Safety Matters: Pre-employment health checks, asbestos in schools and risky work fines

Nothing much is supposed to happen in August but check out this week’s TUC weekly on-line bulletin  “Risks”.

Pre-employment health checks are to become illegal under the Equality Act in October. Employers will not be able to ask health questions or make medical checks on job applicants before offering them the job. This will make it far more difficult for them to discriminate against the disabled since they would then have to “justify” why they are withdrawing a job offer after they discover someone has a disability.

Excellent news!

Waltham Forest Council Ace UNISON health & safety rep, Su Manning is mentioned also for “hammering” her employer over HSE enforcement notices about their failure to carry out checks over asbestos and legionnaire disease in schools (schools????? I kid you not)

Another important advance reported was that the Appeal Court has ruled that it was legal for courts to give firms big fines over significant (risky) safety failures which could (but luckily didn’t) have resulted in large numbers of people being killed.

This is fundamental to the H&S principle that prevention is much, much better than cure.

(picture I took of disturbed and crumbling asbestos pipe lagging in a library basement used as a storage area during a trade union safety inspection in 2003)

Workers Memorial Day Ceremony at Waltham Forest Town Hall

Yesterday lunchtime I went to the Worker Memorial Day ceremony outside the Assembly Hall. This had been organised the local UNISON Branch Health & Safety Officer Su Manning. All around us on the floor were shoes and work boots. Fran Chalkwright started the Ceremony after a welcome from Su by reading out the moving poem “Empty Shoes” written by Wendy Lawrence.

Next the Chief Executive of LBWF spoke, followed by the UNISON National Officer for Health & Safety Hope Daley who reminded everyone about what this day meant. Retiring local MP Neil Gerrard spoke about the recent Health & Safety successes (Corporate Manslaughter legislation and increase in criminal sentencing tariffs) and occasional failures (Law Lord ruling about asbestos compensation). We then had Ben Simmons from Thompsons speak out about battling for compensation for workplace victims, Rinaldo Frezzato from the NUT, Sergeant Douglas from the Metropolitan Police talked about the importance of risk assessments and finally Tony Phillips from Waltham Forest Trades Council.  The Mayor then laid the first of three wreaths followed by the local London Fire brigade.

There was then sandwiches at the local Social and Sports club.

It was probably the best organised local Health and Safety event I have ever been to and well done to Su and the branch. Next year lets have more boroughs across London organising similar events.

There were also a number of local Labour Party Council candidates and PPC's there including Stella Creasy and Cath Arakelian.