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UCATT

UCATT is Britain's only specialist construction union. It has over 110,000 members employed in all the building occupations, both in the private and public sectors.

The union organises workers in both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, and has an extensive network of Regional Offices. We are affiliated to the British Trade Union Congress and ucatt logo the Labour Party, and historically been at the forefront of campaigns for rights at work and better health and safety.

In the global arena, UCATT is a member of both the European and International Federation of Building and Woodworkers, and we are proud of our links with fellow construction unions across the world.

The most important health and safety law for UCATT workers is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It specifies the general duty placed on employees, occupiers of the buildings, manufacturers, employees and the self-employed. Employers have a duty to protect the general public as well as workers.

UCATT safety reps in particular and all building workers in general need to become familiar with two new Regulations which update and modernise construction safety law. The new Regulations will be the main sets of Regulations for the construction industry, and will provide much of the detail regarding safety on sites. They are:

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 (CDM)
The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 (CHSW)

CHSW sets new minimum standards in construction and replaces three sets of old Regulations:

Construction (Working Places) Regulations 1966
Construction (Health and Welfare) Regulations 1966
Construction (Health and Welfare) (Amendment) Regulations 1974.

It also replaces substantial parts of the Construction (General Provisions) Regulations 1961 (Factories Act 1961)

Other Regulations which are important are:

Safety Representatives and Safety Committee Regulations 1977
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 1994
Head Protection Regulations 1989
Noise at Work Regulations 1989
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (MHSW) 1992
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (PPEW) 1992
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
Confined Spaces Regulations 1997

New Health and Safety Commission Guidance is expected for:

Roofwork
Construction site transport
Manual Handling in construction

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (1994) are a comprehensive framework of regulations that place specific safety duties on clients, planning supervisors, designers and architects, and contractors. The regulations are intended to ensure that health and safety requirements are planned and co-ordinated throughout all stages of a construction project from first designs right through to the planning of maintenance work. They apply to construction work which lasts for more than 30 days or will involve more than 500 person days of work, and to work which involves five people or more on site at any one time.

The client must make sure that adequate resources are made available for safety and that designers and contractors are competent. They must appoint a competent planning supervisor who, in turn must ensure that a health and safety plan is prepared before a principal contractor, who is responsible for carrying out that plan is appointed. Designers and architects have new responsibilities to consider all risks to health and safety in the design of a project and to consider measures that will protect workers.

The principal contractor has a duty to co-ordinate the safety aspects of work on site. Importantly, the principal contractor must ensure that workers on site have adequate training and are properly informed and consulted about all aspects of health and safety. You have a right to express your views about health and safety to the principal contractor. Rights to adequate training are among the most important provisions of the new regulations.

The Construction Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations (1996) cover most aspects of site safety and welfare, including:

Safe places of work: excavations, tunnels, work at ground level and at height, access to and from work area.

Preventing falls: physical precautions or equipment to arrest a fall and prevent falls through fragile materials; scaffolding and supervision by a competent person; safe use of ladders

Preventing falling objects: and/or provide covered walkways

Work on structures: prevent collapse of structures; plan demolition and dismantling and supervise such work by a competent person; take precautions with explosives.

Excavations: prevent collapse and risk form underground cables and services.

Preventing drowning: rescue equipment must be immediately available.

Traffic routes, vehicles, gates and doors: make these safe.

Prevention and control of emergencies: procedures for evacuating sites, fire-fighting equipment, emergency exits.

Welfare facilities: provide sanitary and washing facilities; provide rest facilities; provide facilities to change and store clothing

Site wide issues including: fresh air, protection from bad weather, lighting, cleanliness on sites, marking of the perimeter of the site and maintenance of equipment in safe and sound condition.

Training, inspection and reports: all work should be carried out by people with the training, technical knowledge and experience to do so safely, or should be supervised by those with such qualifications. Before work at height, on excavations, cofferdams or caissons begins it must be inspected by a competent person, and a written report made.

UCATT Safety Representatives.

Most of the law dealing with the detailed rights of safety reps is found in the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations (SRSC) 1977. The main rights are:

to investigate complaints by members
to investigate potential hazards and dangerous occurrences and examine the causes of accidents
to make representations to the employer on health, safety and welfare
to carry out inspections
to consult with, and receive information from Health and Safety Inspectors in representing their members.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 has added new rights. Now every employer shall consult safety representatives in good time with regard to:

the introduction of any measure at the workplace which may substantially affect the health and safety of the workers
the arrangements for the appointing or nominating the competent persons to carry out risk assessments and evacuations
any health and safety information that must be provided by law
the planning and organisation of any health and safety training that must be provided by law
the introduction of (or planning of) new technologies into the workplace

The SRSC Regulations and Codes of Practice and Guidance Notes are published together in what has become known as the 'Brown Book'. New guidance is due which will explain the role of the safety rep.

UCATT policy is to have a minimum of one safety rep in every workplace and on every site. UCATT safety representatives can take time off work with pay during working hours in order t carry out these functions and undergo proper training.

If you are interested in becoming a safety representative contact your Regional Secretary for further advice and information.

Protection from Victimisation

Section 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) offers some protection from victimisation for Safety Reps and other workers because of the health and safety activities.

Section 100 states that a dismissal is unfair if the reason for that dismissal is that he employee:

carries out, or proposes to carry out action as a safety representative, or
performs or proposes to perform the functions of a safety representative,
takes part or proposes to take part in consultations with the employer in elections for employee safety representative;
brings to the employers attention circumstances which they believe are harmful to health and safety;
leaves or proposes to leave his workplace in circumstances in which he reasonably believes are dangerous and which he believes are serious and imminent; or
takes or proposes to take appropriate steps to protect himself or others from danger which he believes is serious and imminent.

Any building worker who is victimised for any of the above reasons now has a right to take the case to an Employment Tribunal. UCATT also fights to get workers reinstated without going to a tribunal

Asbestos and Occupational Ill-Health.

Asbestos Kills

Every year thousands of building workers die from the asbestos-related diseases: asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Others suffer from less serious conditions for which compensation is also available, such as pleural plaques and thickening.

UCATT has campaigned for decades for the ban on the use of asbestos and finally the government heeded our protests and banned it on the 24.11.99. Although asbestos is now banned there is still an awful lot of asbestos to be found on many construction sites from jobs which have taken place in the past.

Any work involving maintenance, repair or demolition is now considered high risk. Thousands of tons of asbestos are still in place in older buildings and more building workers may die in stripping the asbestos than in installing it.

You will find asbestos:

as sprayed insulating coating on steelwork and concrete
as lagging on pipes and boilers
as insulation board in walls, on doors and ceilings
as asbestos cement for roof and wall coverings, pipes and tanks
in some decorative plaster

Before you start any job your employer has a duty to carry out a risk assessment. Any sampling of asbestos should be carried out by a properly accredited laboratory. Do not start work until this assessment has been carried out and stop any job immediately if you suspect asbestos is present in any material.

The risk assessment must identify the type of asbestos, the nature and degree of exposure and look to reduce it. It is essential that the degree of exposure is estimated and monitored and that you are given a copy of the work plan that your employer is required to produce. You should not work with any asbestos product unless you are a specialist asbestos remover or have received adequate information, instruction, protection and training from you employer.

If in doubt stop the job and ring UCATT and the Health and Safety Executive.

If you have been exposed to asbestos get this fact recorded by your GP in your medical notes.

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Work-related Asthma

Asthma is a distressing and potentially life-threatening disease that can be caused by breathing in chemicals called sensitisers. These are substances that can trigger an irreversible allergic reaction.

Things to watch for in yourself and the people you work with can include:

coughing,
wheezing
tightness of the chest
constantly runny nose
watery, prickly eyes.

Substances known to cause asthma:

wood dusts
epoxy resins in some glues and resins
isocyanates in some paints
formaldehyde in some MDF
some paints and wood preservatives

Other problems cause by dusts

The relationship between asbestos and cancer is well known as is the link between hardwood dust and nasal cancer. It is common sense that breathing in dust of any type is likely to be harmful and can cause diseases such as bronchitis and emphysema.

The following dusts have Maximum Exposure Levels set by the HSE (asbestos is covered separately).

This means there is no safe level:

manufactured mineral fibres
wood dust (hard and soft)
gypsum
silica
cement

For these dusts there should be sampling by trained technicians and engineering controls introduced to reduce dust levels, in particular local exhaust ventilation systems either serving one machine or throughout a factory. These must be regularly maintained. Damping surfaces can help to reduce dust as can working with hand tools rather than power tools.

Always wear the respiratory protective equipment provided.

Back injuries, hernias, arthritis, sprains and fatigue

Unsafe manual handling injuries affect around 70,000 building workers every year, which is over a quarter of all accidents in the construction industry. Of these accidents nearly three-quarters of them lead to back injuries of some type.

In addition , even where there is no obvious accident, regular lifting of heavy weights causes back problems and other health problems, and is one of the biggest causes of ill health amongst construction workers, leasing many to retire early.

A job does not need or be heavy to cause injury. The following factors add to any risk and workers should be aware of their potential danger:

awkward actions repeated over and over, especially where there is twisting and over stretching
had to grip materials that are sharp, hot or wet
untidy sites with tripping hazards
uneven ground and poor lighting
poor work plans leading to unnecessary lifting and insufficient rest or recovery periods
poor weather including gusts of wind

In addition, workplace imposed requirements pose a potential threat:

weight, shape and size of the load
frequency and pace of lifting
too much kneeling, squatting or bending

These factors outweigh personal factors such as your age, sex, height, weight and lifting technique. Remember that manual handling injuries can occur through either sudden stress or as a result of continual minor damage over time.

Don't be a hero - use mechanical aids or get help from a workmate.

Dermatitis

The symptoms are:

affected skin gets red, sore, itchy, scaly and blisters
if it gets worse, the skin can crack and bleed and the dermatitis can spread all over the body (it often starts on the hands)

It is a very painful condition but it is not infectious. If left untreated the condition can cause workers to lose their jobs, but it is preventable, and if spotted early it can be cured.

Occupational dermatitis is caused when the skin comes into contact with certain substances at work. Some cause dermatitis by irritating the skin, others cause an allergic reaction. The length of time it takes to develop depends on the substance, its strength and potency, a and how long or how often it touches the skin. Once someone has developed an allergic reaction, even the tiniest amount might bring on the dermatitis. The most common substances that cause building workers to contract dermatitis include:

cement products
latex rubber
nickel and chromium
epoxy and other resins
oils, soaps and detergents
some paints and wood preservatives

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992, and the COSHH Regulations 1994:

employers must assess the risks of work which could cause dermatitis
prevent employees coming into contact with them as far as reasonably practicable
provide those workers with regular health checks

In addition under the Chemical (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 1996 producers supplying skin sensitisers and skin irritants must label them and provide a data sheet explaining the dangers. And under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 employers must provide reasonable washing facilities for workers likely to be exposed to the causes of dermatitis.

What you should do:

ask for health checks to be carried out by the employer under COSHH and ask to see general information about the results
check all substances you come into contact with for labels identifying potential skin irritation
insist on substitute products wherever possible
if substitution is not possible insist on limited exposure
ensure you receive the necessary training to reduce the risk
ensure you are provide with proper washing facilities
insist on free protective clothing from your employer, such as gloves
ensure all hazardous chemicals are stored safely

If in doubt contact your local UCATT safety rep or the local Regional Office. For additional information pick up a free copy of the HSE leaflet "Preventing Dermatitis at Work" by telephoning 01787 881 165.

Noise and Deafness

Excessive noise causes damage which will not get better even if you move to quieter work. A good rule of thumb for judging the noise is that if you have to raise your voice to carry out a conversation at arms length then the noise levels are likely to be high enough to damage your hearing. A guide to whether you are deaf or not is if you have difficulty following a conversation if there is background music.

Employers have a duty to protect workers from noisy processes. Deafness is the second largest category of occupational illness but unfortunately it is very hard to get compensation for this disease, especially for construction workers.

Making a claim if you are injured at work or develop an occupational illness.

If you have an accident at work which is due to someone else's negligence, or if you suffer from any occupational illness, UCATT can help you secure financial compensation.

Under the UCATT Free Legal Aid Service the union's solicitors will act on your behalf to secure compensation for both loss of earnings and any pain and suffering.

This free service to UCATT members has a secured over £10 million in compensation over the past two years for 1,500 UCATT members.

If you believe you have had an accident which was not your fault, or if you have developed an occupational illness you should ask your Branch Secretary, Shop Steward or Regional Office for a UCATT Legal Aid Schedule.

This form asks for basic details of the claim and does not commit you to any action.

Once received by the union, the solicitors will assess the claim and if there is a possibility of securing compensation the union will offer you free legal aid to pursue a claim against the negligent party.