14 Scaffolders sacked over pay rates

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14 Scaffolders sacked over pay rates
A picket line has been set up outside the old Cassel Works, Billingham, Teesside after 14 scaffolders lost there jobs at the end of last week. The sackings came after one of the scaffolders Tony Seaman who is an activist for UNITE union took a letter of grievance to management on Wednesday asking to talk about increasing pay. The scaffolders claimed he was then asked to leave the site along with 13 other scaffolders. The industrial action was immediately set up outside the site which swelled to over 100, involving other trades such as fitters and electricians that walked out in sympathy for the scaffolders, calling for the men to be reinstated. Officials from UNITE and GMB unions held talks with the company to get the men back to work. However, no deal could be met. Scaffolder, Tony Seaman said: “I think it is wrong and we are very angry about this. “All we wanted was a review into our pay. We are on £10.46 an hour and under the blue book agreement we wanted £14. What is wrong with that?” It’s understood that union officials and the company agreed on Friday to take the matter to the conciliation service ACAS, but a condition was that the picket line should be removed. However workers refused to call off the action until they were given their jobs back and on Friday the matter was deadlocked. UNITE official Bill Green said: “The unions have told the men that they are on their own because the walk-out is illegal. The company claimed they never received a grievance letter. This is an unfortunate and regrettable matter that needs to be sorted out.” Communications Director David Massey at Hertel UK said: “Due to changes in the scope of the work we are carrying out at Lucite, the company was in a position where it needed to end a number of temporary contracts.” “This has involved 14 men, all of whom were employed as temporary scaffolders and labourers. The process was managed in accordance with standard procedures with appropriate notice issued to each of the affected employees.” Talks are expected to continue soon.

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Scaffolder dies 43 years on after asbestos accident

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Scaffolder dies 43 years on after asbestos accident
A YORKSHIRE man survived an industrial accident in 1965 only to die 43 years later because he was not protected from asbestos particles in the aftermath, his family has revealed. Ken Hoggett worked at the giant Ferrybridge power station when three cooling towers collapsed in 100mph winds. Nobody died in the accident, but tragedy struck generations later as the grandfather succumbed to an industrial disease. The scaffolder had cleared up in clouds of dust at the site near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, inhaling deadly asbestos fibres which caused mesothelioma, an aggressive form of lung cancer. Barely two weeks after diagnosis, Mr Hoggett – who had suffered breathing problems for years – was dead. Now his family is speaking out to warn others about the dangers. A former member of the Green Howards regiment and a veteran of the invasion of Sicily and the D-Day landings, Mr Hoggett was of a generation which bore suffering in silence, according to his family. His daughter Sue Stoppard, 57, said: “I think if other people have got concerns like my dad had they shouldn’t suffer in silence – they should get themselves checked. That’s why we are speaking out. “We don’t know how many other people have yet to discover this. If people can read about us and think ‘Well, I should be tested’, there might be something they can do. “Within less than a fortnight of finding out what he had, my dad was dead.” He was 85 when he died and had been caring for his wife of 60 years Ann, who had her own health problems. Mrs Hoggett, from Doncaster, started legal action against her husband’s former employers but passed away aged 89. Sue, and the devoted couple’s other daughter Kay Cowx, 63, continued the action and now the company Joseph Nadin Ltd has paid out damages of £49,000 after admitting a breach of duty of care to its employee. The family’s solicitor, Rebecca Moore-Yelland, a personal injury specialist from the Doncaster office of Shaw & Co, said finding the firm and proving that it employed men on site around the time of the collapse could be crucial in any further claims by other employees. “The defendant was hard to track and identify given the lapse of time, but has now been firmly placed as an employer of men working at the power station in this era,” said the solicitor, who has many years’ experience in tracing former employers of people who worked with asbestos decades ago. “The case also serves to illuminate the hazards of the industry at the time. It’s likely that many men will have some asbestos-induced disease dormant, which will come to light in the coming years, if it has not already.” In sworn evidence, a co-worker of Mr Hoggett told Shaw & Co that health and safety at the time “received little more than lip service” with accidents caused by poor lighting and training, and inadequate warnings. Mr Hoggett, who died in 2008, had also helped to mix and apply asbestos lagging with his bare hands before the collapse of the towers. Mrs Stoppard, of Doncaster, said many workers like her father were told to help in the clear-up. “Everybody had to muck in and help, and they swept and cleaned everywhere,” she said. She added: “We were determined to settle it out of dad’s memory – and for my mum because she wanted it to be done as well. “The day that my dad found out that he had it he said ‘Something should be done about this’. Well, now it has.” Mr Hoggett worked between 1964 and 1966 for a company called Joseph Nadin Ltd, believed to be based in Lancashire at the time. It is no longer trading and, according to lawyers, is not believed to be connected to any other company of a similar name. Via: Yorkshirepost.co.uk / [email protected]

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UTN Training is launching their Renewables Division

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UTN Training is launching their Renewables Division
UTN is launching their new Renewables Division at there training center in Wakefield West Yorkshire. To celebrate this new division UTN Training is holding an open day on the 29th September 2011 visitors to the event will be able to view the biggest, at height, all weather training roof in the north of England. Also at the open day UTN Training will be offering a 20% discount off all courses booked on the day. To qualify for this discount just download and print off this leaflet from here and take it with you to the open day. That’s 20% discount on Solar and/or Health & Safety Training!

 Renewables Division Courses:

  • Scaffold Appreciation
  • CISRS Scaffold Inspection
  • Solar PV for Electricians
  • Solar PV for roofers and scaffolders
  • Solar PV for builders/other trades
  • Working at Heights
  • Safe use of PAF Bags
  • Ladder Safety & Inspection
  • Easy Steps to MCS Accreditation
  • PASMA Mobile Tower Scaffold
  • 17th Edition Part P

‘The story behind UTN Renewables’

Barnsley businessman, Steve Fisher has just completed a 25 metre long multi tiled roof fitted with the latest solar panels – indoors.
But he is not planning to power his Barnsley home, or his business, with the panels. In fact he will have to shine a mains powered flood light on to the panels in order to make them work. The seemingly crazy investment is not intended to produce power but to train hundreds of workers to install photovoltaic panels in a realistic situation at a training centre in Wakefield. Steve started his UTN Training company 15 years ago when he built a 50 metre road to Highway specifications in order to train road workers the way to excavate and re-instate correctly. He has since seen 10,000 road workers successfully complete the New Roads and Street Works course. With the massive rise in the popularity of solar panels, particularly with the Yorkshire Region, Steve was getting many enquiries about  training for installers and decided to build the biggest, at height, all weather training roof in the country at his Wakefield base. Steve has now formed a collaborative partnership with Barnsley College to deliver Environmental and Sustainable Training and Education throughout the region. “There are other companies offering similar training but usually at ground level. I decided that if people were going to have to work at height they should be trained at height”, said Steve. His company already has an approved scaffold training centre and is accredited to run many other health and safety and management courses. “Solar energy is a booming market and many local authorities are turning to solar power for their housing stock but there is a lack of trained people to do the installation,” said Steve. “In this area alone councils are proposing to spend in excess of £400 million installing solar power.” ”Our five day course is designed to give inexperienced and unemployed building workers the basic skills to fit solar panels on roofs under supervision which would be ideal for many people seeking work at the moment,” he added. In addition there are shorter courses for qualified electricians, plumbers and roofers, who already have many of the skills required for the job. Recently the Health and Safety Executive announced they would be focusing their attention this year on smaller companies and targeting those installing solar capture equipment to ensure they are complying with health and safety law. View www.utnrenewables.co.uk for further details of Solar Training, or visit www.utntraining.co.uk for details of all your Health & Safety Training requirements.

Hastings scaffold firm fined for putting workers at risk

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Hastings scaffold firm fined for putting workers at risk
A Hastings firm has been fined after handing over unsecured scaffolding to a client, putting builders at risk. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector visited a site at Claremont, Hastings, on 20 April 2010 where building repairs and external work were being carried out. The inspector noted that scaffolding erected by Totalscaff (GB) Ltd, trading as Total Service Group (TSG), around the building had not been adequately tied, meaning it was unstable. By law, all scaffolding must be inspected by a competent person before it can be used. Hastings Magistrates’ Court was told the worker who undertook safety checks, Christian Ball, had been previously been advised of the need to adequately tie scaffolding but had overlooked this advice. He was also fined. Totalscaff (GB) Ltd, of Ninfield Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, was found guilty and Christian Ball, 35, of West Hill Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, pleaded guilty to a breach of Regulation 28(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. Totalscaff (GB) Ltd was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 in costs, and Mr Ball was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay £2,274 costs. Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Melvyn Stancliffe said: “Scaffold collapses can have serious consequences and tying the scaffold – or something similar – is essential for stability and ensuring it does not collapse while being erected or being used. Its importance cannot and should not be overlooked. “HSE and the scaffolding industry have worked together to produce guidance to help scaffolding contractors ensure their scaffolding is safe. It is easy to follow. By not following it, people’s lives were put at risk unnecessarily. “HSE will take firm action against individuals and contractors who ignore their health and safety obligations. It is essential that contractors and contract managers equip themselves with the necessary information and guidance material and apply it each and every time a scaffold is built.” Via: HSE (Press Release)

Harsco helps change the face of Ipswich landmark

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Harsco helps change the face of Ipswich landmark
A bespoke suspended access cradle system from Harsco Infrastructure is being used to help improve the appearance of a major landmark building in Ipswich. The system is being utilised to refurbish the facades of the 7-storey Suffolk House building which house the offices of AXA Insurance. Designed to provide a totally bespoke and highly flexible access solution that allows up to 12 two-man cradles to be used at one time, it features a unique counterbalance system which requires only minimal mechanical fixing to the roof of the building.  

XFactor: Singing scaffolder gets through to next round

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Singing Scaffolder Terry Winstanley made quite an impression in the xfactor auditions that was shown on ITV1 this evening. The 51 year old Granddad from Worthing, West Sussex wowed the judges with his version of Michael Bolton’s ‘To Love Somebody’. He explained his story to Dermot O’Leary by saying: “I’m currently working as an HGV driver for a scaffolding company, we take the goods to the sites, and the I hump it, lump it and grump it…I’ve got four children and two step-children, I adore my grandchildren. “I’ve been singing since I was a kid but not seriously, I’ve just done the odd bit here and there …I got married relatively young, I was only 21, the kids came along early as well and I really lost touch with music…it wasn’t until the kids grew up a bit that I started to realise what I was missing and by then I was in the thirties, I just thought maybe I’m too old…I would love to get the music back in my life, this is a huge day for me, I haven’t slept properly in a week…this is it, there’s no more after this, it’s finished, if I don’t progress then I shall just say thank you for a lovely experience and that’ll be it.”

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Two Gloucestershire builders injured in scaffolding fall

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Two builders – thought to be father and son – have been rescued after falling through a gap in scaffolding while working on a house in Gloucestershire. The pair were working on Hasfield House in Tewkesbury when they fell and were injured by falling masonry on Friday. Great Western Ambulance said a man, 30, fell 9m (30ft) and his father, aged 60, fell and was struck by a weight. The older man suffered a broken wrist and ankle and was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. An aerial ladder platform was used to hoist paramedics up to the pair whose fall was broken by some lower scaffold 10m (33ft) from the ground. One was taken down from the scaffold on a stretcher on the platform. Group manager Simon McMillan said: “Our fire crews did an excellent job at what was a difficult incident. “The injuries could have been much more severe had the men’s fall not been broken by a scaffolding platform below. “They were, however, in some pain and the crews were able to reassure them and keep them calm before using the platform to allow paramedics to reach and treat them as quickly as possible.” Via: www.bbc.co.uk

Scaffolding collapses at US border crossing injuring 11

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Scaffolding collapses at US border crossing injuring 11
The US nation’s busiest border crossing has reopened 13 of 24 vehicle lanes after scaffolding collapsed a day earlier, halting all U.S.-bound traffic. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the San Ysidro border crossing connecting San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, opened the lanes at midnight Thursday. The agency was uncertain when the crossing’s remaining 11 lanes would reopen, but did not expect it would happen Thursday. Scaffolding collapsed at California’s San Ysidro port of entry, reportedly injuring at least 11 people and forcing the closure of all lanes into the United States at the busiest border crossing in the world. Officials shut down all northbound lanes at the border and were turning all traffic back to Tijuana. The collapse occurred at about 11 a.m. at a covered area of the port that is undergoing demolition as part of an expansion. Debris from the collapse covered one car that was near the exit of the canopy that covers the border inspection booths. The collapsed scaffolding was intended to protect cars from debris falling during the demolition. The cause of the collapse is under investigation, the website reports. Via: www.Foxnews.com

13 People detained after fatal scaffold collapse in China

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13 people have been detained by chinese police today after the deadly suspended scaffold collapse that has now killed 10 workmen. We previously reported that 7 workmen were killed when the scaffolding structure on a tower block in Xi’an NW China collapsed and crashed to the ground from the 23rd floor (63 meters) of the tower block. Eyewitness at the scene said they saw the chains supporting the suspended scaffold snap.
A government spokesperson said: “An internal investigation shows that workers had violated working regulations before lowering the scaffolding.”
The Xi’an government has ordered a crack down on illegal operations and eliminate safety problems on construction sites within the city.  

Atlantic Hoisting & Scaffolding helps to rebuild Ground Zero

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Atlantic Hoisting & Scaffolding helps to rebuild Ground Zero
Meath man Karl O’Reilly is playing a pivotal role in the rebuild of Ground Zero. Originally from Kells Ireland, the 31-year-old is working as the project manager with Atlantic Hoisting and Scaffolding. The company provides hoist cars or construction elevators for workers and materials that are being used to rebuild the site that the Twin Towers once occupied. Atlantic Hoisting & Scaffolding was founded by the Breslin brothers, John and Michael, who also hail from Kells. O’Reilly first came to New York ten years ago and was working close by the Twin Towers when tragedy hit on 9-11. With the tenth anniversary of 9-11 just months away, there is a big push to complete the memorial in time for the commemoration. O’Reilly has vivid memories of that September day when two planes crashed into New York’s tallest buildings and irreversibly changed America. “I was on a building up on 17th Street that morning, so I wasn’t that far away, probably about half-a-mile or thereabouts,” he told the Meath Chronicle. “I remember being in my boss’s van at the time, we were just down having coffee, and we heard these snippets of news coming over the airwaves. “Initially, we thought it was a joke, because we were down on the ground so you couldn’t actually see the towers, but we soon could see the smoke streaming out of the buildings. “The one thing I will never forget from that day was probably the mass panic by everybody, nobody knew what was going on, that was the big thing. It was a pretty frightening event. We were well safe where we were but because nobody knew what was going on – we were in the middle between the World Trade Centre and the Empire State – and you didn’t know whether the Empire State Building was going to be next; we just didn’t know what could happen next,” he recalls. “It was panic. We could hear the rumbles in the distance. After the second tower fell, the whole city was on lockdown. No movement in or out of tunnels or subways, or anything.” Soon after the Meath man travelled home to a booming Ireland, but despite the plentiful opportunities he was once again lured back to the city that new sleeps. In 2007 he returned to New York with his girlfriend, Geraldine Fox. Who works as a handbag designer. “When it comes to fashion, there is London, Paris, Milan or New York. I don’t speak Italian or French too well, London was too close so we said we would give New York a shot. It was more coincidence that I was offered the chance to work in America sometime before that and I took it. We always knew we were going to move away and give it a shot. We left, even though the Celtic Tiger was going strong in Ireland,” he recalls. According to O’Reilly there are “a lot of Irish guys” employed at Ground Zero currently. “That has been quite an eye-opener for me because I had been working outside the city where I wasn’t coming into contact with many Irish people and then when I went in on this job, and you meet so many. Even in our own company, there are a lot of Irish. A lot of the foremen are Irish. Basically, all the contractors that are there have a lot of Irish, which is good to see.” New York life suits O’Reilly for the time being, and he admits that there is little right now to tempt him to return to Ireland. “You’re not going to work on a 105-storey building at home, they don’t exist. Over here, you’ll meet every walk of life, it’s such a diverse city,” he says. “Anyway, a lot of our friends who lived in Ireland have now gone elsewhere looking for work.”
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