HSE unmasked: Hazards Campaign protest today over HSE’s failure to protect workers from the airborne spread of Covid-19

  • Hazards Campaign is protesting HSE failures to ensure proper protection for workers against the airborne spread of Covid-19 on 27th July, 6pm at Health and Safety Executive, Bootle
  • HSE must mandate the provision of respiratory protective equipment to FFP3 standard for all NHS and social care staff.
  • A simultaneous protest has been organised by Doctors in Unite that  is taking  place at the Department of Health, London more details

News bulletin for immediate release – 27.7.21 – No embargo

The UK Hazards Campaign has organised a protest at the HSE offices in Bootle today Tuesday, 27th July over HSE’s failure to ensure proper protection against airborne transmission to health and social care staff and other workers during the continuing pandemic. A simultaneous protest has been organised by Doctors in Unite that is taking  place at the Department of Health, London more details.

The Hazards Campaign is protesting at the continued refusal of the Health and Safety Executive to stand up for, and enforce workers’ health and safety, at its failing to insist Public Health England improve their guidance to mandate the provision of respiratory protective equipment to FFP3 standard for all NHS and social care staff, and other workers rather than claiming surgical masks are PPE which it knows is not true.

Janet Newsham UK Hazards Campaign chair says,

“With the disappearing Covid-19 public protection, workers need to be properly protected and their employers have a legal duty to ensure workers health and safety and anyone else affected by their work activity or in their work premises.

“The HSE has a legal duty to ensure safe working conditions for all workers,  but they have largely failed to ensure that employers in all settings  are controlling the infection risks to their staff through their duty to provide suitable and sufficient risk assessments and adequate controls of this airborne disease.  By reacting too late hundreds of thousands of workers have been infected, many left with long-covid and some have sadly died.

“As long as employers fail to ensure adequate ventilation and a proper precautionary level of face masks, workers will continue to be exposed to Covid-19 virus.”

The socially distanced protest will take place at 6pm at the HSE offices on Merton Road, Bootle, L20 7HS

Further Information / References

1. Covid is in the millions of small airborne aerosols that infected people exhale into shared air wherever people are mixing for work, so there is even more need for all workers to have PPE  to FFP2 and FFP3 standard to protect them from infection at work,
See VENTING | Coronavirus risks are mostly up in the air – Hazards magazine
2. The HSE knows that fluid resistant surgical masks are not PPE as their 2008 Research Report RR619 Evaluating the protection afforded by surgical masks (hse.gov.uk) showed.
Main Findings –This study focused on the effectiveness of surgical masks against a range of airborne particles. Using separate tests to measure levels of inert particles and live aerosolised influenza virus, our findings show that surgical masks provide around a 6-fold reduction in exposure. Live viruses could be detected in the air behind all surgical masks tested. By contrast, properly fitted respirators could provide at least a 100-fold reduction.
3. https://www.unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2021/july/doctors-in-unite-holds-protest-in-london-tomorrow-over-lack-of-enhanced-ppe-for-health-and-social-care-staff/

For More Information
Janet Newsham
janet@gmhazards.org.uk
07734317158

Additional Information
Website www.hazardscampaign.org.uk
Twitter @hazardscampaign
Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/123746101003963

The Hazards Campaign is a UK-wide network of resource centres and campaigners. The Hazards Campaign supports those organising and campaigning for justice and safety at work

 

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