FACT

S E R V I C E
39 37 38 Taking hearing seriously Blair on unions Byers on union link Firefighters' pension victory Equality activists on merger Rail unions' pensions fight Safety watchdog with no bite Volume 68, Issue 10, 9 March 2006 40 Annual Subscription 62.80 (53.35 for LRD affiliates)

Take hearing damage seriously

With one month to go, RNID and the TUC are warning employers and employees to take hearing damage more seriously in preparation for the new Control of Noise at Work Regulations coming into effect on 6 April 2006. The tighter noise regulations will provide improved protection for workers from one of Britains most serious but preventable occupational diseases. RNID, the national charity representing the UKs nine million deaf and hard of hearing, and the TUC are concerned that noise is still one of the most underestimated workplace risks. Indeed, excessive noise in the workplace has caused an estimated half a million people living in Great Britain today to suffer deafness or other ear difficulties. Brian Lamb, director of communications at RNID, said: Prolonged exposure to loud noise can cause permanent hearing loss and employers have a legal duty to cut down noise and protect their employees from the harmful effects of noise at work. However, employees also have to play their part and use the hearing protection available to them. Noise induced hearing loss is often cumulative and not immediately obvious, so its threat is seldom recognised or taken seriously. Whilst the ef-

fects of noise are irreversible, noise induced hearing loss is totally preventable. Hugh Robertson, senior health and safety officer at the TUC, said: If properly implemented these regulations will save the hearing of literally hundreds of thousands of people. If they are ignored or implemented half-heartedly employers could face a wave of compensation claims from staff. Better to rigorously enforce safe noise levels to prevent hearing damage, in industry but also entertainment and construction, than leave employees to go through the courts for compensation after their hearing has already been harmed. Under the new regulations, the noise levels at which workers will be required to have hearing protection available, and the level at which they will be required to wear hearing protection have been reduced by 5dB(A) to 80dB(A) and 85dB(A) respectively. Hearing protection must ensure that average noise levels reaching a workers ears are never above 87dB(A). However, many employers are unprepared for the new, stricter regime while employees need to be educated about their rights under the legislation. Employers must reduce noise through a "hierarchy of control measures" ranging from acoustic and mechanical design down to hearing surveillance and protection. The best solution is to get rid of the noise at source. When this is not possible the employer has to make suitable ear protection

LABOUR RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

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Volume 68 Issue 10 The prime minister said trade unions influence would be in proportion to the weight they have in broader society and the reasonableness of the case they make. The reality is that the only political power that can be exercised by unions today is of the small p variety. It derives from their standing and support among people. In turn, this derives not from industrial militancy or historical party relationships, but from how well unions perform their proper functions.
news.bbc.co.uk

available free of charge. Noise is also a sign of wasted energy. By reducing noise output by machinery, employers will make efficiency gains. RNID and the TUC are calling upon employers to lower or eliminate employees exposure to noise through the following ways: Replace old machinery with newer, quieter models. If you are thinking about buying new machinery, ensure that you find out about noise levels before you decide what to buy. Discuss with the supplier ways of ensuring that equipment makes as little noise as possible. Reduce noise from equipment by changing how it is mounted or installing silencers or enclosures. Have equipment regularly maintained. Keep noisy machinery in a separate work area. Ensure that employees do not spend longer than absolutely necessary in a noisy working environment or create a noise-reduced enclosure for employees. Reduce reverberations by changing the acoustics of the room or work area with material that absorbs sound. RNID and the TUC are also urging anyone who is concerned about their hearing to take RNIDs five minute telephone hearing check on 0845 600 5555.
www.tuc.org.uk

Byers on union link

Former transport secretary Stephen Byers has called for a rethink on the relationship between the Labour Party and trade unions. He told a UNISON Northern Labour Link conference in Tyneside that sectional interests must not "distort our programme". Byers, a long-standing critic of the link, argued that the link touches a raw nerve and should be maintained but modernised to reflect todays political reality. Labour must learn the lessons of its own history and ensure that the priorities of a small, unrepresentative number of people are not allowed to distort our programme, the MP said. This has the potential to create real problems both within the party, if constituency delegates regularly get voted down by a union bloc vote. That is why we need to broaden levels of involvement so that we keep in touch with the things that really matter to the British people." A small number of union votes already dominate Labour Party conferences, a situation set to escalate with the proposed merger of the GMB TGWU and Amicus, which alongside UNISON would command more than 40% of the vote. Tony Woodley, general secretary of the T&G general union, said: Stephen Byers has been arguing for many years that unions need to be excluded from any voice in the Labour Party. Today, when unions are speaking for the concerns of ordinary Labour voters on one issue after another, from pensions to council housing and public services to railway renationalisation, and constituency party membership is alas at a record low, this idea has even less merit than usual. He may be right about a

Blair on unions
Tony Blair has urged trade unions to modernise in order to seize the opportunities of globalisation and the changing nature of work. Unions could become a revitalised part of British society, the prime minister told a London conference organised by think tank Unions 21. But that would require profound organisational change, he said. Blair called on unions to advance the interests of people in a modern and insecure workplace, with a far broader range of services and support than is traditional. He told delegates: If they embrace social partnership, if they assert a true and necessary role in community action, trade unions could become a revitalised part of British society with tremendous and beneficial consequences for people at work and for the community. He added: There is a huge opportunity today for modern trade unionism. Seize it. There is enormous potential in what trade unions can offer.

Volume 68 Issue 10 small unrepresentative number of people distorting Labours values, but he should look closer to home to find them. The unions will continue to play a progressive and positive part in arguing for the policies that can secure us a fourth term in government.
www.epolitix.com, www.tgwu.org.uk

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Equality activists on merger

Equality campaigners have warned that government plans enshrined in the new Equality Bill would leave women and minority groups without strong representation. Speakers at the Capitalwomen conference launched a scathing attack on the proposed Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), warning that it will be seriously undefended and overstretched. The CEHR will come about through the merger of the human rights commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality. Labour MP Diane Abbott, chairing one of the conferences seminars, warned that the "CEHR will have a budget of 70 million to cover discrimination on grounds of race, sex, religion, age, sexual orientation, plus institutional support for human rights this does not look good for women and black people. Vivienne Hayes, director of the Womens Resources Centre, pointed out that there are no guarantees of efficient resources or commissioners, who will understand the reality of gender and race inequalities. The equality Bill could offer an opportunity but without the embedded commitment it will turn into a jelly hammer with no use to anyone, she warned. Karen Chouhan, vice-chair of the national black organisation the 1990 Trust, slammed the plans as unworkable and called for separate equality commissions with adequate funds. Government hope there will be an economy of scale with one combined administration, but it is likely to create seven competing lobbies battling it out for a meagre pot of money, she warned.
Morning Star 6.3.06

Firefighters' pensions victory

The House of Lords has backed retained firefighters battling for equal pension and sick pay rights. The landmark decision paves the way for retained firefighters in Fire and Rescue Services across the UK to have access to the Firefighters' pension scheme, The Law Lords upheld the appeal brought by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in relation to rights for over 15,000 firefighters working the retained duty system across the UK. The Law Lords said that retained and whole-time firefighters are employed on the same type of contract. The Law Lords ruled the Employment Tribunal, which rejected the Fire Brigade Unions case, had focussed too much on differences rather than similarities between wholetime and retained duty contracts. The decision also means that tens of thousands of part-time workers will be able to use the new Part-Time Workers Regulations to compare their work with that of full-time colleagues. The case centres on the exclusion of retained firefighters from the Firefighters pension scheme and worse treatment under the sick pay scheme. They claimed they were being treated differently because they are part-time workers and that this was unlawful. The FBU, which backed the test case throughout, said this case will secure fairness and justice for every retained firefighter in the country. Without retained firefighters most areas of the country would not have a full fire service and some would have none at all. FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: Retained firefighters are first class firefighters and will no longer have to accept second class employment rights.
www.fbu.org.uk

Rail unions pensions fight

Rail unions have launched a campaign to unify rail workers pensions, which they say have become too complex.

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Volume 68 Issue 10 victions gained have both dropped by over a third since HSE adopted its new business-friendly strategy, far outstripping the tiny reduction in injuries and ill-health. The report says HSE claims to be exploring alternatives to enforcement, including more naming and shaming of safety offenders. But the Hazards Campaign has discovered the HSE has recently started ripping up large chunks of its naming and shaming database, in a weekly cull of records. At the same time it is showcasing major safety criminals on its website as examples of exemplary boardroom behaviour. The report says private companies are also making millions out of HSE as more and more of its work is contracted out, with this external spend of over 26 million now consuming almost 10% of the watchdogs annual budget. Nearly 8 million has gone to three companies between 2000-01 and 2004-05. Serco Assurance,a provider of independent safety, risk management and engineering services, has received 2.98 million over the period; BOMEL, a consultancy to the offshore oil and gas, marine, construction, energy and public sectors got 2.92 million; and engineering consultancy WS Atkins 1.98 million. Other new alternatives to enforcement include HSEs LOPP programme (Large Organisations Pilot Project), which is inviting companies to undertake self-regulation, according to the report. Four of the first five companies to sign up to the scheme, which will soon encompass one million workers, have had recent criminal safety convictions. And the Workplace Health Connect scheme, recently launched by the government, will carry HSEs brand but is an entirely private 20 million government-funded programme which will undertake thousands of advisory workplace visits but will undertake no enforcement activity. The argument for strong enforcement and regular workplace inspections is that it saves lives and catches safety criminals. The only argument for HSEs new strategy is that HSE is doing the governments bidding, regardless of the deadly consequences. This has to stop safety enforcement at work is a law and order issue, not an optional extra, warned Hilda Palmer of the Hazards Campaign.
www.hazards.org

Since privatisation the number of sections of the pension scheme has grown from one to about 100 sections, according to a leaflet produced by ASLEF, RMT, TSSA and the CSEU. And these have different rates of contributions. For example, three train operating companies (TOCs) have contribution rates of less than 10%, but most are nearer 11% and the highest is 18.65%. For engineering and infrastructure sections, the position is even worse with rates ranging from 11.02% up to 21.12%. The unions want to restore just one rate of 10.56%, the former contribution rate for members of the British railways pension scheme prior to 1988 when a surplus was declared. They also want to revert to one fund but as an interim measure propose one section for the TOCs, another for infrastructure and engineering workers, and an omnibus section covering the remaining workers. Approaches to the Association of Train Operating Companies have met with silence, hence the national campaign. The unions have also not ruled out strike action over the issue.
www.rmt.org.uk

Safety watchdog with no bite

Millions of UK workers are being abandoned by the official health and safety watchdog in its bid to become more employer friendly, according to safety campaigners. Total suck up, a new report from national safety coalition the Hazards Campaign, includes a forensic analysis of recent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) policy shifts backed up by responses to over 20 detailed Freedom of Information Act requests. It concludes HSE has become the watchdog that doesnt want to bite. The report lists 10 reasons why HSE top brass make us sick and calls on HSE to take a lead on safety issues. Prosecutions and convictions for safety offences have dropped dramatically because the safety police are no longer looking for the safety criminals, said Hazards Campaign spokesperson Hilda Palmer. The number of charges brought and con-

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