Health and safety

RMT news – Health and safety T RACK worker deaths have been rising steadily since 1995, averaging from around one every 170 days to one every 80 days by the end of 2004, Birmingham Engineering delegate Pat Collins told the one hundred-strong health and safety conference. Pat pointed out that in the past track deaths were associated with being struck by a train while working on a line open to traffic, but now the majority of serious accidents have occurred within engineering possessions. “Eight track workers killed within possessions during 2004, including the four at Tebay, represents the highest number of deaths since 1990/91,” he said. During the same period the number of major injuries had also risen over the last thirty years from one every six days to one every four days, he said. “Trackside workers now represent one of the highest risk occupations in the country, exceeding building and agricultural industries,” he said. Delegates heard that in many accidents enquiries had found that there had been serious deficiencies in the planning process, the use of plant and the management of work. Conference agreed that safety rules had not kept pace with new systems of working and called on the union to press Network Rail for an urgent and fundamental review of the planning processes, use of plant and management of work within such possessions in order to ensure safe systems of work. Level crossing safety Conference called for a full review of safety at level crossings following the recent incidents, including the deadly Ufton Nervet rail crash. The union should look at options such as replacing crossings with underpasses or bridges, or ensure that they are barriered or staffed 24 hours a day or at least staffed during train service hours. Holyhead delegate Jack Jones said that level crossings were the number one risk on the railways. “Staff are often disciplined for trying to prevent accidents and in many incidences the CCTV monitors are of poor, black and white quality. “These issues have to be taclked as a matter of urgency,” he said. Exeter delegate Bob Miles had attended the funeral of victims of the Ufton Nervet disaster and said that the refusal to act to make crossings safer was simply a question of “putting money before safety”. Delegates agreed that there should be a CCTV-recorded link so that following any incidents an independent record can be viewed by the police, HSE or other investi- gating bodies. Isocyanate paints Toxic paints that attack the respiratory system were being used on P&O vessels in contravention of Fleet Regulations Dover Shipping Branch delegate Tim May told conference. He said that P&O fleet regulations clearly stated that only Isocyanate-free paints should be used. However, management now contended that the regulation was incorrectly worded and intended to amend them. “How can it be that regulations banning Putting track safety first The packed third annual RMT Health and Safety conference called on the union to fight for a fundamental review of rail track safety following the deaths of eight track workers in the past year 14 RMT news – Health and safety the use of these paints can be removed in such a casual manner, he added. “This stuff gets into the ventilation system and the smell stays in the air for weeks,” he said. Conference called for independent analysis of these products which should include not only the chemical formula of the paint and additives, but also the full range of potential physical problems that may be caused by their continued use. Shipboard equipment Conference heard serious concerns regarding the suitability of firefighting suits on board Northlink and other ferries. Aberdeen and Glasgow shipping branches submitted unanimously supported motions that such suits may jeopardise the safety of seafarers in the event of a fire on board ship or other installation due to the materials used and their construction. The union was called upon to seek guidance from the relevant regulatory organisations as to the designated use of this type of suit and the approved interna- tional standard to which they comply. Assaults on staff Attacks on rail staff were on the increase, Warrington and District delegate Daivd Wilson told conference. He said that Network Rail had produced a poster in conjunction with the British Transport Police and the rail companies claiming that assaults would not be tolerated and that staff will be given total support in any prosecution. “However, the reality is that we get little or no support from the police or private security firms employed by the railway companies. “Police response times are terrible as they only seem to bother policing the large mainline stations, to the detriment of our vulnerable members on out-stations who mostly work on their own from the early hours to midnight,” he said. Conference agreed that members should feel safe when they report for duty in the knowledge that if they need assistance, a response by the police or the security firm would be forthcoming. Delegates agreed that the police had lost touch with their duties, with budgets and overtime outweighing duties, and security firms only seemed to be bothered with collecting revenue for the rail companies instead of making the railways safer. The union was asked to seek clarification from the various rail companies and BTP on what their policies are for police and security firm patrols at out-stations that are operated by lone workers. Assistant general secretary Mick Cash suggested that the newly elected health and safety liaison committee made up of Jack Jones, Glen Wallis and Brendan Kelly meet with the BTP to discuss the issues raised by conference. G Conference elected Jack Jones as the chair of next year’s health and safety conference and he will chair proceedings. THE most effective tool to ensure good health and safety at work is trade unions, because organised workplaces are safer workplaces, TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson told conference. He said that was one of the main reasons that people join and stay in a union: 70 per cent of new trade union members considered health and safety a “very important” union issue – more even than for pay. “A recent study showed that where there is a union presence the workplace injury rate is 24 per cent lower than where there is no union presence,” he said. John Milligan of the RMT organising unit agreed that effective workplace organisation was the key to health and safety. “We need to build the confidence of workers to ensure that members are not isolated in order to challenge employers and ensure a safe working environment,” he said. Hugh Robertson agreed and said that the positive impact of union activity also lowered ill-health levels. Another study by Cambridge University’s Judge Institute of Management found: “The proportion of employees who are trade union members has a positive and significant association on both injury and illness rates”. In 2003 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ran a number of pilots where trade union appointed “Worker Safety Advisers” went in to non-unionised organisations. An HSE evaluation reported that over 75 per cent of employers said they had made changes as a result and almost 70 per cent of workers had seen an increase in awareness of health and safety (Hazards 84). “One of the reasons unions make such a difference is that they ensure that their safety representatives are trained. “And safety representatives know the workplace far better than management as they are aware of what really goes on. They also act as a channel for individual workers to raise their concerns,” said Hugh. Many risks were first identified by unions, sometimes after management ignored or hid early warnings. It was unions that highlighted the dangers of asbestos, carbon disulphide and vinyl chloride monomer. Unions were the first to raise major concerns over levels of violence in the workplace, and RSI, and the effects of passive smoking. When delegates pointed out that employers were sometime refusing to release health and safety reps to attend training courses, Hugh said that the law required them to do so and those reps affected should contact the union. Safety reps make a difference 15