim Steel and Shipbreaking Yard were burned to death on 26 December, when the ship they were dismantling exploded. NLC’s 11 January 2010 shipbreaking report [pdf] and shipbreaking webpages • USW news release • Risks 439 • 16 January 2010 Hazards news, 9 January 2010 Britain: TUC advice on snow days As a blanket of snow descended on much of the country this week, TUC issued advice for workers and their employers on what to do when the weather turns bad. The union body says while workers should make every reasonable effort to get into work, employees shouldn't attempt to travel if it's not safe to do so, particularly if they live in isolated areas. TUC news release • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 USA: Poisoned BP workers get $100m payoutA federal jury in Texas has ordered UK-based multinational BP plc to pay $100 million (£62.5m) to 10 workers who were sickened by a 2007 chemical release at its Texas City refinery. Tony Buzbee represents another 133 workers suing BP over the chemical release and says originally his clients asked BP for $5,000 each in damages, but went to trial when BP wouldn't budge from a $500 settlement offer to each worker.Buzbee Law Firm news release • Houston Chronicle • More on BP’s safety record • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: FT staff campaign for safe staffing Journalists at the Financial Times have taken the latest step in their campaign to combat unsustainable workloads. Journalists’ union NUJ says cutbacks to editorial staffing levels mean the pressures on journalists have become too great. NUJ news release • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: Unions back social care swine flu jab Social care organisations must ensure that all eligible staff are given access to swine flu vaccination during working hours to protect themselves, their families and those they care for, unions have said. UNISON news release • GMB news release • TUC pandemic flu guide • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Global: Another deadly year for journalistsThe International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is demanding more action from governments and the United Nations to protect media workers. The call came as IFJ announced a grim total of 137 journalists and media personnel had been killed during 2009. IFJ news release • INSI news release • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: Official boost for rail union on train guards Rail union RMT has welcomed “positive progress” after Scottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson accepted a key part of the union argument for a guard on every train. The dispute relates to staffing on Scotrail’s new Edinburgh to Glasgow via Airdrie route which is due to begin operating this year. RMT news release • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: Snow exposes ‘dangerous’ rail gamble Rail union RMT says the severe weather problems on the railways have exposed the “dangerous gamble” posed by Network Rail’s plans to axe nearly 1,500 maintenance jobs. The union said it will be “closely monitoring investigations” into weather related incidents which it says have “reinforced the priority that has to be given to safety and the essential role of the maintenance crews.” RMT news release • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Global: Q fever outbreaks on two continentsOutbreaks on two continents of the occupational disease Q fever have highlighted a common but underestimated risk of animal handling. Two cases have occurred in Australian laboratory workers and the Dutch government last month ordered a cull of tens of thousands of goats in a bid to stop an outbreak of the disease, which has killed 10 workers since 2007. BBC News Online • Herald Sun • Sydney Morning Herald • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: Union casts doubt on official plaques dossier Construction union UCATT has said the author of a key government report recommending that pleural plaques victims should not receive compensation is not an expert in the field and has not met any pleural plaques sufferers. Professor Robert Maynard, an expert in air pollution, wrote ‘Medical aspects of pleural plaques: a review for the Chief Medical Officer’. UCATT news release • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: Broken limbs and scaly skin at JCB Unsafe workplaces can hurt you; unhealthy workplaces can make you sick. And it appears the JCB factory at Rocester in Staffordshire is guilty of a bit of both. Thompsons Solicitors news releases on the broken arm and dermatitis payouts • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: Hovis maker pays out for fall injury A bakery worker has received £17,500 in compensation after he fell from an unsafe ladder at work. The 28-year-old member of bakery union BFAWU, whose name has not been released, was unable to do heavy manual work for two years as a result of the injury in April 2006. BFAWU news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: Train worker gets needle injury payout An RMT member who was injured by a dirty needle has received £8,500 in compensation. The 34-year-old from Sunbury on Thames, whose name has not been released, was stuck by a needle in his knee while attempting to fix lights on a train carriage at Paddington Station. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: Fire union warning after deaths verdict The government must learn the lessons of a tragedy that claimed the lives of two firefighters, the union FBU has warned. The call came after a fireworks factory owner and his son were convicted in December 2009 of the manslaughter of two firefighters. FBU news release • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: ‘Lamentable’ Shell fined after worker is paralysed Oil giant Shell and two of its contractors have been fined after “lamentable failings” led to a “totally avoidable” refinery incident that left a worker paralysed from the waist down. Shell UK Oil Products Ltd, Dalprop Ltd and Hertel UK Ltd were fined at Warrington Crown Court on 4 January for safety offences related to the 9 February 2007 incident at Shell’s Stanlow complex near Ellesmere Port. HSE news release and video interview with Stephen and Jayne Rizzotti • Liverpool Daily Post • Wall Street Journal • The Times • Personnel Today • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009. Egypt: TB-infected workers are abandonedWorkers in Egypt with tuberculosis (TB) are being left to fend for themselves, campaigners have warned. Mohamed al-Asmaie, head of Friends of the Environment, a local NGO campaigning on behalf of TB patients, said when many Egyptian workers become sick with TB, instead of receiving treatment in hospitals, they are laid off and have to fend for themselves. IRIN News • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: Bus company fined for death of driver A bus company has been fined £400,000 after a driver was crushed to death between two seven-tonne London buses. Robert Cherry, 59, died from massive pelvic injuries at Uxbridge Bus Garage - a depot belonging Centrewest London, part of the First UK group – on 18 May 2004. HSE news release • Uxbridge Gazette • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: New cancer prevention alliance launched The UK’s cancer establishment is ignoring the environmental and occupational risk factors for cancer, says the newly formed Alliance for Cancer Prevention – and in doing so is ignoring thousands of the most easily prevented cancers. Campaign coordinator Helen Lynn said despite the “mountain” of scientific research pointing to environmental and occupational risk factors for cancer playing a major role in the disease predisposition, onset and development, the cancer establishment is choosing to ignore this evidence, adding government policy has been overly influenced by polluters and the manufacturers of dangerous products. Hazards Campaign news release • SHP Online • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Britain: Waste and recycling is a sick industry Workers in the UK waste and recycling industry have much higher sickness rates than other local authority workers, research by a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) agency has found. A report from The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) found the sector recorded more days off work than other departments within local government but also found record keeping was inconsistent and inadequate, so data “failed to accurately capture the reasons for absence”. Review of sickness absence data in the waste and recycling industry, HSE research report 750 [pdf] • Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Europe: New Euro magazine on workers’ health The European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) has launched a new free magazine devoted to occupational health and safety. HesaMag, a twice-yearly glossy, “aims to show that occupational health is not just a matter for the specialists, it is equally a question of everyday life and a major political issue,” said Laurent Vogel, the director of the ETUI’s health and safety department. ETUI publication alert • Risks 438 • 9 January 2009 Hazards news, 19 December 2009 Global: Big, green and with blood on its handsTop US retailer Kohl’s is really, really proud of its award-winning environmental credentials and “sustainability” policies. However, this rankles with the US-based International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF), which points to labour rights and safety abuses in the company’s supply chain. ILRF news release and full report • Green jobs blog • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Directors’ duties are overdue, says TUC The TUC says the case for legally-binding safety duties on company directors is watertight, adding they would be “the biggest driver yet in changing boardroom attitudes towards health and safety.” The union body says the current law “means that if a board of directors refuses to have any involvement in health and safety, however bad the record of the company, there is almost nothing that can be done to force them to take responsibility beyond disqualification (which is almost never done).” TUC directors’ duties briefing document • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Turkey: Coal mine blast kills nineteen Nineteen miners have been killed in a suspected methane gas explosion at a coal mine in western Turkey. The 10 December explosion happened at a depth of more than 200m (700 feet), causing a shaft to collapse and starting a fire. ICEM news briefing • Today’s Zaman • BBC News Online • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Bishops should quit over victimised vicar The resignation of two Church of England bishops has been called for by the union Unite. The union says they presided over ‘a culture of neglect and bullying’ in the Diocese of Worcester which drove a vicar from his parish and that this week saw him evicted from his home. Unite news release • BBC News Online • Morning Star • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: RMT warns that ‘cuts cost lives’ Network Rail plans to axe 1,500 maintenance jobs could cost lives, the rail union RMT has warned. Union members were out in force at railway stations up and down the UK on 17 December to launch a ‘Rail Cuts Cost Lives’ campaign against the job losses. RMT news release • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Guards cost less than a director’s pay Rail union RMT has demanded an immediate reversal of plans to introduce Driver Only Operation (DOO) on the new Glasgow/Edinburgh via Airdrie route. The call comes as company accounts reveal the top boss at Scotrail earns more than the additional cost of employing the guards the union says are necessary to ensure train passenger safety. RMT news release • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Safety warning over signalling cover Rail union RMT has warned that managers drafted in at short notice to try and run signalling services during a strike in Wales have not had adequate preparation for the safety critical job. The union said its members have reported that the management stand-ins received just a five hour briefing for duties that would normally require a minimum of a month’s full training. RMT news release and related release • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Union calls for urgent work death inquiry Construction union UCATT has called for an urgent inquiry following the death of a worker in Hull last week. Raymond Jessop 53, died on 8 December after falling from a ladder while painting a council property in the city. UCATT news release • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Global: Construction blacklisting campaign goes global Construction unions from around the world have backed proposals to stamp out blacklisting wherever it occurs. The decision was taken last week by the Building and Wood Workers International (BWI), which agreed to “monitor any developments on blacklisting discovered in BWI affiliate countries” and to “assist unions in taking action where there are suspicions of a blacklist or where blacklisting practices have been confirmed.” UCATT news release • Blacklist blog • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Builder secures damages for loss of finger A building worker who lost a finger in a circular saw has received an undisclosed sum in compensation. GMB member Albert Hardy, 58, from Chesterfield has been forced to change trades after his index finger on his left hand was amputated following the incident while working for a building firm in Belper. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Six figure payout for injury HSE wouldn’t probe An electrical engineer who had his left leg amputated below the knee after falling from a ladder in Rotherham has been awarded £450,000 in compensation. Keith Waring fell 13ft off the ladder on to a block paved patio, seriously injuring his left ankle- the case led to criticism of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) role, after Hazards revealed HSE had been informed of the September 2002 incident, but had refused to investigate because it was not considered serious enough. Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Yorkshire Post • Sheffield Star • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 China: Sick migrants demand surgical proof Thirteen migrant workers from Yunnan in China have applied to have open-chest surgery to prove their lungs have been damaged by dust. The workers are following the lead of Zhang Haichao, who famously underwent open-chest surgery to prove he was suffering from pneumoconiosis, China Labour Bulletin reports. China Labour Bulletin • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Firm’s ‘relaxed attitude’ led to death An organic farm owned by the wife of the multi-millionaire owner of JCB and top Tory backer Sir Anthony Bamford was ordered to pay more than £90,000 last week after one of its employees died because of a relaxed attitude to safety. Gardener Tony Cripps, 57, was crushed under a JCB while he tried to collect elderflower from the Daylesford Organic farm shop to make lemonade for the owner Carole Bamford. HSE news release • BBC News Online • The Telegraph • The Independent • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Manslaughter verdicts on firefighter deaths A fireworks factory owner and his son have been convicted of the manslaughter of two firefighters killed in an explosion at the East Sus site. Alfa Fireworks owner Martin Winter, 52, and his son Nathan, 25, were “grossly negligent”, Lewes crown court heard, and were sentenced to seven and five years in jail respectively. BBC News Online • The Telegraph • The Guardian • Sus Express • Daily Mirror • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: £150,000 fine for Preston chemical fire An international waste management company has been fined £150,000 for health and safety breaches following a major chemical fire in Preston which closed two motorways. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Veolia ES Cleanaway (UK) Ltd after carrying out a joint 15-month investigation with the Environment Agency and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. HSE news release and fire and explosion webpages • Central Radio • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Injury exposed catalogue of offences A printing company and two of its directors have been prosecuted after an investigation into a worker's injury exposed a series of health and safety breaches at its Bedfordshire site. The legal action against Flitwick firm Colpac Ltd and two of its directors, Terry Langton and Stephen Burton, was brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). HSE news release and print industry webpage • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Immigrant workers 'living in sheds' More than 1,000 migrant workers across Slough are thought to be living in sheds in people's back gardens. Slough Borough Council housing standards manager, Keith Ford, said many of the immigrants were living in the sheds without proper sanitation and were “being exploited”. BBC News Online • Financial Times • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Mum’s family searches for asbestos clues The family of a young mother who died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma is searching for more information about where she was exposed to the deadly dust. Tracey Carpenter from Kettering was just 43 when she died in November this year. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Northants Evening Telegraph • Anyone wanting to pass on information should call Neil Baines at Thompsons Solicitors on freephone 08000 224 224 or 0115 9897209 • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Britain: Company ignored asbestos warnings A company has been fined for failing to carry out proper risk assessments for the presence of asbestos before a major office refurbishment in Merthyr Tydfil. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says Waxport Ltd put employees and contractors at risk when work started on the refurbishment without an asbestos survey. HSE news release and Hidden killer campaign • Local London • Risks 437 • 19 December 2009 Hazards news, 12 December 2009 Britain: Law change call on dog attacks A ‘gaping hole’ in legislation that allows dog owners whose animals attack postal workers to escape prosecution must be closed, the union CWU has said. The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 does not cover attacks on private property, for example gardens, paths and driveways. CWU news release • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 USA: Worker killed at enforcement opt-out siteA worker was killed last week at a US plant exempted from safety inspections by the official safety watchdog because it has opted in to a ‘Voluntary Protection Programme (VPP).” Tommy Manis, 40, was killed and two other workers were injured at Valero Energy’s Texas City refinery. The Pump Handle • Houston Chronicle • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: Green meter plan needs to be safe UK government plans to introduce “smart meters” to homes nationwide as an energy saving measure must take account of safety and other concerns about rogue contractors, the union GMB has said. The GMB call comes a week after the Australian government had to clampdown on “shonky” contractors after a series of deaths in young workers installing insulation to homes under its “energy efficient homes” programme. GMB news release • Green jobs blog • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: Scotrail plans unsafe contract breach Rail union RMT has expressed anger at Scotrail’s admission it is prepared to breach a contract over train staffing levels. The union says the news – the company admitted its intentions to members of the Scottish parliament (MSPs) - comes as it ramps up its campaign over the planned introduction of Driver Only Operation (DOO) on a new Edinburgh to Glasgow via Airdrie route. RMT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: Welder gets two diseases from vibration A welder has developed two serious occupational diseases in his hands as a result of using vibrating tools. The 56-year-old Unite member from Wolverhampton, whose name has not been released, was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Global: EU e-waste is poisoning poor kids Children eke out a living by selling the scrap garnered from e-waste dumps from Ghana to China, and risk being slowly poisoned as a result. They pull apart the computers, breaking the screens with rocks, then throw the internal electronics onto the fires. Computers contain large amounts of heavy metals, and as the plastic burns, the children also breathe in carcinogenic fumes. Good Electronics • Der Spiegel • ITUC/Hazards ‘green jobs, safe jobs’ blog • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: Tate & Lyle pays out for pleural thickening A sugar factory worker has received £12,000 in a provisional payout for an asbestos related disease. The GMB member, whose name has not been released, was diagnosed with pleural thickening in 2007 after suffering from lung problems for several years. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: More Tube cuts mean more dangers Tube union RMT has accused Transport for London (TfL) and maintenance and infrastructure firm Tube Lines of slashing safety standards to dangerous levels. The union is concerned the twice weekly inspection of escalators will be cut to just once a week and the 12 week frequency of signal maintenance on the Jubilee Line will be cut to a 16 week cycle. RMT news release • London Daily News • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Japan: Firm worked employee to death A restaurant chain in Japan has been accused of working one of its employees to death. The Osaka Central Labour Standards Inspection Office sent an investigation report on local restaurant chain Isoji and its 60-year-old president to the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office. Mainichi Japan • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: UCATT outrage at blacklisting law flaws Construction union UCATT fears new regulations designed to outlaw blacklisting contain so many loopholes they will not deter the practice. The union says the government also failed to address “the routine blacklisting of safety representatives and campaigners, which was a notable feature of the Consulting Association’s blacklisting practices.” UCATT news release. Blacklist blog • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: Blacklisting lawsuit could cost firms millions Construction companies could be facing a bill of millions of pounds after a law firm revealed it was preparing a class action suit on behalf of blacklisted workers. A report in the trade journal Building says action will be brought against over 40 firms, including Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke, Kier and Costain, who were found to be using an illegal blacklist uncovered by the Information Commissioner’s Office in February. Building • Blacklist blog • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Finland: Union says suicides are only the start This autumn four employees of the Rautaruukki steel mill in Raahe, Finland, took their own lives. But they represent only the tip of the iceberg, according to union shop steward Mika Vuoti and safety representative Alpo Pirneskoski. Trade Union News from Finland • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: Sellafield fined after radiation exposures The company that runs the Sellafield decommissioning operation has been fined £75,000 and ordered to pay £26,100 in costs after two contract workers inhaled radioactive material. The prosecution followed an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into an incident on 11 July 2007 at the Sellafield Nuclear Licensed Site in Cumbria. HSE news release • Construction News • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: Vehicle repair firm fined after death A commercial vehicle repair centre in Kettering has been fined £40,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 costs after an employee was crushed to death underneath a 24-tonne lorry. FW Abbott Ltd pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court to health and safety breaches which led to the death of Martin John Carswell, 47. HSE news release and motor vehicle repair webpages • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: Warning to firms on scaffolding dangers Businesses have been warned to take proper precautions with scaffolding following a prosecution involving a construction site at Sheffield Ski Village. Pullan Development (Selby) Ltd pleaded guilty to two breaches of safety regulations in relation to poorly-erected scaffolding. HSE news release and working at height webpage • Sheffield Telegraph • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: Small businesses get mental health advice The government is providing a network of specialist coordinators and dedicated advice lines for small businesses as part of an overhaul of support for people with mental health problems. The new support includes mental health coordinators in every Jobcentre Plus district and nine occupational health advice line pilots. DWP news release • NASUWT news release • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: Disability day call for action on stress The union Unite has called for action to support the millions of workers struggling to cope with the daily impact of stress at work. Speaking on 3 December, the International Day of Disabled People, Unite’s Diana Holland said: “While disability discrimination is unlawful, it still happens, and mental health issues related to stress at work are not necessarily recognised as disability equality issues.” UN news release • Unite news release • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Global: Night shifts linked to diabetes risk Night shifts have been related to cancer and heart disease – and a new study suggests we should also add diabetes to the list of concerns. Michael Smolensky, co-editor of Chronobiology International, said “intelligent development of more health-preserving shift schedules together with efficient health screening and regular check-ups may be of considerable benefit in maintaining the health of this vulnerable group of workers.” Medical News Today • Personnel Today • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Britain: The value of unions With the recession putting pressure on Britain's workers, the TUC has published new materials to help unions attract new recruits and demonstrate the value of unions to employers. A new report, ‘The union advantage’, includes safety in an array of compelling reasons you are better off in a union. TUC publication note • The union advantage: The positive impact of trade unions on the economy and British society [pdf] • Risks 436 • 12 December 2009 Hazards news, 5 December 2009 Britain: Train drivers deliver RSI breakthrough A court judgment has paved the way for train drivers across Britain to claim compensation for an industrial injury that can leave their hands permanently disabled. The decision at Swansea County Court concerned members of the train drivers’ union ASLEF who contracted Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) as a result of the cramped, awkward conditions in train cabs. ASLEF news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • BBC News Online • Wales Online • The South Wales Evening Post • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Global: Where do your gizmos go to die?You are staring right now at a computer screen, one of the gaggle of can’t-live-without state-of-the-art electronic gizmos you cherish for a year or two then discard. A report in the ‘green jobs’ blog published by global union federation ITUC and Hazards magazine, says the waste amounts to a major toxic headache – and it warns that conditions in the e-waste recycling industry “are as distant from the cleanrooms where the products were created as the landfills – dumps – they might otherwise occupy.” Green jobs blog • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Disruptive pupils make teachers mad Primary school teachers are suffering mental health problems as a result of dealing with disruptive pupils, according to a survey by the teaching union ATL. Over a quarter of the 1,078 teachers surveyed (26.5 per cent) said they had suffered from mental health problems and one in six (16.7 per cent) physical harm as a result of dealing with a pupil. ATL news release • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Most Ladbrokes staff fear lone working The majority of Ladbrokes staff are “worried” or “very worried” about working alone, research for betting shop union Community has found. The union survey was prompted by Ladbrokes’ unilateral decision to introduce periods of mandatory single staffing, reneging on an earlier agreement to ensure all single staffing was undertaken voluntarily. Community news release • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Rail luxury for chiefs, dole for workers Rail union RMT has blasted senior Network Rail chiefs “for holding meetings in the five star opulence of London’s Langham Hotel while multi-billion pound cuts have left 1,500 essential safety maintenance staff facing the sack.” The Network Rail board met at the luxury hotel on 2 December and RMT believes the job cuts package was one of the items under discussion - members, carrying banners emblazoned with the unequivocal message ‘Cuts cost lives – safety first’, lobbied meeting. RMT news release • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Injury forces change career An electrician who has been forced to change his career after he suffered a serious injury at work has received £50,000 in compensation. Unite member Paul Merrell, 50, was forced to give up his 35-year-career after he slipped, seriously damaging his arm, while working for Premier Foods International. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Lifesaving work becomes work losing injury A paramedic has received a £200,000 payout after suffering debilitating injuries in a fall while attending an emergency call. UNISON member Michael Kirkham, 58, had to take early retirement as a result of injuries sustained when his bulky work equipment caught on a door handle in March 2003. UNISON news release • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Chemical causes permanent eye damage A factory worker has received £100,000 in compensation after being left with permanent eye damage when sodium hydroxide, a corrosive chemical, dripped onto his face. The GMB member from Bradford, whose name has not been released, has been left with reduced sight in his right eye following the incident in November 2005 at Ciba Speciality Chemicals Ltd. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Cash firm pays out for back injury A GMB member who was forced to continue lifting heavy objects after he damaged his back, leading to further injury, has received £13,500 in compensation. Alan Titley, 62, from Atherstone in Warwickshire, suffered the permanent injury as result of his work for G4S Cash Services UK in Coventry. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Cameron’s myth-fuelled attack on safety David Cameron has been accused by the TUC of creating a Conservative policy on health and safety that “seems to consist of little more than a medley of Daily Mail headlines.” A speech by the Conservative leader called for an end to the UK's “over-the-top” health and safety culture, saying it had created a “stultifying blanket of bureaucracy, suspicion and fear.” David Cameron’s speech to Policy Exchange [pdf]. TUC news release and Stronger Unions blog • The Guardian • The Times • BBC News Online • The Express • The Telegraph • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Global: Tetley’s cup overflows with hypocrisyWomen picking tea for the Indian-owned Tata Group – which includes top UK brand Tetley’s - are being victimised after standing up for basic maternity rights and are now receiving state hand-outs normally reserved for the victims of natural disasters. Nearly 1,000 tea plantation workers and their families on the Nowera Nuddy Tea Estate in West Bengal are locked out, have had barely any income since August, and are desperately hungry. IUF briefing • Online campaign: Tell Tata and Tetley Tea to stop starving workers now! The Tetley Tea website says “We’d love to hear what’s on your mind” - so send the company a message online, or use the freephone number provided to give them a call: 0800 387227 • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: STUC issues Cameron a safety challenge The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) has challenged Conservative leader David Cameron to visit Scotland and meet families who have lost a loved one as a result of a neglect for health and safety in the workplace. Grahame Smith, STUC general secretary said the Tory leader’s speech to the Policy Exchange, calling for curbs on safety regulation, was “deeply offensive” to the injured and bereaved, adding: “We would say to David Cameron if you want to learn about the true consequences of health and safety failures read Hazards magazine and come to Scotland and meet families who have lost loved ones due to health and safety failures by employers.” STUC news release • Hazards deadly business special investigation • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Unions berate ‘confused’ Conservatives Unions and campaigners have accused the Tories of being “confused” on health and safety and having a poor understanding on the issues. Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) spokesperson Hilda Palmer said: “Cameron is completely bankrupt and his comments are absolute populist nonsense,” adding: “All the models the Tories are proposing come from America where they have been shown to have failed.” Prospect news release • UCATT news release • FACK news release • Morning Star • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Government announces blacklisting plans It will be unlawful for trade union members to be denied employment through blacklists under plans outlined by employment relations minister Lord Young. He said the new law will ban employers from blacklisting workers for their trade union membership or activities. BIS news release and full government response to the blacklisting consultation [pdf] • Blacklist blog • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Unions welcome ‘overdue’ rules Unions have given a qualified welcome to new regulations intended to outlaw the blacklisting of trade unionists. The laws, which need parliamentary approval before taking effect, were announced on 2 December by employment relations minister Lord Young. UCATT news release • Unite news release • Blacklist blog • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Government accepts insurers have failed Campaigners have welcomed a government proposal that may close a loophole that denies compensation to many victims of workplace diseases and their families. After a government review, work and pensions minister Lord McKenzie accepted many employees did not have access to the compensation they deserved, especially in cases where conditions, such as occupational cancers like mesothelioma, may take many years to develop. DWP review [pdf] • Asbestos Forum news release [pdf] • Irwin Mitchell news release. Independent on Sunday • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Firm fined after lung disease outbreak A Yorkshire company has been fined £20,000 after an outbreak of lung disease caused by metalworking fluids. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors described the case as “shocking”, after Barnsley Magistrates Court heard the entire 380-strong workforce at Koyo Bearings (Europe) Ltd was exposed to a hazardous mist during everyday operations. HSE news release • Yorkshire Post • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Government lab done for cancer risks A government-run laboratory exposed workers to chemicals known to cause cancer without using any of the accepted health and safety controls. The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in Suffolk accepted a Crown Censure for health and safety breaches, the equivalent of a prosecution for a government body. HSE news release [pdf] • Cefas news release • Lowestoft Journal • BBC News Online • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: Scots criminals can’t plead poverty Employers convicted of criminal offences in Scotland could soon be subject to full financial background inquiries to ensure they are punished correctly for serious offences. The new measures are part of the Criminal Sentencing (Equity Fines) Member’s Bill proposed by MSP Dr Bill Wilson, which has now received the backing of the Scottish government and might now be incorporated in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill. Construction News • Proposed Criminal Sentencing (Equity Fines) Bill and Scottish Parliament Justice Committee report on the bill • Risk 435 • 5 December 200 Britain: Campaigners win a cranes register Construction union UCATT have welcomed confirmation from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that it intends to introduce a new statutory crane register from April 2010. The decision was made at November’s HSE board meeting. HSE news release • UCATT news release • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Britain: TUC guide to medical confidentiality The TUC has published an online guide to confidentiality and medical reports. TUC says it “is important that employees know their rights to access to the information contained in any report” and provides guidance on good practice and on dealing effectively with any concerns raised. TUC briefing document • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Australia: Deaths go through the roof A series of deaths in young workers installing insulation to make homes “greener” has led to a government clampdown on dangerous contractors. The Australian government’s Energy Efficient Homes Package has been dogged by safety concerns since the rebate began in July, with accusations of inexperienced and unscrupulous operators rushing to cash in on the scheme. ACTU news release • Green jobs blog • Risk 435 • 5 December 2009 Hazards news, 28 November 2009 Global: Paper deaths prompt transatlantic campaign An increase in workplace fatalities and serious injuries in the paper industry may have been brought on by employers trying to increase profit margins at the expense of health and safety, unions in North America and the UK have warned. In January, Workers Uniting will offer a freephone number for members to report unsafe work practices, which will be then be reported to the health and safety authorities in both the US and the UK. Unite news release • USW news release • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: Floods expose cutbacks ‘madness’ The deadly floods that that have hit Cumbria in recent days show the ‘madness’ of cutting back on rail maintenance and emergency services, unions have said. RMT news release • FBU news release • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Philippines: Fears for media staff after massacre The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has pledged its full support to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) in an urgent campaign on news safety as reports emerged that an estimated 20 media workers died in a 23 November massacre of journalists and political campaigners in the Philippines. Press reports say 57 people were killed in the atrocity.IFJ news release • International News Safety Institute (INSI) safety appeal to aid journalists in the Philippines • BBC News Online • ABC News.Hazards news, 21 November 2009 • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: ‘Dire’ risk from Tube safety check cuts Plans to cut track safety inspections on a stretch of the Tube will risk public safety, the rail union RMT has said. Track checks on the Jubilee Line extension are to be reduced from twice a week to once, officials have confirmed. RMT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: Payout for fired whistleblower A council equalities officer who suffered years of stress and harassment and was sacked after blowing the whistle on management has been awarded £442,466 in compensation. UNISON member Pauline Scanlon had been “destroyed”, adding: “The council abused its power, ruined my reputation and sabotaged my attempts to find another job.” UNISON news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: ‘Disturbing’ regional differences in site deaths Construction union UCATT has said differences in the workplace death figures throughout the UK are ‘disturbing.’ The union’s analysis of official Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures shows the highest number of construction fatalities last year were in London, Scotland and the South West. UCATT news release • 28 November 2009 Britain: Tool use caused hand injuries A retired power station worker has received a £15,000 payout after his hands were left permanently damaged by using vibrating tools at work. Unite member David Hopps, 65, from Doncaster was left with the debilitating condition Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), also known as vibration white finger, after using vibrating tools in his job at Drax Power Station. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: Injury after boss ignores stairs warning A GMB member who needed surgery after he fell down a flight of stairs had previously warned his employer about the dangerous staircase. The office worker, whose name has not been released, received more than £9,000 compensation in a union backed claim. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: Employers keen but clueless on ‘good jobs’ Employers accept the benefits of ‘good jobs’ but don’t have much idea about how to create them, a new report from The Work Foundation suggests. Stephen Bevan, managing director of The Work Foundation, said: “Employers grasp the link between staff well-being and how it can affect productivity, “adding: “What is missing is how to deliver this.” The Work Foundation news release • Personnel Today • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 India: Shipping giant told to act on violenceGlobal transport union federation ITF is demanding that Danish shipping and port multinational Møller-Maersk sack one of its contractors after it allegations it carried out violent and repeated assaults against port drivers in India. The latest attacks against port drivers, represented by the ITF-affiliated Transport and Dock Workers’ Union (TDWU), took place in Mumbai on 23 October 2009 and were thought to be perpetrated by representatives of SC Thakur, a Møller-Maersk contractor. ITF news release • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: Prevention the cure for NHS staff The government has accepted in full recommendations from an independent report into the health and well-being of NHS staff. It says implementing the measures called for by the Boorman report will help the NHS save up to £555 million a year and save up to 3.4 million working days – the equivalent to 14,900 extra staff. DH news release • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Global: Unfair workplaces can kill you Male workers are two to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack or die from heart disease if they suppress their frustration about unfairness at work, a Swedish study has found. The research found that those who expressed their frustration quickly were much healthier than those who suffered in silence. Constanze Leineweber and others. Covert coping with unfair treatment at work and risk of incident myocardial infarction and cardiac death among men: Prospective cohort study, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Published online first 24 November 2009. doi:10.1136/jech.2009.088880 [abstract] • The Independent. BBC News Online • ABC News • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: Paper faces £800,000 stress payout A News of the World reporter who suffered from a culture of bullying led by former editor Andy Coulson, who is now David Cameron's head of communications, has been awarded almost £800,000 for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. The Guardian reports Matt Driscoll, a sports reporter sacked in April 2007 while on long-term sick leave for stress-related depression, was awarded £792,736 by the employment tribunal. The Guardian • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: Green firm guilty of mercury poisoning Workers at a Huddersfield factory became sick with mercury poisoning as a result of “blatant” management neglect of health and safety, a court has heard. Staff at the Electric Waste Recycling Group site, which recycles hazardous electrical equipment including mercury-containing TVs and fluorescent light tubes, suffered headaches, stomach upsets and mood swings. Green jobs blog • Yorkshire Post • Huddersfield Examiner • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Global: Pirate-infested seas ‘not fit for seafarers’Global transport union federation ITF has called for urgent action to fight Somali piracy, before the threat makes it virtually impossible for seafarers to pass through an ever-widening danger area. The union body said: “The risk of attack is now so great that putting seafarers in harm’s way amounts to a breach of the shipowner’s duty of care.”ITF news release • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: Skanska’s ruse to evade blacklist blame Building firm Skanska, the construction giant that last year ran up the largest single bill for use of The Consulting Association’s blacklisting services, has resorted to a novel defence of the illegal practice. It claims it used the blacklist of construction workers to vet employees for a history of violence and drug or alcohol abuse – a claim dismissed out of hand by those who have obtained their files. People Management • Blacklist blog • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: Blacklisting is a human rights abuse Nearly 10 months after it was confirmed by the Information Commissioner that blacklisting in the construction industry was rife, something common knowledge for decades among trade union reps in the sector, new laws outlawing the practice are in preparation and the victims featured on the blacklist have started their tribunal cases. Guardian Work • FACK news release • Blacklist blog and related posting • Morning Star • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: Firms fined after fatal scaffold collapse Two construction firms involved in a major scaffolding collapse have been fined for their role in the incident, which left one man dead and two others seriously injured. Principal contractor McAleer & Rushe Limited was fined £90,000 and ordered to pay costs of £42,000 and cladding contractor Lee Smith Carpentry Limited was fined £36,000 and ordered to pay costs of £28,000. HSE news release • Video interviews with Mark Robinson and Ivan Penkov • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Britain: GMB’s not-that-accident-book accident book A regular thumb-through the workplace accident book is a technique used by lots of union safety reps to determine any worrying trends. But the union GMB has now gone a step further, with the introduction of its own “unofficial” purpose-designed safety reps’ accident book. GMB unofficial accident and near-miss report book [pdf] • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 China: Over 100 dead in mine blast A total of 104 coal miners have been confirmed dead in China's worst mining disaster for almost two years. China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based organisation supporting workers' rights, said the Xinxing deaths showed that nationalising mines was not enough, adding more effective safety measures were needed, including giving a voice to workers, whose safety concerns are often overruled by their bosses. The Guardian and related video clip • China Labour Bulletin and related blog entry • New York Times • Risks 434 • 28 November 2009 Hazards news, 21 November 2009 Britain: RMT members were on the blacklist too Members of a third trade union have been revealed as being victims of the infamous construction industry blacklist. A report in Tribune magazine says of the 238 files released so far, most have been on members of UCATT and Unite – but now it turns out that some RMT members were blacklisted as well. Tribune magazine • Blacklist blog • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Event: Manchester TUC ‘Fighting the Blacklist’ meeting, 7.00pm, Monday 23 November, Mechanic's Institute, 103 Princess Street, Manchester M1 6DD (entrance Major Street). USA: Workers dare not report injuriesMore than two-thirds of injured or sick workers in the US fear employer discipline or even losing their jobs if their injuries are reported, a study from the official Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found. The GAO survey of more than 1,000 occupational health practitioners found a third of these health professionals reported being pressured by employers to provide insufficient treatments to workers to hide or downplay work-related injuries or illnesses. Workplace safety and health: Enhancing OSHA's records audit process could improve the accuracy of worker injury and illness data, GAO report, published online 16 November 2009 [pdf] • New York Times • AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: UCATT protests against the blacklist Construction union UCATT will hold a demonstration in support of victims of blacklisting outside of Manchester Employment Tribunal on 24 November. A tribunal will be hearing the initial cases of blacklisted construction workers. UCATT news release • Blacklist blog • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Protest: 9.30am, Tuesday 24 November, Manchester Employment Tribunal, Alexandra House, 14-22 Parsonage, Manchester M3 2JA. Britain: Getting a handle on location safety Theatre, film and event production union BECTU is calling on employers in the industry to improve safety on location. It says its fresh appeal has been prompted by persistent concern at risks arising from the absence of handrails on facilities vehicles. BECTU news release • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 USA: Making green jobs safe jobsNot enough is being done to ensure green jobs are safe jobs, a US union health and safety expert has warned. Walter Jones, a safety specialist with the union-run Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America, told delegates to the American Public Health Association annual conference in Philadelphia that the shift toward greener buildings hasn’t done much to make the construction or maintenance of these places safe for workers. The Pump Handle • Lifecycle building: Designing for safe constructability, Walter Jones, APHA abstract, presented 9 November 2009. Green jobs blog • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: Prison walkout in bullying protest Up to 200 prison officers at Liverpool Prison walked out on 18 November in protest at “continued bullying and harassment” by senior management. Their union, the Prison Officers' Association (POA), said the dispute relates to unresolved issues that have persisted since on one of its members took a complaint to an employment tribunal. POA news release • BBC News Online and update • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: Beef up meat inspection says union More meat inspectors should be employed to protect the safety of the food we eat – and more protection should be provided to the workers doing the job. The call comes from the union UNISON, which says meat hygiene regulations should be tightened up and the number of meat safety inspectors working in abattoirs should be increased. UNISON news release • Meat Trade News Daily • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Global: Concrete action need on media murders There must be sustained and concrete international action to address the murder of journalists in peacetime and in war, an international forum has agreed. In a declaration adopted unanimously at the fourth World Electronic Media Forum (WEMF 4) in Mexico City, broadcasters noted: “Most journalists are killed not in war zones but in their own countries as they try to shine the light of the truth into the darkest recesses of their societies.” INSI news release • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: Action call on self-employed site deaths Construction union UCATT has called for action by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), after an analysis of the watchdog’s statistics revealed a sharp rise in fatalities in self-employed site workers. The union says figures supplied by HSE show the number of self-employed site workers killed increased from 19 to 20, in contrast to a sharp drop in the number of fatalities to employees in the industry, down from 53 to 33. UCATT news release • HSE construction injury statistics • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: Civil servants bullied in Wales Bullying is widespread in the civil service in Wales, with most of the victims dissatisfied with the response from their employer, research for the union PCS has found. Over 1 in 4 (26.4 per cent) civil servants working in Wales has been bullied at work and 44 per cent have experienced negative behaviour on at least a weekly basis, according to the independent survey by the Glamorgan Business School's Centre for Research on Workplace Behaviours (CRWB). PCS news release • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Global: Lead poisoning set to rise Widespread lead poisoning will result from the planned distribution of a billion computers to developing countries by technology companies and charities, according to a new study. “The lead from batteries needed to power these computers will result in environmental contamination and harmful exposures unless some commonsense safeguards are taken,” said Perry Gottesfeld, co-author of the study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production. Christopher R Cherry and Perry Gottesfeld. Plans to distribute the next billion computers by 2015 creates pollution risk, Journal of Cleaner Production, volume 17, pages 1620–1628, December 2009 [pdf] • OK International • Green jobs blog • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: College lecturer deafened by work A college lecturer has been left with permanent damage to his hearing after being exposed to excessive noise at work. UCU member Malcolm Hipkin, 65, received undisclosed damages after he was diagnosed with noise-induced deafness and tinnitus. UCU news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: Firefighters welcome Buncefield guilty plea Firefighters have welcomed the guilty plea by oil giant Total UK to safety and environmental charges relating to the Buncefield oil depot explosion in December 2005. Their union FBU has warned, however, that cutbacks could affect the ability of firefighters to respond to future incidents. FBU news release • Buncefield investigation webpage • The Ecologist • BBC News Online • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: Campaign calls for zero lead exposures Workers must have “zero exposure” to lead, a prominent safety campaign has said. The Construction Safety Campaign’s (CSC) London annual general meeting last week voted unanimously for the use of lead to be banned, a ban on lead imports and for zero exposure to lead at work. CSC news release • Green jobs blog • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Bangladesh: Workers killed in peaceful protestGlobal union confederation ITUC and the UK’s TUC have strongly denounced the killing of three workers on 21 October in Tongi, near Bangladesh’s Dhaka airport. The police opened fire against the workers, while they were protesting against dismissals at the gate of the factory. ITUC news release • TUC letter • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: New harassment and violence guide Employers, unions and the government have joined forces to promote new guidance on preventing harassment and violence in the workplace. The guidance, which follows a Europe-wide agreement between employers’ organisations and unions, aims to give practical help and support to firms and their employees. TUC briefing and links to guide • BIS news release • Preventing workplace harassment and violence – joint guidance implementing a European social partner agreement • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: UNISON slams NHS attack figures Health service union UNISON has said the number of attacks on NHS workers remains too high and must be tackled. The union was commenting on NHS violence figures released this week by NHS Security Management Services (SMS), showing only a small dip in the number of recorded assaults. SMS news release • UNISON news release • Nursing Times • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: Reports slam ‘collapse of enforcement’ Britain’s health and safety enforcement regime is in serious decline, two new reports suggest. The inspection trend, with Health and Safety Executive field inspector numbers and inspections undertaken dipping markedly in recent years, has fallen dramatically and taken enforcement action down with it in what criminal law experts have described as the “collapse of enforcement”. Steve Tombs and David Whyte. A deadly consensus: Worker safety and regulatory degradation under New Labour, British Journal of Criminology, 2009; doi: 10.1093/bjc/azp063 [abstract] [full paper pdf] • Escaping scrutiny, Hazards magazine, Number 108, October-December 2009 • The new issue of Hazards magazine is out now • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Thinking Allowed BBC Radio 4 programme examining white collar crime and punishment. The 11 November issue deals with workplace safety crimes. Britain: Liability insurance dodger fined £1,000 A Cambridgeshire retailer has been fined £1,000 for failing to have compulsory insurance to protect his employees. The case prompted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to remind all employers about the need for insurance and warn that it will take action against those who fail to protect their staff – uninsured staff could find they are not eligible for compensation or benefit payouts if they suffer work-related injury or ill-health. HSE news release • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 USA: Sixteen deaths per day Every day in the US, 16 workers go to work and don’t come home. It’s an old story, that needs new approaches to ram the home the message that workplace deaths are unacceptable – and now a new video from Brave New Films shines a spotlight on the weak deterrence and penalties provided by workplace safety laws.Sixteen deaths per day, YouTube clip • AFL-CIO blog • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: Director fined for serial safety crimes Paul Richard Llewellyn James, a businessman from Northamptonshire, has been fined £60,000 after ordering a worker to clean a moving machine that trapped and mangled his arm, leading to its amputation. The injured worker’s replacement also suffered arm injuries in a near identical incident 14 months later. , 58, pleaded guilty to two criminal safety offences. HSE news release • Northampton Chronicle • BBC News Online • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: Ship repair firm fined over death Ship repair company A&P Falmouth has been ordered to pay more than £105,000 in fines and costs for safety breaches after a man was crushed to death. John Datson, 51, died in August 2006 at Falmouth Docks after being struck by a crane platform while he was standing between it and the base of the crane. HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Britain: TUC lone working guide A new TUC online publication, Lone working - A guide for safety representatives, provides a one-stop source on the issue. The guide covers the law, risk assessments, dynamic risk assessments – where workers make operational decisions based on the particular circumstances at the time – violence, working in remote areas, and homeworking. Lone working - A guide for safety representatives, November 2009 • Risks 433 • 21 November 2009 Hazards news, 14 November 2009 Britain: Meat firm docks wages for loo breaks Workers at a Lancashire meat firm are outraged at their employer’s toilet break policy which stops their pay every time they visit the loo. Unite, which represents workers at the Dunbia a meat processing plant, says workers are being forced to take unpaid toilet breaks during work time. Unite news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: Rail cuts put safety on the line Drastic jobs cuts on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) will create a maintenance and safety crisis that could lead to new rail disasters, RMT has warned. The rail union says its research has uncovered that nearly half of the maintenance job cuts planned by Network Rail will be on the line, a franchise operated by Virgin Trains and the busiest rail corridor on the UK system. RMT news release • Contract Journal • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 USA: Jobs not gender cause work’s painA study of workers at 50 hotels in the United States has found that women are 50 per cent more likely to be injured than men, and that Hispanic women have an injury rate two-thirds higher than their white female counterparts. The study, which will be published in January 2010 in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, said the injury rate was higher for female hotel employees because they worked disproportionately as housekeepers, which is the hotel job most likely to lead to injury. APHA abstract • New York Times • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: Train drivers say rail chief must go Train drivers’ union ASLEF has said the top boss of Network Rail should be fired after an investigation revealed serious management failings contributed to a level crossing incident in which three people died. The union made the call for the dismissal of Network Rail chief Iain Coucher after an enquiry found the company’s ‘gross incompetence’ had contributed to the three deaths at the Halkirk level crossing in Caithness last month. ASLEF news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: Government told to act on fatalities report The government should swiftly implement the recommendations of a report into construction site fatalities, the union UCATT has said. The union is concerned the delay could mean any recommendations requiring primary legislation will not be including in the Queen’s Speech on 18 November. UCATT news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Thailand: ITF steps up rail sackings protestsThe sacking of Thai rail workers for raising safety concerns has spurred a global campaign for their reinstatement. Managers at the State Railway Corporation of Thailand dismissed six SRUT union committee members and said they planned to sack a further eight union leaders in the escalating row over rail safety. ITF news release and update • You can help! Send a protest letter to the State Railway Corporation of Thailand • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: Work bullying doubles in decade Over a third of workers have experienced bullying in the last six months – double the number recorded in 1997, according to a UNISON survey. The 7,000 workers who took part in a UNISON poll listed rudeness, criticism, excessive work monitoring, intimidation, exclusion and withholding information among the top bad behaviours encountered. UNISON news release • Acas news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: Members back bullying whistleblower Staff at Wrexham's Glyndwr University have voted “overwhelmingly” for strike action in support of a lecturer who was fired after whistleblowing about management bullying. The University and College Union (UCU) says members at the university also voted for action other than a strike in support of Hamish Murphy. UCU news release • BBC News Online • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: Long commute and long hours at work Britain’s workers are facing an exhausting “double whammy” of long commutes and long hours at work, new figures have revealed. A TUC analysis of official statistics published this week shows UK workers spend 21.8 million hours travelling to and from work every day. TUC news release • Commute Smart week • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: School assistant suffers slipped disc A school assistant has received a “substantial” sum in compensation after she suffered a slipped disc while lifting heavy objects at work. GMB member Yvonne Macklin, 48, from Colchester in Es, was helping a colleague to lift a heavy insulated box containing school lunches; she has been unable to work since the incident in March 2006, is in constant pain and now has a limp and must use crutches. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: Machine noise caused deafness A 52 year old engineering worker who is suffering two debilitating health conditions caused by noise exposures at work has received a “substantial” compensation award. Unite member Paul Harvey, 52, has to wear a hearing aid and suffers from tinnitus following exposure to excessive noise while working for Avon Vibration Management Systems in Chippenham. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: HSE withdraws lead safety advice The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has withdrawn advice on the dangers of working with lead after an investigation found it greatly under-estimated health risks that could be affecting over 100,000 workers. The HSE move came after a report by academics at Stirling University, published in Hazards magazine, said the official health and safety warnings about the dangers of lead were so complacent the watchdog was guilty of “extreme recklessness” with workers’ health. Dangerous lead, Hazards magazine, October-December 2009 • Channel 4 News report and video clip • The Guardian • HSE statement • Green jobs blog • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: HSE pulls director leadership case histories The Health and Safety Executive has removed a “directors’ leadership” case history on BP from its website, after the watchdog was criticised for providing an undeserved public relations push for “a serial safety offender.” The criticism of BP came in a 2 November letter sent by campaigning magazine Hazards to HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger in the wake of a record US safety fine on BP for failing to remedy hundreds of problems at its Texas City refinery. Letter from Hazards to HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger • HSE director leadership case histories • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: Bosses told to tackle work stress Employers need to pay more attention to the levels of stress and anxiety in the workplace, key health service advisers say. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) said bad managers were the single biggest cause of problems. Promoting mental well-being at work webpages • Promoting mental wellbeing through productive and healthy working conditions: guidance for employers, NICE, November 2009 [pdf] • UNISON news release • Work Foundation news release • Acas news release • BBC News Online • The Telegraph • 14 November 2009 Britain: Asbestos victims lose out, bankers cash in Construction union UCATT has said it is disappointed that the government has “once again been able to find billions of pounds to bail out the banks but seems unable to find just a few million pounds to compensate pleural plaques victims.” The union was speaking out after the 3 November announcement that the government was to make available a further £33.5 billion bailout for the disastrously mis-managed Royal Bank of Scotland. UCATT news release • Morning Star • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Factory worker gets asthma payout A factory worker has received £20,000 compensation after she developed asthma within weeks of being exposed to dangerous fumes. The 42-year-old, whose name has not been released, was diagnosed with occupational asthma after she was exposed to soldering fumes at Turbo Power Systems Limited, Gateshead. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Global: Formaldehyde causes leukaemia too The cancer risks posed by formaldehyde, a common workplace chemical already accepted to cause certain types of occupational cancer, are greater than previously thought. A meeting last month of International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) experts determined that sufficient evidence also exists to link formaldehyde with leukaemia, a cancer of the blood or bone marrow. IARC meeting highlights [pdf] and summary of evaluations [pdf] • Jennifer Sass’ NRDC blog • Fatal failings on formaldehyde, Burying the evidence, Hazards magazine, number 92, 2005 • Global Unions zero cancer campaign • BWI cancer prevention resources • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: Pet food firm fined £100,000 for death A pet food manufacturer has been fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £28,380.91 costs at Northampton Crown Court after one of its workers was crushed to death. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Butcher's Pet Care Ltd over the incident in November 2003, in which John O'Connor, 38, was crushed in a canning machine. HSE news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Britain: £10 padlock could have stopped death A Kent rice manufacturing company has been fined £140,000 for health and safety breaches after one of its employees died when his leg became entangled in a machine. Veetee Rice Ltd employee Balwinder Singh Aulkh’s leg became trapped in an unguarded underfloor screw conveyor - a piece of machinery used to take rice from the silo; the court heard a cheap padlock could have blocked access and prevented the tragedy. HSE news release • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Australia: Low pay causes lorry deaths Australian lorry drivers and members of the public are being put in deadly peril because irresponsible firms are refusing to accept the need for a “safe rate” for professional drivers. Tony Sheldon, national secretary of the transport union TWU, said drivers were frustrated little action had been taken since a report into the industry released 12 months ago showed that transport clients were forcing unsafe driving practices through low rates of pay. TWU news release • Australasian Transport News • Risks 432 • 14 November 2009 Hazards news, 7 November 2009 Britain: Paper industry yes/no safety campaign Unite and paper manufacturers have linked up to campaign for better safety throughout the industry. The union and the industry’s employers’ organisation, the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), say their ‘Say yes, Say no’ campaign aims to tackle the “unacceptably high level of serious machine accidents” in the sector. Unite news release • ‘Say yes, say no’ campaign immediate action guidelines [pdf] and campaign poster [pdf] • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 USA: BP hit with largest ever safety fine British multinational BP has been hit with the USA’s largest ever safety fine. US labor secretary Hilda Solis announced on 30 October that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had levied the largest fine in its history - $87.4 million [over £53m] - against BP for failing to correct safety problems identified after a 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers at its Texas City refinery. OSHA/Department of Labor news release and BP prosecution webpage • New York Times • AFL-CIO blog • BBC News Online • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Top bookie backs out of safety pact High street betting chain Ladbrokes has reneged on a deal designed to protect frontline staff from assaults. The bookmaker had reached an understanding with the union Community to reduce levels of lone working - but the union says Ladbrokes has now “torn up” the agreement and will institute a policy of mandatory single staffing up to 12.30pm each day. Community news release • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Thugs target journalists with death threats Tough and urgent action is needed in response to violence, intimidation and death threats targeting journalists covering far right demonstrations, media union NUJ has said. NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear was speaking out in the wake of specific email threats against photojournalist and investigative reporter Marc Vallée and video journalist Jason N Parkinson. NUJ news release • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Mexico: Oil industry deaths and corruption exposedMexico’s offshore industry is riddled with repression and corruption that is costing workers’ lives, a report has charged. The report from global union federation ITF was launched at a major safety and industrial relations conference held in Mexico City. ITF news release • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Bullies cost probation officer his job A probation officer was bullied out of a job he had held for 16 years. UNISON member Dominick Lee, 54, who has been awarded £83,000 for being unfairly dismissed, was sacked by the probation service in London in July 2007. UNISON news release and bullying and harassment webpages • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Bullies target disabled workers More than a third of disabled workers are currently being bullied, according to a UNISON poll. The new statistics, released at UNISON's annual disabled members’ conference, reveal 35 per cent of the members surveyed said they suffered at the hands of bullies over the past six months, with 22 per cent saying that the problem is continuing. UNISON news release • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Redundant drivers tell supermarket to deliver Supermarket giant Morrisons is holding back cash owed to three former drivers who lost their HGV licences on health grounds. A GMB demonstration outside the company’s Camden store set out to highlight the failure of Morrisons to honour the medical insurance agreement, with shoppers urged to make representations to the store’s manager. GMB news release • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: One in 10 shopworkers physically assaulted One in every 10 shopworkers has been physically assaulted at work, a survey by shopworkers’ union Usdaw has found. The union poll also reveals that nearly one in three shopworkers (29 per cent) has experienced verbal abuse in the last month and one in three (32 per cent) has been threatened in the last year. Usdaw news release and Freedom from Fear campaign • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Ignored warning led to injured hand A hospital worker needed surgery on her hand after a laundry contractor ignored her requests to repair defective equipment. UNISON member Rita Stone received a £7,000 compensation payout after her hand got stuck when she was moving cages full of linen out of the hospital lift. UNISON news release • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Head bang led to chronic headaches A woman suffered severe chronic headaches for years after being concussed when she was hit on the head by faulty equipment at work. GMB member Kay Holt, 28, was forced to give up her job for Wilkinsons Hardware Stores’ distribution centre near her home town of Worksop as a result of the November 2007 injury, and has now received a “significant” settlement out of court. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Bin lift led to bad back A waste lorry driver who needed surgery after he suffered two slipped discs caused by lifting heavy bins has received a “significant” out of court payout. Unite member Les Webb, 49, was off work for seven and a half months following the 2006 incident while working for Viridor Waste Management in Plympton. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Docs say fit notes plan is ‘unrealistic’ Government plans to introduce GP ‘fit notes’ instead of sick notes may be unrealistic, say researchers. A survey of 440 GPs in Nottinghamshire found few currently took any responsibility for managing the work issues of patients with back problems. Carol Coole, Paul J Watson, and Avril Drummond. Work problems due to low back pain: what do GPs do? A questionnaire survey, Family Practice Advance Access, published on 26 October 2009, doi:10.1093/fampra/cmp074 [Abstract] • BBC News Online • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 France: More company concessions on suicidesFrance Télécom is preparing to set aside €1 billion (£90m) as part of a plan to end a spate of suicides amongst staff by offering older workers the chance to go part-time. The telecommunications giant, which has already suspended restructuring, said it may enable staff aged over 57 to work part time under a stress reduction programme. The Times • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: New warning on Britain’s biggest work killer Britain's biggest workplace killer could blight another generation of building workers unless urgent action is taken to tackle asbestos risks. HSE’s new £1.2 million, month-long ‘Hidden killer’ campaign sets out to warn Britain's 1.8 million building trades workers about the dangers they face. HSE news release, podcast and Hidden Killer webpages • HSE Scotland news release • For a free HSE asbestos information pack see the Hidden Killer webpages or call 0845 345 0055 • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Agencies in asbestos jobs blunder Eleven employment agencies have been warned by the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate (EAS) after advertising for asbestos removal workers without properly checking the health and safety implications. EAS said it acted swiftly on a tip off that agencies were advertising vacancies for asbestos removal workers without having the proper Health and Safety Executive (HSE) licenses. BIS news release • EAS webpages • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Director fined after asbestos exposures Two businesses and a company director have been fined after workers in Manchester were exposed to potentially deadly asbestos fibres. Recon Packaging Ltd pleaded guilty to breaches of the control of asbestos regulations; Industrial & Commercial Building Services Ltd (ICBS) and its managing director, Kevin Bennett, pleaded guilty to a breach of workplace safety law and of the Asbestos Licensing Regulations 1983. HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Manslaughter fines could be smaller A proposal that fines for corporate manslaughter should be related to a firm’s turnover has been rejected by the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC). Guidelines put out to consultation by SGC say while corporate manslaughter fines will not be linked to either profit or turnover, they should “seldom” be below £500,000 and adds fines may be accompanied by a publicity order, remedial order, or both. Sentencing Guidelines Council news release [pdf], letter to consultees [pdf], advice [pdf] and consultation document on the guidelines [pdf] • The deadline for responses is 5 January 2010 • SHP Online • Personnel Today • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Some businesses not keen on Tory plans Conservative plans to pare back health and safety regulation may be less popular than the party hopes. A Tory Green Paper says an “earned autonomy” system would allow firms to arrange their own independent safety audits, with qualifying firms given the right to refuse entry to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors. Construction News • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Britain: Union dismay a voluntary ports code A voluntary safety code will not be sufficient to introduce the improvements needed in Britain’s ports, a union has warned. Nautilus had wanted the updated version of the ten-year-old Port Marine Safety Code, launched on 29 October, to be mandatory. DfT news release • SHP Online • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Europe: Deregulation is a threat to safety An action programme agreed by the European Commission last month as part of a ‘Better regulation’ campaign could undermine workplace safety, union safety specialists have warned. Measures that could be introduced under the programme include exempting certain small businesses from undertaking risk assessments, reducing workplace inspections and urging member states to introduce only the minimum requirements when transposing safety directives into national law. HESA news report • Risks 431 • 7 November 2009 Hazards news, 31 October 2009 Britain: Unions step up pleural plaques fight Unions have stepped up their campaign to win compensation for victims of asbestos-related pleural plaques, with a fresh appeal to the government to overturn a Law Lords ruling. A lobby of parliament organised by unions including GMB, Unite and UCATT this week pressed MPs to support moves to overturn the ruling denying payouts to sufferers of pleural plaques – a scarring of the lungs that has been linked to an increased risk of subsequently developing mesothelioma, lung and other cancer. Unite news release • GMB news release • The Scotsman • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 USA: Giant quilt pictures work’s painHotel housekeepers undertook a seven-city tour in October with a gigantic “hope quilt” providing a craft-y depiction of injuries caused by their work. They say the Hope for Housekeepers tour is also a symbol of their determination to rally union and non-union hotel housekeepers against harsh working conditions and workplace injuries. Labor Notes • UniteHere ‘Hope’ campaign • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Soaring workloads lead to paper action Weekly newspaper journalists in Nottinghamshire have passed a motion of no confidence in their bosses – and agreed to ballot for industrial action over workloads. Members of journalists’ union NUJ at the Worksop Guardian are concerned that non-replacement of staff, responsibility for another title, and a reorganisation have contributed to unreasonable demands and stress in their office. NUJ news release • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Give a little respect this hols Shopworkers’ union Usdaw is telling every seasonal shopper to ‘Keep your cool at Christmas’. The call comes ahead of the union’s Respect Week, which runs from 2 to 6 November and which will highlight the problem of abuse of shopworkers. Usdaw news release and Freedom from Fear campaign • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Australia: Unions want nano labelsWorkers could be exposed to hazardous nano products at work, but never know it, unions in Australia have warned. Unions Tasmania secretary Simon Cocker told a nanotechnology seminar: “It is imperative that, thirty years from now, we do not experience another asbestos-like tragedy and bear the shame of a generation looking back at our inaction on this issue and asking the question: ‘Why didn’t they do something?’.” Unions Tasmania news release [pdf] • Tasmanian Times • CosmeticsDesign.com • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Safe danger brings forward back problem A council worker is stuck with a chronic back problem after using a badly positioned safe. GMB member Sharon Kerry, 41, a hostel duty officer for Leicester City Council, was putting money into the safe when she hurt her back in October 2007. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Drayman run over twice by lorry A Unite member has received £350,000 in compensation after his leg was crushed by a delivery lorry that ran over him twice. The 46-year-old from Wolverhampton, whose name has not been released, was working as a drayman for Marstons plc when the incident happened on Christmas Eve 2007. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Made deaf by work in middle-age A welder who was exposed to dangerous levels of noise is suffering occupational deafness aged just 46. GMB member John Walton, 46, worked for British Steel Corporation, now known as Corus, from 1978 to 1983, Darchem Projects Limited from 1985 to 1987 and Turbros Engineering from 1987 to 2007. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Work fatalities at a record low Workplace fatalities fell to a record low last year, according to latest Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures. Fatal injuries at work fell from 233 in 2007/08 to 180 in 2008/09 and reported major injuries at work fell to 28,692 in 2008/09 (94.8 per 100,000) compared with 29,389 in 2007/08 (96.5 per 100,000). HSE news release • Health and safety: Statistics 2008/09, National Statistics, 28 October 2009 • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Teachers use voice-saving headsets Thousands of teachers are using pop star-style headsets in lessons to help protect their voices. The equipment, linked to speakers around the classroom, not only prevents hoarseness but is said to help pupils to hear better and learn more. Daily Mail • Voice Care Network UK • Hazards voice loss webpages • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Job stress led to suicide The pressure of an unwanted promotion led to a young professional's suicide, an inquest has heard. On his 29th birthday, 30 May this year, Benjamin Cheung drove his BMW to a secluded train station car park and stabbed himself three times with a kitchen knife. Preston Citizen • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: New benefits have 'caused misery' Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) says it has been “flooded with complaints” about the Employment Support Allowance (ESA) benefit that replaced Incapacity Benefit and Income Support a year ago. Examples cited by CAS include individuals that have been told by the same agency they are both fit and unfit for work, depending on which benefit they applied for, ending up with nothing. CAS news release • BBC News Online • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Over £1m in fines after rail deaths Carillion and Network Rail have been fined £1.1m and ordered to pay £100,000 costs between them, following the deaths of two rail workers. David Pennington, 46, and Martin Oakes, 38, were hit by a reversing road rail vehicle (RRV) while laying new track over night near Hednesford, Staffordshire in September 2004. Contract Journal • Express and Star • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Australia: Don’t cave in to business on safety!Unions in Australia are concerned time is running out in their battle to persuade politicians not to cave in to a big business bid to slash regulation at the expense of workers’ health and safety. Jeff Lawrence, secretary of the national union federation ACTU, said draft laws circulated in September would put workers at risk from lower safety standards. ACTU news release • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Directors fined after explosion death A North Devon crop spraying manufacturing company and two of its directors are facing a fines and costs bill totalling £152,165 following the death of employee Anthony Reed, 40, in an explosion. At Exeter Crown Court, RJ Bateman Engineering was fined £65,000 for safety offences and ordered to pay costs of £67,165 and the directors of the family-owned firm, father-and-son Richard and Jason Bateman, were each fined £10,000. HSE news release • North Devon Gazette • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: UK Coal closes mine after death Britain's biggest coal producer, UK Coal, has suspended production at one of its sites following the death of a worker. The company said investigations were continuing into the incident – one of series of fatalities that has hit the firm - and the colliery in Kellingley, north Yorkshire, would remain closed for the next fortnight. The Guardian • The Scotsman • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Worker gets 3,300-volt electric shock A Scottish company has been fined £1,500 for breaching health and safety law after a worker was burned by live power cables. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Grangemouth-based refinery and petrochemical company Ineos Manufacturing Scotland Ltd for failing to ensure a safe system of work was in place before undertaking excavation work near live electrical cables. HSE news release • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Broken back highlights demolition dangers A Norwich employer has been fined £7,500 after a worker broke his spine in a fall at the former RAF Watton site in Norfolk. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Tim Philpott, trading as Philpott Demolition and Recycling, for his role in the incident on 20 April 2007. HSE news release and falls webpages • Norfolk Eastern Daily Press • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Fund sets aside £85m for asbestos claims An £85 million asbestos compensation fund has been set up for London’s public sector, amid warnings that claims could double in the next decade. The London Pensions Fund Authority is putting aside the cash following estimates that the number of cases will rise to 25 a year, after a landmark legal case led to the authority paying out in a case involving a teacher. London Evening Standard • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Britain: Cancer sufferer escapes insurance trap A 76-year-old grandfather has succeeded in his claim for compensation for asbestos related cancer after being told at first no employers’ liability insurer could be found to cover the payout. John Pickering and Partners Solicitors news release • Risks 430 • 31 October 2009 Hazards news, 24 October 2009 Britain: Judge rejects SSE’s ‘paranoid’ terror claims Power company Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has failed in a High Court bid to use the Prevention of Terrorism Act against a dismissed worker in an attempt to stop anti-blacklisting protests outside its power station construction site. BBC News Online • Blacklist blog • Manchester Evening News • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Push to strengthen blacklist law Construction union UCATT has enlisted the help of a group of Labour MPs in a move to pressure the government to beef up the draft regulations designed to outlaw blacklisting for trade union activities. The MPs agreed to take this action at the 20 October parliamentary launch of ‘Ruined Lives’, a UCATT-commissioned academic report that argues the proposed anti-blacklisting regulations need major improvements. UCATT news release • Blacklist blog • Blacklisting ruins lives, EDM 2093 • Contract Journal • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 USA: Good jobs are good for youGood jobs are good for workers and good for firms, a study has concluded. The New York-based Families and Work Institute found nearly 40 per cent of employees in a highly “effective’’ workplace - where people are trusted and supported - report being in excellent health, double the number of those who say they’re in the best health at less effective companies. Families and Work Institute news release • Boston Globe • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Driven to exhaustion in vans and buses The rules governing the working hours of bus, coach and van drivers are so out of date that many drivers have fewer breaks than office workers, the TUC has warned. In an October submission to a Department for Transport review, the TUC said long hours working is a direct cause of driver fatigue, which contributed to one in five road accidents last year. TUC news release • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Bully hell for young working women Public sector union UNISON has teamed up with Company Magazine, the leading young women’s monthly, to launch a ‘Bully busters’ campaign. A poll to mark the start of the campaign found 1-in-3 young working women had been bullied at work, with 66 per cent of those respondents who had been bullied in the last six months saying the problem was ongoing. UNISON news release and related Company Magazine article [pdf] • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Firefighters feel 'alarming' discontent Firefighters’ union FBU has criticised the government over funding for the service after a study showed an “alarming” picture of discontent in the service. An FBU poll of 2,000 members revealed that most fear insufficient or inadequate training is compromising their safety. FBU news release • Yorkshire Post • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 USA: Watchdog recognises it’s all about workersAt a quick glance the change isn’t too dramatic. But the simple revisions to the website of US government health and safety watchdog OSHA represent a fundamental shift in the constituency it wants to be seen to serve - below a simple headline plumb centre on the site – ‘Worker fatalities’ – is a regularly updated, rolling list of single sentence summaries describing how individual workers died that week. OSHA website and fatalities updates • The Pump Handle • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Back injury costs driver his job A delivery driver who had to leave his job after injuring his spine at work fears he will never find alternative employment. Unite member John Atkin, 49, from Sunderland, received a £22,000 out of court payout after suffering the injury while working for Johnston Press. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Railway worker suffers vibration injury A member of the rail union RMT has received £10,000 in compensation after his hands were permanently damaged by prolonged use of vibrating tools. The 50-year-old track worker from Sheffield, whose name has not been released, was left with the debilitating condition Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) as a result of his work for Jarvis Rail and other companies since 1978. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Train drivers go slow for safety Train drivers have been instructed by their union to slow down on some automated crossings until Network Rail puts new safety technology in place. ASLEF last week instructed its members to reduce train speed over ‘Automatic Open Crossings Locally monitored’ (AOCL) to 20 miles per hour until Network Rail introduces obstacle detection technology and barriers. ASLEF news release • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Tories promise to ‘tame’ HSE A Conservative government would allow firms to opt-out from Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspections, with qualifying firms allowed to bar the watchdog from their premises. Instead the Conservative Party is recommending an audit system modelled on the financial sector controls that gave us Enron, Madoff and that nearly brought the entire banking system to its knees – and cut ‘sunset’ HSE entirely. Regulation in the post-bureaucratic age, Conservative Party [pdf] • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 USA: DuPont sued over asbestos in ArgentinaChemical giant DuPont exposed workers in Argentina to asbestos until the late 1990s despite knowing the risks of the material, according to three lawsuits filed in the US. The lawsuits came from former workers at a Lycra spandex plant in Mercedes, Argentina, that was part of DuPont until the sale of its textile unit in 2004. HESA news update • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Unions slam ‘disastrous’ Tory plans Unions have said Conservative Party plans to allow firms to opt-out from official health and safety oversight will be “disastrous” for health and safety. Sarah Page, national safety officer of HSE inspectors’ union Prospect, said: “Is Ken Clarke seriously saying that employers in these industries should regulate their own health and safety arrangements and close the door to our protectors?” Unite news release • Environmental Health News • Contract Journal • Construction News • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Regulation is popular and lifesaving Nearly two-thirds of people in Britain agree they benefit from regulation in their everyday lives and 70 per cent think the benefits of regulation outweigh the burdens, according to a new report from the Department for Business (BIS). ‘Better regulation, better benefits: getting the balance right’ says “70-85 per cent agreed ‘overall the benefits outweigh the burdens’ for environmental standards on air/water, food hygiene, health and safety and smokefree law.” BIS news release • Better regulation, better benefits: Getting the balance right, BIS, October 2009 [pdf] • TUC Touchstone blog • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Europe: Health and safety of cleaning workers ‘The occupational health and safety of cleaning workers’, a literature review from the Bilbao-based European Agency (EU-OSHA), “provides an overview of the most important issues related to occupational safety and health (OSH) for cleaning workers in terms of working conditions, risks and prevalence of exposures and health outcomes, and identifies information gaps and challenges.” EU-OSHA publication notice • The occupational health and safety of cleaning workers, EU-OSHA, October 2009 • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Mother dies after asbestos fight A woman who battled for two years for a payout after contracting an asbestos-related cancer caused by exposures as a pupil at school in the 1970s has died a day after a judge confirmed she should be paid £240,000. Dianne Willmore, 49, from north Wales, passed away on 15 October from malignant mesothelioma. John Pickering and Partners Solicitors news release • IBAS statement • Liverpool Echo • BBC News Online and Radio 4 Today programme news item • Daily Mirror. Asbestos in Schools website • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Fears for pleural plaques action A draft law that would reinstate compensation for workers with pleural plaques caused by asbestos exposure at work has successfully completed its third Commons reading, and has now been passed onto the House of Lords. However, hopes the private members’ bill will complete its parliamentary progress and become law are fading as the parliamentary session ends in a month, meaning the proposal is likely to run out of time. Yorkshire Evening Post • Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions) Bill • UCATT news release Justice for Asbestos Victims: Demonstration and lobby to restore pleural plaques compensation, assemble College Green, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London at 1.30pm, Wednesday 28 October 2009 [Unite flyer pdf] • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Store fined for horrific facial injuries A supermarket giant has been fined after one of its staff lost half his face in an accident as he arrived for work. Morrisons was fined £172,000 for health and safety offences and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £16,681 following a hearing at Chester Crown Court. The Sentinel • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Britain: Power cables cause massive burns A scaffolder suffered burns to 52 per cent of his body and had to have his heart re-started when a pole he was carrying hit a 66,000 volt overhead power line. Manor Homes (Midlands) Ltd and G Wright Scaffolding of Redditch were both fined after pleading guilty to safety charges following the incident in November 2007. HSE news release • Contract Journal • Risks 429 • 24 October 2009 Hazards news, 17 October 2009 Britain: Public staff need protection from attacks There must be decisive action from public sector employers and the Scottish parliament to reduce violent assaults on workers as they do their jobs, UNISON Scotland has said. A UNISON report, ‘Violent assaults on public service staff in Scotland’, presented last week to the union’s annual health and safety conference, found that more than 25,000 assaults on staff were recorded for the year 2008/09. UNISON news release • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: ‘Grave concern’ over North Sea helicopters A union representing thousands of offshore workers has said it is “gravely concerned” about a fault affecting helicopters operating over the North Sea. New mechanical problems have been discovered with the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter, the model involved in a fatal crash off Newfoundland earlier this year. Press and Journal • Global and Mail • BBC News Online • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 USA: Dangerous speed up in meatpackingFour years after a government report found slaughterhouse workers in the US faced more than double the injury rate of manufacturing as a whole, a new survey suggests conditions have deteriorated still further. Almost threequarters (73 per cent) of the Nebraska meatpacking workers surveyed stated that the speed of the line had increased in the past year and more than six out of 10 (62 per cent) said they had been injured in the past year. Working In These Times • ‘The Speed Kills You’: The voice of Nebraska’s meatpacking workers’, Nebraska Appleseed, October 2009 [pdf] • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Register must cover all cranes UCATT is calling for the creation of a “full comprehensive crane register” to improve safety standards. The construction union’s submission to the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) consultation on creating a tower crane register, which closed this week, argues the register should be fully comprehensive, including all cranes and not just conventional tower cranes. UCATT news release • Construction News • HSE crane consultation • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Holiday job costs student his leg A university student lost his right leg below the knee after he was pinned by a forklift truck during his holiday job. Mitesh Patel, 21, from Wembley in Middle was working for Tile Depot when the incident happened in June 2008. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Cambodia: Hundreds sickened in garment factoryMore than 500 workers at a Phnom Penh garment factory collapsed on 12 October after they were exposed to a chemical spray. Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, said staff at the Willbes Cambodia Ltd factory in Dagkor province were overcome because the air was filled with “an unbearable chemical smell.” Phnom Penh Post • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: New schools fall short on safety Many new schools are being built without proper consideration for the safety and welfare of those who will use them, teaching union NASUWT has said. The union was commenting after the BBC revealed many new schools in England lack sprinkler systems despite government guidance that all schools should have them. NASUWT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Job applicants face pavement drug tests Jobseekers were subjected to “degrading” drug tests in a Scottish street by a top recruitment firm. People who were interviewed for 120 posts with Greenock-based cabling firm Sanmina were left astonished when some were escorted outside Greenock Jobcentre by staff from Pertemps for mouth swabs to be taken - as cars drove past and pedestrians walked by. Greenock Telegraph • Sunday Post • The Sun • More on the ICO code on workers’ health information • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: GPs don’t want ‘fit notes’ role Less than 10 per cent of London GPs feel confident that they could operate the new style ‘fit notes’ system the government proposes to introduce in the spring of 2010. Londonwide LMCs, the organisation representing over 6,000 family doctors in the capital, says a “staggering” 96 per cent of GPs have received no training regarding the new ‘fit note’ system and nearly threequarters do not think that the new system will be manageable in terms of both time and resources. Londonwide LMCs news release • Evening Standard • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Australia: Union dumps toilet diariesA requirement on staff at an Australian government call centre to observe a three-minute time limit when using the toilet and to keep diary entries of how long they spent in the bathroom has been dumped after union pressure. Managers at the Medicare Australia call centre were even following staff into bathrooms to hurry them along, workers said. CPSU news release • News.com.au • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Director fined after pet food firm death The operations director of a pet food firm where a worker was crushed to death has been fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £4,000 costs for criminal safety breaches related to the death. Philip Thompson, 50, was responsible for protecting workers' safety at Butcher's Pet Care in Crick when engineer John O'Connor, 38, was crushed in a canning machine. HSE news release • Northampton Chronicle and Echo and related article • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Sugar giant fined after worker drowns Tate and Lyle has been fined £270,000 after a contractor was killed on one of its ships in the Thames. Keith Webb, 53, drowned when his bulldozer crashed into the river while unloading raw sugar from a vessel at the company's riverside wharf in Newham, London. HSE news release • East London Advertiser • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Pupil loses eight fingers in art horror A Lincolnshire school’s governing body has been fined £16,500 after a 16-year-old girl lost most of her fingers when she put her hands in a bucket of plaster of Paris during a school art lesson. The teenager was attempting to make a sculpture of her own hands during an art and design class on 31 January 2007, Boston magistrates court was told. HSE news release • Daily Mirror • The Guardian • The Independent • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Hand nailed to pallet prompts prosecution A Herefordshire builders' merchant has been prosecuted after a worker had his hand pulled in to a machine and nailed to a pallet. Pontrilas Timber and Builders' Merchants Ltd of Pontrilas, Herefordshire, was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay £8,973 costs at Hereford Magistrates Court. HSE news release • Building • Construction News • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Australia: Older workers need jobs on siteThere should be quotas of “mature-age” workers introduced on major government building projects in recognition of the gruelling and job threatening effect physical work can have over a working lifetime, the Australian construction union CFMEU has said. The union says good use could be made of older workers skills in “recycling and sustainability” and other less physical jobs. Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Firm lands in court after scaffold fall A safety warning has been issued to construction companies after a Liverpool worker was seriously injured in a fall from unstable scaffolding. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted John Doyle Construction Ltd following the incident at the Hilton Hotel construction site in central Liverpool in July 2007. HSE news release • Building • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Firm exposed workers to asthma risk A Gateshead company has been fined after exposing its workers to hazardous soldering fumes. Turbo Power Systems Ltd was fined £3,000 last week at Gateshead Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay £3,000 costs after it pleaded guilty to three breaches of health and safety legislation. HSE news release • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Women fall victim to deadly asbestos The deaths of a garment worker and a school cleaner from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma highlights how it’s not just men in traditional dusty jobs that are at risk from the fatal fibre. Thompsons Solicitors news releases on the school cleaner and garment worker deaths • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Unite guide on shift and night work The union Unite has issued new guidance on how union reps can organise shift- and nightwork to best protect health. The guide says: “A world increasingly working around the clock raises an issue which is of increasing concern for Unite – the health and safety implications for members who work shifts and at night.” Shiftwork and nightwork: Unite health and safety briefing [pdf] • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Britain: Usdaw guide to safety in a recession Usdaw has sent each of its 4,600 health and safety reps a leaflet reminding them of the importance of using their legal functions to defend health and safety standards in the current down-turn. ‘Hard times - protecting health and safety standards in a recession’ points out why health and safety standards can slip when the money is tight. Usdaw news release • Hard times - protecting health and safety standards in a recession [pdf] • Risks 428 • 17 October 2009 Hazards news, 10 October 2009 Global: It’s not jobs or the environment - it must be both Saving the planet can also save the communities struggling most with the economic downturn, according to the ITUC. ITUC general secretary Guy Ryder said “there’s nothing inevitable about either climate change or job loss,” adding: “Good policies sensibly applied can benefit both the planet and the population by creating millions of new, decent, green jobs.” Hazards ‘green jobs, safe jobs’ blog • No se trata de empleos o medioambiente – tienen que ser los dos, dicen los sindica tos mundiales • 10 October 2009 Britain: Site employers lie to evade gangmaster rules Major construction contractors have lied about possible costs of applying the Gangmasters Licensing Act (GLA) to the sector, UCATT has charged. The construction union says a claim by the UK Contractors Group (UKCG) that the extension of the law would mean “a lot of cost for contractors” is without foundation. UCATT news release • Morning Star • Construction News • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 USA: Biotech health risks cause concernThe mother of a worker who believes his health was ruined as a result of working in California’s cutting edge biotech industry has expressed her anger at the refusal by the firm’s health insurers to pay his medical bills. Sandi Trend's son, David Bell, was sickened at the Davis based company AgraQuest. Blip TV - labor Video Project • Biotechnology Awareness webpages on David Bell • PEN news item • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Europe: Air crew protest sky high fatigue levels Long flying hours are “putting lives at risk”, airline crew have warned. European air crew unions say current rules that govern flying hours are unsafe, with fatigue a factor in up to 15 per cent of accidents. BALPA news release • ITF news release • BBC News Online • Morning Star • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Wrong tool led to tendon injury A Unite member who suffered a serious hand injury at work after being forced to work with the wrong tool has received £25,000 in an out of court compensation settlement. Manual worker Tom Offer, 57, needed surgery on his hand after a tendon was severed at DSV Road Ltd in Harwich. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Two days vibration causes permanent harm A GMB member has received a £17,500 out of court settlement after his shoulder was permanently damaged by using a vibrating tool at work. John Sides, 44, suffered the injury when removing paint from a floor. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 France: Firm moves to end work suicidesAfter union protests over 24 workers killing themselves in 18 months, France Télécom boss Didier Lombard says he wants a “new social contract” with trade unions. Suicide notes have blamed high levels of work stress on workers’ decisions to end their lives and Lombard - whose number two, Louis-Pierre Wenes, resigned this week after intense criticism of the company’s handling of the crisis - has promised to ease up on workforce mobility, which has been a bone of contention. France Télécom statement and news release • Radio France • BBC News Online • The Guardian • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Union wants brake on rail cutbacks Transport union RMT has called upon the government to intervene to stop planned cuts in Network Rail maintenance it says would put safety and 2,500 jobs risk. The union made the call on the 10th anniversary of the 5 October 1999 Paddington rail disaster, in which 31 people died. RMT news release • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Business wants inspection tip-offs The business lobby is using the economic downturn to push for a removal of safety “burdens” – and is calling for appointment-only inspections by workplace regulators. In a new policy paper launched ahead of the Conservative Party conference, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) singles out health and safety as “the biggest burden on small businesses in terms of time.” FSB news release • Regulatory Reform – a route to economic recovery, FSB Policy paper, October 2009 [pdf] • For reports on HSE inspection and enforcement trends, see the Hazards ‘deadly business’ webpages • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Finland: You are making my brain hurtCompanies are showing a baffling disregard for the impact of work on their employees’ minds, a top brain researcher has said. Professor Kiti Müller, the director of the Brain and Work Research Centre at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, said the problem is compounded by the absence of any way to measure objectively and reliably the overall “brain load” level. Trade Union News from Finland • The Brain and Work Research Centre and How much load can the brain take? presentation [pdf] • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Anger at site deaths inaction Safety campaigners have reacted angrily at news the government will hold further talks with industry before announcing its response to the Donaghy report into construction fatalities. Trade journal Construction News revealed last week that work and pensions secretary Yvette Cooper wants to hold further talks with the industry before implementing any recommendations from the government-commissioned report. Hazards Campaign news release • Construction News and earlier related report • 10 October 2009 Britain: Call for blacklisting inquiry The author of a UCATT response to the government’s plans for legislation to combat blacklisting of trade unionists for their safety and other union activities has said the proposed measures “are hardly worth the paper they are printed on”. Keith Ewing, professor of public law at King’s College London, said: “The proposed regulations as put out to consultation by BIS are so full of holes that they are hardly worth the paper they are printed on.” The Morning Star • Blacklisting blog • Contract Journal • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Job fear will depress sickness rates A leading workplace stress expert has forecast that sickness absence will decline by up to a quarter over the next year across public and private sectors, but only because people will be too scared not to show up for work. Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University, said: “There will be an element which is not stress- or 'presenteeism'-related, but it will drop by 20 per cent to 25 per cent at a time when it's been rising steadily.” Personnel Today • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Arthritis should not stop work Employer support is a key factor in helping workers with arthritis to keep their jobs, new research has found. A survey by UK charity Arthritis Care found where bosses fail to offer supports like flexible working and an accessible environment, employees with arthritis are more likely to end up leaving their jobs. Arthritis Care news release and employer pledge • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Delivery driver developed asbestosis A former driver who for four years delivered asbestos products developed asbestosis, a condition normally associated with long-term, high level exposures to the fibre. The 75-year-old from Leeds, whose name has not been released, was diagnosed with the lung scarring disease in June 2008 after years of difficulty breathing. Thompsons Solicitors • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Firms fined for ‘unpardonable’ asbestos job Two companies have been prosecuted after workers and members of the public were exposed to “unacceptable” levels of asbestos during a removal project. HSE inspector Sarah Snelling the actions of a roofing company were “unpardonable” and added: “A&T Roofing Ltd’s cavalier attitude towards the removal of the asbestos has put the future health of their employees, their employees’ families and members of the public in general at serious risk.” HSE news release • Daily Mirror • Local London • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Icing machine cut off baker's fingertips A cake maker had two fingertips cut off as she cleaned a dangerous sponge cake icing machine at an Oxford bakery. Spread Newco Four Ltd, the company which used to run the bakery, was fined £6,000 and costs of £2,751 at Oxford Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to breaches of the work equipment and management regulations. HSE news release • Oxford Mail • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Chemical firm fined after repeat injury A Welsh chemical company has been fined £26,000 after two workers suffered serious hand injuries in near identical incidents in less than a month. Magistrates heard the two men needed skin grafts after being injured by a bagging machine at the Warwick International site at Mostyn. HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Director guilty after roof fall A Lancashire company and its director have been convicted of safety offences after a worker fell seven metres through a fragile roof. Burnley-based Webber Trading Ltd was fined £6,000 and £2,838.20 costs at Gateshead Magistrates Court last week after pleading guilty to two safety charges; Jeffrey Robinson, director of Webber Trading Ltd, who was present on the roof directing the work at the time of the incident, was fined £1,000 after also pleading guilty to two criminal safety breaches. HSE news release • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Britain: Worker crushed by one tonne plate A Kent firm has been fined £150,000 after a vehicle spray painter was crushed to death. North Kent Shotblasting Ltd was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court last week following the death of Nigel Harrison on 20 October 2006. The firm was also ordered to pay £24,000 costs. HSE news release • Local London • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Europe: Recession could up work risks Six out of every 10 workers in Europe expect working conditions to deteriorate as a result of the economic crisis, new research has found, with health and safety a particular concern. The Europe-wide opinion poll by the Bilbao-based European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) also found “a significant majority of respondents (75 per cent) across member states believe that ill health is caused at least to some extent by the job that people have.” European Agency news release and poll findings • HESA news report • Risks 427 • 10 October 2009 Hazards news, 4 October 2009 Britain: RMT launches maintenance cuts hotline Rail union RMT has launched a confidential email hotline for members amid growing concerns over planned maintenance cuts by Network Rail which it says will put safety and thousands of jobs at risk. RMT news release • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 USA: Work exposures rise as inspections fallThe US official health and safety regulator OSHA is doing fewer health inspections despite more workplace exposures to toxic and hazardous substances, according to an analysis by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). It says while workplace exposures are linked to the premature deaths of 10 times more workers than all workplace accidents combined, OSHA now spends less than 5 per cent of its limited resources on workplace health protection. PEER news release • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: Health workers urged to have swine flu jab UNISON is urging health workers to get the swine flu vaccination and says it will give full support to the government’s swine flu vaccination programme. UNISON news release • TUC flu pandemic guide • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: Payout for lucky-to-survive bus driver A bus driver who nearly lost his life in a head-on crash has been awarded £250,000 compensation. Medics told Unite member James Morton, 60, he was lucky to survive after a Mercedes van smashed into his bus on a country road near Cramlington, Northumberland. Evening Chronicle • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 USA: ‘Green hotel’ claim is dangerous greenwashingA jobs agency supplying workers to a top US hotel chain is imposing debilitating work rates on the out-sourced staff while boasting the measures are creating a “green hotel”. Rick Holliday, president of the temporary agency Hospitality Staffing Solutions, told the Boston Globe he has given the formerly directly employed Hyatt housekeepers a “start’’ on the “American Dream’’ by paying them $8 per hour to clean 25 rooms per day. ITUC/Hazards green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: Widow denied asbestos compensation The widow of a man who spent 44 years working with asbestos has missed out on a potential £200,000 payout. Dinah Eaves is not eligible for the money because the firm her husband David worked for was taken over after he was exposed to the deadly dust. Bristol Evening Post • Daily Mirror • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: TUC marks safety law landmark The TUC has said the union campaign that resulted in a new safety law a generation ago has delivered life-saving results. The Health and Safety at Work Act, which had its 35th anniversary on 1 October, “was one of the most important pieces of social legislation of the past 50 years,” said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. TUC news release • HSE news release • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Sign up to the HS@W/HSB petition calling for statutory directors’ duties. Europe: Action needed on workplace strains Muscle and joint pain accounts for almost half of all sick leave, both in the UK and across Europe, a study has found. Half of all of all sickness absence (49 per cent) is caused by musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), concluded the Fit for Work Europe report by The Work Foundation, a London-based think tank. Fit for Work Europe website, related blog entry and full report. BBC News Online • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: TUC calls for major strains move The Work Foundation’s strain injuries report shows the urgent need for better occupational health services, rehabilitation and a specific strain injuries prevention law, the TUC has said. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “We urgently need new and clear regulations, backed up by strong enforcement against those employers that are causing many of these injuries.” TUC news release • European trade union MSD campaign • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: Labour Party backs gangmaster law on sites Construction union UCATT has received a significant boost in its campaign to have the Gangmasters Licensing Act (GLA) extended to the construction industry. The Labour Party’s conference this week backed a call for legal protection under the GLA to cover site workers. UCATT news release • Morning Star • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 India: Dozens die in chimney collapseDozens of workers have died after a giant chimney collapsed in bad weather at a partially built power plant in central India. The 23 September tragedy occurred at the Bharat Aluminium Co (Balco) power plant, part-owned by the British mining company Vedanta, in the central state of Chhattisgarh. Vedanta statement • The Times • Times of India • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: New protection for migrant workers The government has introduced measures to help protect migrants from being forced to work in dangerous conditions for poor wages. Communities secretary John Denham said this exploitation could also undercut local workers and cause resentment. DCLG news release • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: Worker crushed then blamed in laundry horror A giant laundry business who blamed workers for a highly dangerous incident that left employee Joseph Pathmananthan, 61, in a coma has been fined. OCS group was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £33,059 at Southwark Crown Court last week after admitting a criminal safety breach. HSE news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Wandsworth Guardian • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Global: Protect workers, not just bankersUnions have demanded that world leaders stop concentrating on protecting the bankers of the world, and give some attention to protecting workers, including the children who are among those doing some of the most dangerous, unregulated jobs. Workers Uniting, the organisation bringing together US union USW and the UK’s Unite union, says a video, ‘Where ships go to die’, gives a shocking insight into the plight of shipbreaking workers in Bangladesh who are forced to do what could be the most dangerous job in the world with virtually no protections. USW news release • ‘Where ships go to die’ video • Workers Uniting letter to G20 leaders • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: Fine for death in meat blender A company has been fined £160,000 after a worker was fatally injured while cleaning a blending machine at a meat processing plant in Milton Keynes. Lynda Trebilcock, 53, was killed at the Delico plant in May 2007 when a door without a working interlock slammed shut on her head. HSE news release • MK News • BBC News Online • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: Recycling firm fined after lorry fatality The death of a man who was run over by a skip lorry has led to a waste and recycling company being fined. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution against Shanley and Sons Ltd, who were fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £25,000 last week at a hearing in Swindon Crown Court. HSE news release and waste industry webpages • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: Take notice of dermatitis risks or pay An NHS Trust has been fined for ignoring official notices calling requiring it to sort out dermatitis risks in a hospital. The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust was fined £6,500 and ordered to pay £4,500 in court costs after pleading guilty to two health and safety charges at Harlow Magistrates’ Court for failing to remedy risks posed by latex exposure and for not reporting a case of latex dermatitis. HSE news release • Harlow Herald • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: Presenteeism harms employee health UK workers are so terrified of losing their jobs in this recession they are working while sick, a new study has found. According to those surveyed as part of Simplyhealth's Bothered Britain Report, 43 per cent of people living in Britain haven't taken any days off in the last 12 months, up from 36 per cent in 2008. Simplyhealth news release and Bothered Britain report • Personnel Today • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Britain: Asbestos lurked in teacher's cupboard A former Eastbourne school teacher died of cancer likely to have been caused by asbestos in the classroom, an inquest has found. Coroner Alan Craze concluded that although no asbestos fibres were found in an initial examination of a tissue sample taken from one of Neville Beck's lungs, “on a balance of probability” Mr Beck had “an industrial disease.” Eastbourne Herald • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 Global: BP ‘failed’ to make safety changes London-based multinational BP’s claims to have long since addressed the safety malaise in its refineries have been discredited after the latest intervention by the US safety regulator. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) told BP last month it had failed to make agreed-upon safety improvements at its Texas City refinery following the March 2005 explosions that killed 15 workers. Galveston Daily News • Risks 426 • 4 October 2009 EARLIER ARCHIVED NEWS See the archive RSS 2.0   Français Get our health and safety news direct to your website More Hazards news |
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