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Managers may pay for safety failures - Unions set for peace pact - Pensions row hits rail firm
00:00 14 Jun 2000
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by John d'Arcy
Managers may be suspended without pay and directors lose their bonuses under a series of new innovative penalties for safety offences being proposed by the Government and the Health and Safety Commission.
Other new penalties under consideration include fines linked to company turnover and a system of penalty points together with naming and shaming guilty companies.
Legislation is promised to introduce a raft of tougher penalties to deter health and safety lawbreakers. Key measures will include making prison sentences available for most offences and increased maximum fines in the lower courts from £5,000 to £20,000. And companies will be required to assign health and safety responsibility to a named director.
The tougher line on safety offenders forms part of a joint Government-HSC strategy statement: Revitalising Health and Safety. This sets out demanding national targets designed to prevent up to 3,000 work-related major injuries and deaths. The specific targets are:
l Cut deaths and major injury accidents by 10% by 2010.
l Reduce the rate of work-related ill-health by 20% by 2010.
l Cut working days lost due to work-related ill health and injuries by 30% by 2010.
l Achieve half of each improvement by the year 2004.
Introducing the strategy document, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said the total costs to society of health and safety failures could be as high as £18bn every year.
He stated: "The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 has been successful. But there is more that we can do to make the workplace safer."
He singled out construction as an industry which still had a high accident rate and required action to secure an improvement.
The strategy document sets out a 44-point action plan designed to help meet the new safety targets or key performance indicators.
A "ready reckoner" with case studies will emphasise how companies can save money by improving their safety performance. There will be new help for small firms, including a grant scheme.
The Government has promised to lead by example. It is to introduce a checklist to ensure that health and safety considerations are at the top of public procurement decisions - with particular regard to construction contracts. It also intends to remove Crown immunity from health and safety laws.
HSC chairman Bill Callaghan commented: "I would like to see an increasing role for safety representatives. As well as contributing significantly to improving health and safety, they also encourage the kind of partnership approach we are looking for."
John Monks, TUC general secretary, said: "This package delivers the economic incentives and the moral lead to slash illness and injury rates in Britain's workplaces."
The strategy has also been welcomed by the CBI. It said it would consider all the proposals in detail but "is not committed to supporting every one at this stage". by John d'Arcy
Construction's three main building and civil engineering trade unions are close to resolving a long-standing squabble over their relative strength of representation on the industry's national joint council.
The constitutional row has been going on since the Construction Industry Joint Council was set up in December 1997, to unify the previously separate building and civil engineering bodies negotiating private sector pay and conditions. It stemmed from UCATT's insistence that it must hold an overall majority on the union side of the new joint council. This was resisted by the GMB and TGWU.
It is understood that all three unions are now on the point of formally agreeing that UCATT can hold at least seven of the proposed 11 union seats on the council. But UCATT will equally agree that no single union should decide policy. Decisions would require the assent of at least two of the signatory unions.
It is further proposed that pay negotiations should be handled by a union subcommittee of six, comprising three from UCATT, two from the TGWU, and one from the GMB.
The dispute has not impeded the latest round of pay negotiations. These resulted in agreement on a further long-term settlement which will increase basic rates by 20.6% over the next three years.
Failure to establish the proper constitution of the joint council has, however, prevented formal meetings and left a number of issues in abeyance and unresolved.
Allan Black, GMB national officer, commented: "The signs look quite good. I would have no problem with the proposed peace formula."
The employers' side of the CIJC includes the Construction Confederation, the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, and the National Association of Shopfitters. The way their seats are divided and the strength of employer representation accorded to sectoral interests still remains unclear.
Gerry Lean, employers' secretary, said: "Employer representation is pre-agreed. We are looking for an early meeting of the full council. We need to discuss such matters as pensions and apprentice pay." The growing significance of pensions as part of the operative's pay and conditions package is emphasised by a threat of industrial action by rail maintenance workers in South Wales.
The rail union RMT is balloting its rail maintenance members in the area on industrial action following a dispute with the track maintenance company GTRM, which is half-owned by Carillion. Ballot papers were issued on 5 June. They are due to be returned by next Wednesday, 21 June.
A statement by the union claims that GTRM reneged on an agreement to increase pensionable pay for staff who transferred from the competitor maintenance company, Amey, following its replacement by GTRM as Railtrack's contractor for South Wales.
RMT said that, prior to losing the South Wales contract, Amey had reached a pay restructuring agreement. Part of this accepted that revised pay would be pensionable for all service - past and future.
But, following the transfer, GTRM refused to honour this agreement. It had decided that restructured pay would be pensionable only for future service.
RMT assistant general secretary Bob Crow said: "Our members are incensed at GTRM undermining their pension entitlement. There was a clear agreement with Amey to improve pensionable pay. But it was not implemented when GTRM won the contract.
"Already several members have retired with grossly inferior pensions. I have no doubt we will get a mandate for strike action."
Managers may be suspended without pay and directors lose their bonuses under a series of new innovative penalties for safety offences being proposed by the Government and the Health and Safety Commission.
Other new penalties under consideration include fines linked to company turnover and a system of penalty points together with naming and shaming guilty companies.
Legislation is promised to introduce a raft of tougher penalties to deter health and safety lawbreakers. Key measures will include making prison sentences available for most offences and increased maximum fines in the lower courts from £5,000 to £20,000. And companies will be required to assign health and safety responsibility to a named director.
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The tougher line on safety offenders forms part of a joint Government-HSC strategy statement: Revitalising Health and Safety. This sets out demanding national targets designed to prevent up to 3,000 work-related major injuries and deaths. The specific targets are:
l Cut deaths and major injury accidents by 10% by 2010.
l Reduce the rate of work-related ill-health by 20% by 2010.
l Cut working days lost due to work-related ill health and injuries by 30% by 2010.
l Achieve half of each improvement by the year 2004.
Introducing the strategy document, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said the total costs to society of health and safety failures could be as high as £18bn every year.
He stated: "The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 has been successful. But there is more that we can do to make the workplace safer."
He singled out construction as an industry which still had a high accident rate and required action to secure an improvement.
The strategy document sets out a 44-point action plan designed to help meet the new safety targets or key performance indicators.
A "ready reckoner" with case studies will emphasise how companies can save money by improving their safety performance. There will be new help for small firms, including a grant scheme.
The Government has promised to lead by example. It is to introduce a checklist to ensure that health and safety considerations are at the top of public procurement decisions - with particular regard to construction contracts. It also intends to remove Crown immunity from health and safety laws.
HSC chairman Bill Callaghan commented: "I would like to see an increasing role for safety representatives. As well as contributing significantly to improving health and safety, they also encourage the kind of partnership approach we are looking for."
John Monks, TUC general secretary, said: "This package delivers the economic incentives and the moral lead to slash illness and injury rates in Britain's workplaces."
The strategy has also been welcomed by the CBI. It said it would consider all the proposals in detail but "is not committed to supporting every one at this stage". by John d'Arcy
Construction's three main building and civil engineering trade unions are close to resolving a long-standing squabble over their relative strength of representation on the industry's national joint council.
The constitutional row has been going on since the Construction Industry Joint Council was set up in December 1997, to unify the previously separate building and civil engineering bodies negotiating private sector pay and conditions. It stemmed from UCATT's insistence that it must hold an overall majority on the union side of the new joint council. This was resisted by the GMB and TGWU.
It is understood that all three unions are now on the point of formally agreeing that UCATT can hold at least seven of the proposed 11 union seats on the council. But UCATT will equally agree that no single union should decide policy. Decisions would require the assent of at least two of the signatory unions.
It is further proposed that pay negotiations should be handled by a union subcommittee of six, comprising three from UCATT, two from the TGWU, and one from the GMB.
The dispute has not impeded the latest round of pay negotiations. These resulted in agreement on a further long-term settlement which will increase basic rates by 20.6% over the next three years.
Failure to establish the proper constitution of the joint council has, however, prevented formal meetings and left a number of issues in abeyance and unresolved.
Allan Black, GMB national officer, commented: "The signs look quite good. I would have no problem with the proposed peace formula."
The employers' side of the CIJC includes the Construction Confederation, the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, and the National Association of Shopfitters. The way their seats are divided and the strength of employer representation accorded to sectoral interests still remains unclear.
Gerry Lean, employers' secretary, said: "Employer representation is pre-agreed. We are looking for an early meeting of the full council. We need to discuss such matters as pensions and apprentice pay." The growing significance of pensions as part of the operative's pay and conditions package is emphasised by a threat of industrial action by rail maintenance workers in South Wales.
The rail union RMT is balloting its rail maintenance members in the area on industrial action following a dispute with the track maintenance company GTRM, which is half-owned by Carillion. Ballot papers were issued on 5 June. They are due to be returned by next Wednesday, 21 June.
A statement by the union claims that GTRM reneged on an agreement to increase pensionable pay for staff who transferred from the competitor maintenance company, Amey, following its replacement by GTRM as Railtrack's contractor for South Wales.
RMT said that, prior to losing the South Wales contract, Amey had reached a pay restructuring agreement. Part of this accepted that revised pay would be pensionable for all service - past and future.
But, following the transfer, GTRM refused to honour this agreement. It had decided that restructured pay would be pensionable only for future service.
RMT assistant general secretary Bob Crow said: "Our members are incensed at GTRM undermining their pension entitlement. There was a clear agreement with Amey to improve pensionable pay. But it was not implemented when GTRM won the contract.
"Already several members have retired with grossly inferior pensions. I have no doubt we will get a mandate for strike action."
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