Asbestos failing

A rep in the public service union UNISON says that Waltham Forest council could have avoided a £66,000 fine for failing to manage asbestos and exposing employees and contractors to the deadly dust if it had listened to its trade unions.

The London borough council received the sentence after pleading guilty to breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and a breach of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.

Southwark Crown Court heard that asbestos was identified in a survey commissioned by the council in 2002. However, the council had no plan in place for managing the risks of asbestos and there was an inadequate system in place for inspecting asbestos at Walthamstow town hall. As a result, employees and contractors were allowed to carry on working in the basement of the town hall, putting their lives and health at risk.

“The unions here have been on at the council about asbestos management for as long as I can remember, and if they had listened to the unions then all of this could have been avoided,” said UNISON branch health and safety officer Bill Palmer.

www.unisonwalthamforest.org.uk/2015/01/19/waltham-forest-council-guilty-of-failing-to-manage-asbestos