In
the firing line In the UK we
have kinda, sorta rights. You can refuse dangerous work, but you can
be fired for your trouble. You can speak up at work, but you risk being
kicked out. Hazards calls for an end to this "protection
racket" and says we'd all be safer if safety reps had more rights.
Hazards 89,
15 February 2005
Victimisation: Hazards factsheet 79
Everyone wants workplaces to be safer,
right? And everyone thinks getting hazards remedied and dangerous work
stopped is OK, OK? Well, not every employer thinks so, as thousands
of workers find out each year. Mick Holder
looks at how you can get fired up about safety without getting fired.
Victimisation: How to get safe, not sacked and what to do when things
go wrong, Hazards 79, July-September 2002 [pdf
format]
NEWS
Britain: Tube
staff attacked at attack sacking protest
A man was arrested by plain clothes police
following an attack on striking station attendants protesting at the
victimisation of a colleague after he suffered a violent attack at work.
Around 100 RMT members at Elephant and Castle, Charing Cross and Lambeth
North Tube stations took 24 hour action on 28 July to demand the reinstatement
of Jerome Bowes, dismissed after defending himself against a violent
assault on New Year’s Eve.
Risks
367
Hazards news, 2 August 2008
Europe: Lidl accused
of spying on its staff
German supermarket group Lidl has denied that
it spied on its staff, but has admitted that it placed secret cameras
in its stores. The multinational company, which also confirmed it had
employed private detectives, insisted that it carried out the measures
simply to combat shoplifting.
BusinessWeek
• The
Times • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Britain: Workforce
faces monitoring stress
Millions of employees are suffering exhaustion,
work-related anxiety and a deteriorating family life as a result of
intrusive workplace surveillance, according to extensive surveys of
both employers and employees funded by the Economic and Social Research
Council. The researchers say rising work strain is being caused by the
use of information and communications technology (ICT) to monitor and
check work continuously.
PSI
news release • Better opportunities,
greater pressures for Britain’s employees, summary [pdf]
• Hazards
magazine workplace surveillance webpages • Risks
338
Hazards news,12 January 2008
Britain:
Unite secures pay for victimised TNT rep
Giant courier company TNT has been forced
to continue paying a Unite member who was victimised for his union activity
and fired after being injured at work. After repeated objections to
his election as a shop steward, the company sacked Dave Reeves before
Christmas, claiming that an accident in which he sustained shoulder
and back injuries, and for which he had not claimed any compensation,
was a fake.
Unite
news release • Risks
338
Hazards news,12 January 2008
Britain:
Official guide says “stop if hazardous”
A new HSE construction “task card”
advises site staff to “Think First, Act Safe, Stop if Hazardous
and Keep Safe.” It is rare for HSE to be so explicit on the stop
work issue, although section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act
places a clear legal duty on workers to take care not to put themselves
at risk, and the Employment Rights Act makes in an offence for an employer
to victimise a worker for leaving or refusing to return to the job where
there is a serious and imminent danger.
HSE webpage on Achieving
Behavioural Change (ABC) and the Task
Card [pdf]
• Hazards
magazine victimisation webpages
Hazards news, 11 August 2007
Australia:
Church shareholder challenges safety sackings
An Australian church is calling for an investigation
after claims an energy company fired two subcontractors who raised safety
concerns. The Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania is a significant
shareholder in power industry giant Woodside Energy, owner of the Port
Campbell gas plant where two workers were sacked, allegedly after reporting
safety incidents.
The
Age • ABC
News • Christian
Today • ABC
Radio audio report
Hazards news, 21 July 2007
Britain: Union rep
bullied, harassed then sacked
A GMB shop steward who complained she was
bullied and harassed at work as a result of her trade union activities
has now been fired. Wendy Ford was sacked last week from the Gateshead
Remploy factory.
GMB
news release
Hazards news, 21 July 2007
Britain:
Female shipyard worker fired unfairly
A young woman who developed arthritis as a result of physically demanding,
repetitive work in a shipyard was unfairly dismissed, a tribunal has
ruled. Louise Brooks, 31, was sacked by A&P Falmouth four years
after being diagnosed.
Unite-TGWU
news release
Hazards news, 14 July 2007
Italy:
McDonald’s fires safety campaigner
A trade unionist has been fired from a Rome outlet of the global fast
food giant McDonald’s after raising safety concerns. Global foodworkers’
union federation IUF says the union representative, employed at the
unit for 16 years, “had denounced the inadequate kitchen ventilation,
intolerable psychological pressure on employees and the lack of training,
especially on health and safety, which have resulted in many incidents.”
IUF
news release
Hazards news, 7 July 2007
Britain:
RMT stands up for train safety
Rail union RMT has warned there could be industrial
action if any workers at the First Great Western rail company are victimised
for refusing dangerous work. The union says its members have raised
concerns that the firm is “playing a very dangerous game”
with new high-speed train services, where it says have been reintroduced
in south-east Cornwall without adequate risk assessments.
Risks 290, 20 January 2007
Britain:
Dismissed Tube worker is reinstated
A dispute over the sacking of a Jubilee Line
train operator has been resolved after a London Underground director’s
appeal decided the dismissal of Raj Nathvani should be suspended for
12 months.
Risks 274, 16 September 2006
Britain:
‘Right to refuse’ victory reversed
TV journalist Richard Gizbert has had his
“right to refuse” legal victory at an employment tribunal
overturned by the Court of Appeal. The former London based ABC News
journalist, who has covered conflicts in Somalia, Rwanda and Chechnya,
refused to go to Iraq in 2004 and was dismissed.
Risks 272, 2 September 2006
• Hazards
victimisation webpages
Britain:
Union action over Tube victimisation
Members of Tube union RMT are considering
industrial action over a series of reports of safety-related victimisation.
Risks 270, 19 August 2006
Britain:
NUJ calls for protection of the ‘right to refuse’
UK and international media union organisations
are issuing a call to arms over a journalist’s right to refuse
dangerous assignments like the Iraq war. The National Union of Journalists
(NUJ) and Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
are asking their members and fellow unions to contribute to the legal
fund of a journalist who lost his job for refusing assignments to Iraq.
Risks 270, 19 August 2006
Britain:
Sacked for making a safety stand
GMB has called on the owner of the American
Dry Cleaning Company, Julian Stone, to reinstate two workers who stood
up against a long hours culture and poor working conditions and were
sacked for their trouble.
Risks 261, 17 June 2006 •
Hazards victimisation
webpages.
Britain:
Compensation increases for safety victimisation
The limits on payments and awards made
to workers in employment rights cases, including unfair dismissal for
trade union activity, safety rep activity or raising or acting on safety
concerns, rose on 1 February from £3,800 to £4,000.
Risks 242, 4 February 2006
Britain:
Amicus wins compensation for sacked print worker
A print worker targeted for redundancy
after winning compensation for a disabling strain injury has received
a £45,000 payout for unfair dismissal.
Risks 242, 4 February 2006
Britain:
Amicus demands reinstatement of 'whistleblower'
Amicus is demanding the reinstatement
of one of its members suspended by Leeds Mental Health Trust. The union
believes that two leading members of staff are being victimised because
they have raised safety concerns about problems concerning the design
and building standards of three PFI hospitals built by Leeds Mental
Health Trust.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
Amicus members suspended for raising fire fears
A hospital trust has suspended two
workers after they drew attention to fire safety hazards.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Britain:
Government “encouraged” danger cover-ups
Dangerous and fraudulent employers
have been helped cover-up their wrongdoing because of the government’s
flawed whistleblowing rules, according to an official watchdog.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
USA: $1.5 million payout for safety whistleblower
A US federal court has awarded $1.5 million
(£830,000) in damages to a painter who said he was the target
of retaliation after he complained about workplace hazards.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Switzerland:
Airline suspends 52 stressed whistleblowing pilots
Switzerland’s national airline Swiss
has grounded and started disciplinary proceedings against 52 pilots
after they raised concerns about how cockpit safety could be jeopardised
by insecurity at the firm.
Risks 216, 23 July 2005
Britain:
TUC calls for probe as tribunals plummet
The TUC has called for an investigation
into a dramatic drop off in the number of employment tribunal cases
after the introduction of new rules. Tribunals are the major route of
redress for a number of workplace safety issues, particularly for safety
reps.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Strike threat over victimisation of FBU safety rep
Firefighters are to vote on industrial
action to defend a safety rep from victimisation.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Train drivers don’t have to stand the heat
Train drivers’ union ASLEF is
urging its members not to tolerate dangerously high cab temperatures.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Union warns of offshore safety sackings
North Sea oil and gas workers are still being
fired for raising safety concerns with their bosses, the union Amicus
has said.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
USA: Whistleblowers still
lacking protection
A National Whistleblower Center survey of 200 random whistleblower reports
made to the Washington, DC based watchdog group during 2002 found 49.5
percent reported that they were fired for blowing the whistle. About
51 per cent of respondents said they reported fraud or criminal practices,
while 19 per cent exposed health and safety-related problems.
Full
report [pdf format]
National Whistleblower Centre
Victimised Whistleblowers'
A Trade Union Perspective, London
Hazards Centre
USA: Guides on whistleblower rights
COSH
network
USA: Legal protection from
health and safety victimisation in the US
AFL-CIO
guide
USA: American Civil Liberties
Union information on workplace whistleblowers. 
BRITAIN
How to complain about safety issues
Feel your safety concerns haven't been taken seriously? The Centre for
Corporate Accountability has produced a new guide to help individuals
complain if they feel they have been let down by the Health and Safety
Executive, local authorities, the police or the Crown Prosecution Service.
The new web resource sets out how members of the public can complain
about decisions made by government bodies on safety issues. It also
explains how people can make a complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman
and Local Government Ombudsman.
18
January 2003, CCA webpage
BRITAIN
NHS staff take the rap for speaking out
Health service staff are frightened
to raise concerns, particularly about unsafe staffing levels,
government targets and waiting lists, risks caused by other
staff and a bullying culture, according to a new report.
Risks
105, 10 May 2003
BRITAIN
Union activist reinstated by rail firm
A union activist whose demotion sparked
a strike at a leading rail company has been reinstated as a
train driver.
Greg Tucker won his claim for unfair dismissal
against South West Trains last year after claiming he was victimised
because of his activities for the Rail Maritime and Transport
union (RMT).
He was demoted to the post of revenue protection
clerk after being accused by the company of serious safety lapses,
charges the Tribunal dismissed as "implausible".
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that
SWT had done the only honourable thing in reinstating Mr Tucker.
An SWT spokesperson confirmed that Mr Tucker had taken up the
offer of reinstatement.
Risks
104, 3 May 2003
BRITAIN
Tube safety rep victimised for safety
stand
Tube bosses have been accused of victimising
a leading union safety representative in order to curb criticism
of the Underground's poor safety record. Train drivers' union
ASLEF says London Underground managers dismissed long-standing
safety rep Adam Parker on trumped up charges.
Risks
93, 15 February 2003
BRITAIN
Victimised rail safety rep wins sacking
case
A train driver and RMT union safety
rep victimised by South West Trains for his union activities
has won his claim for unfair dismissal. An employment tribunal
said Greg Tucker, 47, was unfairly dismissed and criticised
some of the evidence against him for being "implausible", adding
that he had been singled out for his trade union activities.
In January, RMT members staged a two-day strike in protest at
Mr Tucker's demotion, costing the company an estimated £9 million.
Risks
74, 5 October 2002
Safety whistleblower makes legal history
A former train driver who won his case for unfair dismissal
after speaking out about breaches of safety at the rail operator
Connex has made legal history. Former safety rep Laurie Holden
has been awarded a total of £55,000, including £18,000
in aggravated damages and injury to his feelings. He resigned
from the rail firm three years ago suffering from stress. He
says he complained to managers about safety problems, including
claims that drivers worked too many hours (Risks
43). A series of disciplinary
hearings eventually led to his resignation. The tribunal described
a 12-month campaign to force him out as "wholly unacceptable".
Mr Holden's solicitor, Paul Maynard, said legal history had
been made as it was the first time an award had been made for
aggravated damages and injury to feelings in an unfair dismissal
case. Risks
50, 20 April 2002 •
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