UNISON London Regional Council: Speakers on Camden Parking Strike; Rise of the New Far Right & Legal measures to fight mental health discrimination at work

I was little late turning up to the Greater London UNISON Regional Council on Thursday, so missed the guest speakers from Camden UNISON on their dispute with Parking Contractors NSL on poverty pay (see UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, on their picket line). 

However, I did hear a speaker from Hope Not Hate give a thought provoking and deeply disturbing analysis of the rise of a new poplar far right front and neo-Nazi terrorism in the UK (and beyond).  

On the one hand membership of British Nazi and Fascist parties such as the BNP has collapsed but we are now seeing the largest numbers of people in decades on the streets supporting campaigns led by new far right groups. 

The thug and serial convicted criminal ,Tommy Robertson, has a huge social media presence, far in excess of any anti-fascist group. 

The speaker correctly pointed out that we cannot fight modern day fascism with the tactics of the 1980s and simply screaming "NAZI" at people attending marches since they are genuinely angry at the Manchester bombing, is not going to do anything positive. 

We have to work out how to defeat this new social network of individuals, who do not belong to traditional far right political parties but are being radicalised by Nazi websites, here and abroad. 

Going on anti Nazi demos and protests are tactics and not a means to an end. We need to get a better and more effective modern message to counter this threat. 

Final speaker was Ann-Marie Christie from Thompsons solicitors, who since this was World Mental Health day, gave a  practical update on possible employment law and personal injury measures that union reps could use to protect members at work. 

Newham UNISON AGM 2016: Right to Buy and Pay to Stay

Last Friday I was a guest speaker at the UNISON Newham Local Government branch AGM in East Ham Town Hall. I spoke about the Housing Bill which is currently going through the House of Lords. I was there as a Housing Worker and UNISON Regional Council Officer.

Gloria Hanson (2nd left) and Kim Silver (3rd left) had been re-elected unopposed as Branch Secretary and Chair.

There was a really good presentation first by Thompson Solicitors (left) on "How to win a personal injury claim and how the union can help". After I spoke, UNISON Regional manager Vicky Easton gave an update on the Trade Union Bill.


Before my speech I asked how many people present had heard about "Pay to Stay" and only about half put their hands up. I then asked how many were Council or Housing Association's tenants and again about half put their hands up.

This is really frightening. Leaving aside for the moment that the Government is stealing property belonging to hard pressed Councils to pay for its right to buy discount election bribe for Housing Association tenants (and London will be used to pay for discount in Councils all over the Country that has sold or transferred its housing stock)

What tenants do not understand is under "Pay to Stay" if they have an household income of £40k per year in London (and £30k elsewhere) their rent may double or even treble! Since they will have to pay market rents for their homes. In London this will mean that two NHS nurses earning £20k per year would have to pay up to an incredible £12k extra per year for their home.

In the Q&A there was an interesting discussion about what politics actually means and why there is apathy amongst some union members even if government policies have a huge impact on their lives.

I said what many people don't realise is that politics is all about choices. The current government has made a political choice to double or even triple the rents for millions of workers. They made this choice because they ideologically believe in the "market" and everyone should pay the market rate. If you don't think that this is right then you should either support another political party who opposes it or just pay up and don't whinge about it. Your choice!

UNISON care workers receive compensation after violent incident at work

Most people join a union for personal advice and support at work or the benefits of having collective bargaining over your terms and conditions. 

Free legal advice and representation by trusted and expert union lawyers is also something to bear in mind.

My branch (Greater London UNISON Housing Associations) recently put out this press release. Note the absolute importance of carrying out adequate risk assessments.

"Three UNISON members working in a care home have received compensation totalling £60,000 after a violent incident at work in which they were attacked by a service user.

The three UNISON members work as night workers in a care home in South London. In March 2014 they were attacked at work by a service user and had to lock themselves in the staff toilets while police were called. There had been several previous incidents with the service user; despite this, their employer had not carried out an adequate risk assessment.

The three night workers suffered physical and psychological injuries and all three lodged personal injury claims with Thompsons solicitors. They were supported by their UNISON branch in their return to work and Thompsons negotiated compensation for their personal injuries amounting to £60,000 in total.

“These kinds of incidents will only grow more frequent as cuts to social care budgets increase the pressure on service providers,” said UNISON Housing Associations branch manager/organiser Josephine Grahl. “Care and support staff are doing a very difficult job in underfunded, overstretched services; however, we’re glad that UNISON were able to support these members to return to work and to get the compensation they deserved.”

Linda, one of the members, said: “It took me a long time to recover from a really shocking and upsetting incident; I’m really happy that my union were able to support me throughout this time and to get me compensation for the injuries I suffered.”

Notes for editors

· UNISON represents 1.3 million workers employed in the public sector, by private contractors and in the not-for-profit sector, including over 20,000 members in housing associations. The UNISON Housing Associations Branch represents over 3,000 workers in social and supported housing across Greater London.

Personal Injuries, Workers Memorial Day & Bite Sized Intro to Health and Safety at Work

The picture is from a course I helped run last year for my UNISON branch on Health and Safety. It was organised by our Outreach Worker, Andy Robinson and the guest speaker was Personal Injury lawyer from Thompsons solicitors, Shamoona Sheikh (right of photo).

Shamoona spoke about the free legal help and support that Thompsons give UNISON members. This includes personal injuries and accidents inside and outside of work. Unlike other law firms they will not take part of any damages awarded and they - not you - will pay for medical reports and any costs.

Thompsons also provides employment law advice to UNISON on unfair dismissal, discrimination, TUPE etc as well as as 24 hour criminal law helpline. They also give out free wills, advice on Criminal injuries compensation claims and run a conveyancing service. If you are an UNISON member you can get a free 30 minute telephone advice session on practically any legal matter.

I gave a talk about carrying out union workplace safety inspections then took people around on a "walkabout" inspection. I recommended that activists should try and hold a workplace safety inspection during the forthcoming "Workers Memorial Day" on 28 April 2015. This is not only a day to remember those who have been killed at work or died of industrial injuries but is also a campaigning day for health and safety. So it would be fitting to try and do something practical regarding health and safety on or about Tuesday 28 April 2015.

(black and white picture because the yellow fluorescence safety vest I was wearing made me look somewhat radio active!)

SERTUC Health & Safety Seminar 2013

I arrived late and then had to leave early from this excellent health and safety seminar organised by SERTUC (South Eastern Trade Union Congress) which took place the other week at Congress House.

When I arrived Gerard Stilliard, a partner at trade union solicitors, Thompsons (seen
at London UNISON safety committee earlier this year) was speaking about the removal by the Government of Civil liability therefore returning workers protection to that of pre-1878 and the need to prove negligence. He finished his speech by thanking the audience and wishing us all "Good luck" in the future since "we will need it".

Next to speak was  Mike Wilcock, Head of Operations in the South East Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Mike (see picture above) became interested in health and safety because he trained as an industrial chemist and got blown up in a factory in France. He was unimpressed that the French safety inspector looking into this incident was more concerned about going to lunch with the factory owner.

He is very proud of the work of the HSE and concerned that due to reductions in the number of his staff, they now have act more as Policemen and are not "here to help". Real health & safety is not about banning conkers, its about stopping people being killed and injured. Regarding the recent reviews of safety legislation, he accepts that simplification and clarity is good. We must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. In Qatar 40 workers have already been killed building the 2022 World Cup stadiums. In the UK we had no deaths when building the Olympics. 

He can now only send inspectors into the highest risk employers. Those who kill and injure the most.  But what and who fills the gap? It has to be the professional safety advisers and trade unions safety reps. Use to have 70% proactive inspections now 70% plus are reactive. HSE will now charge employers £122 per hour if they have to write to them or issue a notice.

In Q&A I asked if trade union safety reps were being expected to help fill the gap caused by the reduction in HSE Inspectors, they should be given the power to issue provisional improvement notices? (PINS) This would give reps greater credibility. Martin disagreed and said that safety reps are already credible and often are better trained than managers. He also didn't think it was at all likely in the "current landscape".

Next speaker was Dr Jenny Harries,  Regional director South of England for Public Health. For her  good health is good for business and the workforce. Public health is everyone's business. See the Marmot Review. Clear link with good employment and good health.  Poor employment and unemployment with poor health.  The affluent tend to retire without disability and live longer.

Stress is still the biggest cause of sickness. Companies with higher levels of staff engagement have 13% lower staff turnover, they have less than half the UK average sickness absence rate and consistently outperform on the FTSE 100 (reference Sunday Times : Best companies to work for in the UK).

I then had to leave for another meeting which is a shame since as a union safety rep I want to know more about "well being" at work as well as avoiding direct injuries and diseases. It is an area that I don't think the unions or the employers do anywhere near enough on.

It’s criminal what this Government is doing to the victims of violent crime

Picture is from UNISON Greater London Health & Safety network meeting last week with guest speaker(4th from right back) Gerard Stilliard from Thompsons Solicitors. 

Every 3 months, following the meeting of our regional committee on safety, all London UNISON branch H&S officers are invited to attend a briefing by Thompsons on various safety related issues.

Gerard had been asked to speak about changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in 2012.

Now, I knew that this Tory led government, with the active support of the Liberal Democrats, had made changes to the scheme, but what I didn’t realise is just how bad these changes were, especially for those at work who are attacked and badly assaulted.

Gerard explained that under the new scheme, eligibility and awards have been slashed. Any tariff awards less than £2500 have been removed entirely. While compensation for the rest of claims have been reduced on average by 50%.

Which means that in the past if you were for example a healthcare assistant and you had been badly beaten up by a patient, which took up to 3 months to recover, you would have received under the old rules £1750 in compensation. Now you would get nothing.

In the past if you had been a teaching assistant and been assaulted and punched so hard in the eye by a pupil that it resulted in permanent blurred or double vision, you would have received £4,400 to £8,200.  Now you would only get 1/2 to 2/3rds of that amount. Remember this is for permanent injuries! Was £4,400 under the old system too much?

Even worse, it use to be the case that loss of earnings awards due to injury were related to what you actually use to earn before the assault. Now it is only at statutory sick pay levels.

So if a Park warden had been so badly beaten up by drunken yobs that he or she could never return to paid work. Under the 2008 rules if the warden was aged 50, earned £15,000 per year and expected to retire at 65 then they could have expected to have received £225,000. Under 2012 rules they would only get £67,000. A loss of £158,000.

The government has also made it far difficult to claim, reducing time limits, not allowing managers to report cases to Police and slashing time limits for appeals.

Of course it is not only employees who are suffering from these cuts but all victims of violent crime.

In a civilised society the State has an absolute duty to protect all its citizens from criminals and deal responsibly with the consequences of this criminality for those who have suffered from it. The only citizens this Government gives a damn about are the 13,000 millionaires who will be given £100k plus tax cuts in 4 days time.

Asbestos Legal Update: London Regional Health & Safety Committee

Picture of Thompson's personal injury solicitor, Ann-Marie Christie, with London UNISON health and safety network members.

Yesterday lunchtime she gave an update to the Regional Health & Safety committee and branch officers network on the latest legal developments. 

The good news was that there was finally justice for many victims of the deadly asbestos cancer Mesothelioma following the recent ruling by the Supreme Court against 6 rogue insurance companies (the so called "trigger issue"). Who for the past 6 years had tried to get out of paying compensation by arguing that they should not pay out when the company they insured actually fatally exposed their workers to asbestos only when the cancerous symptoms developed. Since this was often decades later when the insurance policies were expired this of course would have meant that many of the 2,500 people per year who get Mesthelioma would receive nothing.

While this is indeed a victory (by the trade unions who funded the appeal) it is too late for all those who have died in the meanwhile since 2006.  Their families may now finally get recompense.

No such good news on the battle for Pleural Plaques compensation nor for a bureau to register the insurance policies for companies that have now gone bust. The TUC estimate that at least 5,000 people die every year from asbestos related conditions and that 1 in every 100 men born in the 1940's will also die prematurely from these conditions. The majority of asbestos imported into this country took place from 1955 to 1980.

The movie actor, Steve McQueen, died from Mesothelioma. Not because he was a racing driver who wore fire retardant overalls which contained asbestos, as I had read, but because he had worked in ship engine rooms and ship yards before he become famous. 

Update: I forgot to mention that I thanked Thompson's at the meeting for a £60k settlement they won for a member of my branch who suffered a nasty accident at work. Ann-Marie stressed the importance of taking pictures of the accident scene as soon as is possible.

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.

Asbestos: A legal Update.

This (late) post is about the UNISON London “Safety Network” meeting that took place in December. All London UNISON branch health & safety officers are invited to these lunchtime events which take place after the main meeting of the London Health & Safety committee.

We had Lorna Webster as our guest speaker. Lorna is an Asbestos Team Supervisor with Thompson’s solicitors. Here is some of her stuff I thought useful

To be successful in any personal injury claim you have to prove the employer was “negligent” and that the injury was foreseeable. Problem with asbestos is the exposure to harm was on average 40 years. It may be as low as 10 or as high as 60 years. It is the asbestos law at the time of exposure which is relevant not now.

We need to prove that the employers knew (or ought to have known) the risk and should have not have allowed employees to use asbestos or given them adequate protection.

Types of asbestos – Blue “crocidolite” (and the most toxic); Brown “amosite” (bad) and White “chrysotile” (Not as toxic as Blue or Brown but wrongly thought to be “not dangerous”) the most widely used. In 1986 it was estimated that the UK had imported 6 million tonnes of asbestos.

Diseases - different asbestos related diseases. Pleural Plaques (usually symptomless - compensation now stopped); Pleural thickening (range from no symptoms to quite bad); Asbestosis (range from no symptoms but can be fatal); Asbestos Induced Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma (fatal – no known cure).

TUC statistics that 1:100 men born in 1940’s will die of mesothelioma. Currently 1800 asbestos related deaths per year rising to 2000 by 2016.

Dangers of asbestos known since at least 1899. There are a number of regulations and reports throughout the last century. If exposure was before 1965 you have to prove that it was “substantial”.

There are two types of settlements. Traditional “full & final settlement” and “provisional damages” settlement. Thompsons usually advise live members with non-fatal cases against settling on a “full and final basis”. If the member were to develop a more serious related asbestos condition later they or their estate and/or dependants could come back for significantly more compensation.

Members may also be entitled to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB - if at least 14% disabled due to that condition). Mesothelioma claims are fast tracked by DWP and are awarded 100% disability. For more serious cases there may be also disability care benefits. NB: DWP benefits have to be repaid if personal injury claims are successful. If IIDB successful they may be entitled to one off payment under Pneumoconiosis etc (Workers Compensation) Act 1979.

In some cases someone has mesothelioma not due to work (such as a wife washing husband’s overalls) they are not entitled to IIDB but maybe to care benefits and a one off lump sum under the 2008 “Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme”.

Current asbestos campaigns include compensation for Plural Plaques; Trigger Issue Test case (some insurers are shamefully refusing to pay claiming they are only liable to the asbestos exposure not the development of the disease – payments have been stopped pending possible appeal to House of Lords) and Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau (ELIB); One in 20 claims fail because the employers has gone out of business and the insurer is untraced. There should be a similar scheme as the ABI motor insurance scheme that pays compensation to people injured by uninsured drivers and finally the campaign for a National Centre for Asbestos related diseases. The Government does not fund research into asbestos related diseases and Mesothelioma is the least researched of the top 20 cancers.

What to do? If a union rep is approached by a member with an asbestos related condition it is essential that they are referred for legal advice. It would be useful if member could get a short letter from GP confirming diagnosis and date this was confirmed. There is the usual 3 year limitation on claims (the date the member became aware or ought to have been aware of condition related to their work). Advise member they will need their full employment history. Thompsons will then contact them and give advice.

The sadist stories are of wives who died from asbestos inhaled while washing their husband’s work overalls or even children dying after cuddling their father while he was in his work clothes.

Personally, although I appreciate the good work done by trade union lawyers such as Thompsons I think that a far better solution to all work related personal injury cases is that it should be taken out of the civil courts and that decent “no fault” compensation should be paid to all workers who suffer from work related activities, paid for by an industry levy.

Burston Strike School Rally. 6 Sept 2009

11am to 4.30pm, Church Green, Burston, nr Diss, Norfolk

Join us at Burston to commemorate the longest strike in history, and to celebrate the people who continue to fight for trade union rights, working class education, democracy in the countryside, and international solidarity.

In April 1914, Kitty and Tom Higdon, loved and respected teachers at Burston Village School, were sacked for their socialist and trade union views.

The pupils walked out in support and from then until 1939 the villagers and the Higdons, ran the 'Strike School', providing an education for local children.

Times change, but the struggle in rural areas for economic and social justice continues.

This year at Burston we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution, with music, speakers, and special children's activities.
Speakers include Tony Benn, and Luis Marron (Cuban Embassy)

Burston Strike School - the longest strike in history.

Organised by Unite with the support of SERTUC, Thompsons Solicitors and the Burston Strike School Trustees.

On-line training on Employment Law

At the recent meeting of the UNISON London health & safety committee (which I plan to post upon soon) there was a solicitor from the trade union solicitors Thompsons. He was there to give us an update on recent employment law cases. He also handed out cards advertising their “Free E-Training Facility”.

I’ve had a look at it and there is a range of modules which I think will be of interest to any stewards or safety reps. No substitute for “proper” trade union education courses - but still very useful.

(double click photo to see screenprint clearly)

Regional Health & Safety – “Violence at Work” compensation

Last week I went to the UNISON London regional health & safety committee meeting. First, we have a normal “business” meeting regarding safety issues in London. Then we usually have a guest speaker. This month we were pleased to see again Henrietta Phillips from the trade union solicitors Thompsons. Henrietta in fact spoke at the last meeting on “work related stress, bullying and harassment”. This time she talked about legal remedies following “Violence at Work” (see new UNISON safety guide here).

During the committee meeting we discussed planning for this year’s European Health & Safety week (20-24 October) and National Inspection Day. It’s too late for this year, but to encourage inspections we talked about buying clip boards and reflective safety bibs with UNISON logos for London safety reps. Maybe all new safety reps should get these things included in the “Welcome Pack” they automatically receive when they become reps?

My favourite agenda item is when each committee member gives a local report on issues in their workplace. For some reason one committee member recalled the issue he came across in his housing department where they had to deal with a tenant who kept his horse in his home. Now, this is not a particularly sensible thing for anyone to do, especially since he lived on the 9th floor of a tower block and he used to take the horse up and down in the lift.

On a far more serious issue it was reported that 104 housing officers in one employer were tested for exposure to TB and 4 (all British born) were found to be in danger of developing the disease and had to be given 6 month courses of treatment. I think we should all review risk assessments for visiting officers to take account of such biological hazards.

Another committee member reported that in their workplace they were getting rid of unnecessary safety signage. These just cause clutter and confuse people. For example, in their main office staircase there was a sign saying “Hold the rail on your Left”. Which is just plain silly - such things give health & safety a bad image.

One organisation had not only introduced home working and hot-desking but had got rid of all desk telephones and issued staff with mobile phones (with email etc). There was an issue regarding the risk to pregnant women from using such phones. Any risk is hotly denied by the mobile companies themselves, but there have been a number of reports about theoretical dangers. It would therefore appear to make sense that such staff should be issued with a normal desk phone for purely precautionary measures.

There is one issue that UNISON needs to get sorted ASAP. Many UNISON branch offices are not accessible to disabled members. This should not happen in this day and age.

Next item was report backs from conferences attended by committee members. Two had gone to this year’s Hazard Conference in the University of Keele. This is probably the most important conference for safety reps. Both committee members found the conference very useful and would encourage people to attend the conference in the future. One mentioned being shocked at a presentation made by the widower of a teacher who had died of an asbestos related disease despite the fact that she had been a teacher all her life and had no other known risk factors. Many, many schools are riddled with asbestos containing materials. Between 2001-2005 nationally 62 teachers were reported to have died of such diseases. A sobering thought.

The meeting agreed that I could attend a conference on 24 November run by the CCA on the “Future of Safety Enforcement”.

I gave a report as the London representative on the UNISON national health & safety committee. I had already been asked to bring up safety concerns over “hot-desking” and to ask UNISON if there are any plans for up-to-date guidance on this topic.

After the close of the committee meeting Henrietta gave her presentation on “Violence at Work” to the Health & Safety network, to which all UNISON branch safety officers are invited.

All UNISON members injured in an accident or assault at work are entitled to free legal advice and assistance form Thompsons. Members can contact UNISON direct on 0845 355 0845 to be referred.

There are 3 possible routes to compensation – claim against the employer, the assailant (not normally any use) or via the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

The key issue with regard to any possible legal case against an employer is to establish “failings”. An employer has a duty of care to provide a safe place of work and a safe system of work. To win a claim you have to prove that the employer was in breach of that duty, either by breaching safety law or by being negligent and that breach or negligence caused injury.

Usually it is difficult to win since you have to persuade a court that the employer is responsible for a third party assailant. However, if you can establish a pattern of “failings” and negligence you can be successful. Henrietta suggested a checklist of things that should be done after an assault.

Such as report attacks to the Police and record details of crime numbers etc, write you account about what happened as soon as is possible, take copies of all reports you make, ask for copy of employer investigation and RIDDOR reports (if applicable) get full contact details of any witnesses, have photographs taken of injuries, record details of any visits to doctors or hospital, keep any receipts for any expense you incur.

She encouraged all “near misses” or incidents of aggressive behaviour to be recorded. This may help prove that the employers should have been aware of the risk.

At the beginning Henrietta had pointed out that personal injury cases are for workers who have already been hurt, while the whole point of safety reps is to try and prevent injuries occurring in the first place. While I am in favour personally of a “no fault” compensatory payments scheme rather than resorting to legal claims for compensation. If a claim is strong and compensation is paid then this would have the welcome effect of encouraging the employer to change and improve its working practices. As usual - Money talks.

Work related Stress, Bullying and Harassment

On Monday we had our regional health & safety committee. We held committee elections (I am now the London rep to National Health & Safety committee), discussed the usual minutes, matters arising, then reports, budget, conference fringe (new “Violence at Work” booklet), issues regarding the HSE, Hazards conference, Workers Memorial Day, European health & safety week and why no national safety seminar this year.

Afterwards we had a Network meeting of London branch safety officers with guest speaker, Henrietta Phillips (pictured with Chair, all round nice bloke, John Caulfield), who is a personal injury specialist from trade union solicitors, Thompsons.

Henrietta started off by pointing out how prevalent work related stress was – 1/3rd of all new incidences of ill health, average of 30.2 working days per year and a total of 13.8 million days were lost last year. Despite being so widespread it is notoriously difficult to get compensation, but not impossible.

Being off sick with "stress" is not enough by itself; you have to have a clinically recognised psychological or psychiatric condition (diagnosed by a psychiatrist). You have to be able to prove “causation of injury” and that your illness is linked to work. Solicitors acting for the employers will have access to your medical records and will try to prove that your illness is non-work related e.g. marital or financial problems. There are also strict time limits. You must usually commence court proceedings within 3 years.

Proving negligence or a clear breach of duty is not enough, you also need to show clear evidence that the employer should have foreseen the risk of psychiatric injury to the individual from work. So – tell your employer if you are suffering or are otherwise vulnerable. In the real world of work, its not that easy. Maybe better still, get a GP or a mental health professional to tell your employer you are vulnerable. Hopefully this will get their alarm bells ringing.

At one stage, it looked like the "Protection from Harassment Act" could be used to gain compensation from employers who failed to take adequate steps to stop their employees bullying and threatening other staff. An unhelpful Court appeal means at the moment (unless it is overturned) that action can only be successful if the harassment is extremely physically violent.

One positive thing is that the courts have somewhat overturned a previous ruling that if an employer offers a confidential advice service that they can refer employees to then they are “unlikely to be found in breach of duty”. I remember several years ago being shocked by a senior manager boasting how his organisation would never be sued because they offered a telephone help line.

I think trade unionists need to send a message that you cannot rely on the law to remedy your employment problems. People genuinely have the wrong impression of how easy it is “to go to law”. The tabloid press gives the impression that you can get huge pay outs if your boss forgot to say good morning to you. This is rubbish. The best way to protect yourself at work is via a well-organised trade union to challenge employment practices that make people ill in the first place.

Maybe also we ought to consider a “no fault” compensation scheme for workers who become seriously ill thorough work without having to prove employer negligence. It may put quite a few highly paid lawyers out of business. I think that Thompsons will be one of the few that won’t mind.

Civil Liberties – London Region NDC Fringe

There was a very good London regional fringe on the Wednesday evening on Civil Liberties. It was chaired by London Deputy Convenor, Conroy Lawrence. We had Tony Bunion (left) from “Statewatch” talking about CCTV cameras, passenger name records, finger printing for passports (from age 6?) and the EU aim of having one ID card for all purposes – access to the library, doctor, hospital and social security.

The second speaker was Ellie Reeves (right) from Thompson Solicitors. Ellie is an employment law expert. She criticised David Davis’ recent stance on civil liberties when he was totally silent on the surveillance and restrictions of striking minor in the 1980’s. Ellie was also involved in the Gate Gourmet dispute, were many members were low paid women, who often had English as a second language. During that dispute they were sacked with a megaphone for attending a union meeting. Ellie pointed out how weak the law is on with regard to convert surveillance of workers in dispute with their employer or insurance companies.

I asked her a question about employers who try to stop back office staff having an alcoholic drink in their lunchtime. Which she said would depend on the nature of the work and the contract of employment. Another person asked whether compulsory staff uniforms were legal? Ellie said it could well be deemed a “reasonable instruction” by an employer.

By co-incidence, Ellie is also a Labour Party NEC member and when I came home there was an email from a member in Tower Hamlets who have nominated her to stand again for the NEC. Ballot papers out next week. I must try and post on these important elections.

The London region social took place that night in the same hotel. A good time was had by all.