Ei-iE

The Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) has welcomed the spotlight focused on asbestos in schools at the Education Select Committee Inquiry into Asbestos in Schools on 13 March’s. EI’s UK affiliates, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) are part of JUAC.

In its press release, JUAC says that evidence from campaigner Michael Lees and JUAC Chair Julie Winn highlighted unacceptable variations in standards of asbestos management. It also gave examples of management failures and called for the reintroduction of proactive inspections in schools.

JUAC found it “disappointing that Schools Minister David Laws reiterated the long-held Government position that a national audit of the extent and condition of asbestos in our schools is not necessary, and that the current management system is functioning satisfactorily”.

JUAC is hopeful that members of the Education Select Committee will reflect carefully on what they have heard and support JUAC’s calls for central collection of data on the extent, type and condition of asbestos in schools.

JUAC is also calling for the re-introduction of pro-active inspections in schools, leading to a programme for the phased removal of asbestos, with priority given to those schools where the asbestos is in the worst condition.

NUT: Dilapidated schools pose health and safety risk

The previous day, NUT General Secretary and EI European Region President Christine Blower commented on the funding difficulties surrounding the Government’s Priority School Building Programme.

“Yet again, we see Michael Gove’s failure to deliver the education services we need,” she said. “While the Education Secretary throws money at free schools and academies, many schools are being left in a dilapidated state. This sends a very poor message from the Coalition Government. It is simply wrong that, in this day and age, pupils and their community are educated in buildings which are not fit for purpose.”

She added that “when the repairs and condition of the premises have gone way beyond cosmetic damage and now pose a real health and safety issue, it is poor for the morale of both pupils and the community. It is a clear indication that this Coalition does not have the interest of all its citizens at the heart of their policies.”

The NUT health and safety briefings are available here

NASUWT: Three out of four UK school contain asbestos

Another EI UK affiliate, NASUWT, is using a questionnaire to identify and record information about members’ asbestos exposure.

By recording information about asbestos exposure on a permanent and structured database for all members who know or suspect that they have been exposed to asbestos, NASUWT aims to assist any future claims for compensation.

NASUWT also condemns the fact that over 75 per cent of schools in the UK are known to contain asbestos.

To find out more about NASUWT’s activities on asbestos in the workplace, please click here

ATL: 1.5m workplaces contain asbestos

ATL is also running a campaign to increase awareness of the danger of asbestos in education buildings, and has developed health and safety training for ATL representatives.

The teacher trade union explains that it is estimated that more than 1.5 million workplace properties still contain some form of asbestos. ATL discovered that asbestos is certainly present in many educational establishments, though staff are often unaware of its presence until repairs or renovations occur.

ATL also warns that exposure to and inhalation of asbestos can lead to serious and terminal diseases: The British Lung Foundation reports that, every year in the UK, 2,000 people are diagnosed with the asbestos-related disease, mesothelioma. And the number of deaths from mesothelioma is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015.

It highlights a 2012 report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health entitled Asbestos in schools: the need for action. This report investigates the scale of the asbestos issue and makes recommendations about stopping this time-bomb in schools.

To learn more about the ATL campaign against asbestos, please click here

EI: Students also at risk

“We firmly support our UK affiliates in their ongoing fight against asbestos in schools, as teachers’ health and safety is a key ETUCE priority,” said Martin Rømer, Director of EI’s European Region, the European Trade Union Committee for Education. “We strongly believe that a school should be a safe, healthy and propitious place for teaching and learning.”

He highlighted that if schools are the teachers’ workplace, they are also   educational institutions for young students. Occupational health and safety problems can therefore be harmful not only for the teachers and other education personnel, but can also indirectly harm the students and put at risk the quality and efficiency of the education provided, he said.

Rømer went on to say that “through its many projects, ETUCE seeks to raise awareness, increase knowledge and facilitate exchange of experience and good practices on teachers' safety and health issues among its member organisations”.

The issue of asbestos is covered by ETUCE in its project on teachers’ solidarity in health and safety in the crisis. It is currently conducting a survey among member organisations, including country interviews in eight countries, including the UK.

More information about ETUCE campaigns and policies on occupational health and safety is available here