UNISON calling

Conference welcomes the UNISON call centre charter, launched in 2012, which calls on all employers who have UNISON members working in a call centre or in call handling operations to commit to improving the standards which those staff operate under. This includes ensuring that staff are able to take sufficient breaks away from the workstation […]

Motion 8. Service v Targets.

For call centre staff in our water companies it is becoming increasingly difficult to deliver a quality service to the public due to internal pressures to ‘get rid of’ callers as quickly as possible. If a caller rings up to say they have cellar flooding or sewage coming into their property they are in a […]

Motion 6. Water and the Future

With more of our companies imposing pay rises on our members, UU introducing spot rates and Scottish Water trying to get rises that are 100% performance based, it is obvious we are in for a rough ride in the not so distant future. Because we are higher paid than other groups in UNISON and the […]

Motion 4. Overseas suppliers

The larger water companies import much of their sewage and water pipes from Asia especially large diameter pipes used in capital schemes, in the case of Yorkshire Water from Kolkata in India via a UK subsidiary. This contract has been running for ten years. Our company has someone who monitors the contract and makes visits […]

Motion 3. Cost saving versus Risk

In these times of high energy costs water companies are embarking on initiatives to save money. This includes turning off sections of plant at times of the day when energy costs are highest. Because this at present tends to be for short periods after normal working hours the focus may be concentrated on how much […]

Motion 2. Hidden killers.

Having had a tanker driver repeatedly exposed to high levels of hydrogen sulphide whilst tankering sludge off at sewage treatment works, this has served to remind us of the risks posed to our members from dangerous gases. This member had his HGV and all other driving licences taken away by the DVLA as a result […]

Motion 1. Safety of Dig Teams

With ever more private companies laying electric cables and gas pipes on new build sites and companies being bought out or going bankrupt, the health and safety of dig teams on water contacts are being jeopardised because there is no central database. Buried services may belong to utilities, commercial sites, industrial sites or the military. […]

Call Centre Working Time

UNISON welcomed the publication of the new call centre charter, launched last year by Professor Charlotte Rainer (report author) of Portsmouth University at this conference. The continued and disproportionate levels of workplace stress, bullying and harassment which in turn leads to a higher than average level of sickness absence, is a big concern. An increasing […]

Personal Protective Equipment Checklist for Safety Representatives

Water, Environment and Transport Conference 2013 calls upon the WET Executive to devise a checklist to ensure that any PPE is compliant with the law. As a minimum, the checklist should include: • Check with employers that PPE was purchased from reputable suppliers i.e. from Companies displaying the logo of the Registered Safety Suppliers (RSS) […]

Lone Working Incident

Conference is aware of an incident that occurred in Scottish Water in 2012 which could have had very serious consequences. A Worker was lone working and left his mobile phone in his van while accessing a building which subsequently trapped him through a faulty door. It was several hours before this worker could be rescued […]

Near Fatality Following Confined Space Entry

This Conference is aware of an incident that took place on a water meter chamber in Slovakia which ultimately resulted in 1 of 2 water meter readers suffering brain damage which will likely prevent him from working ever again. Whilst most of the water industry in Great Britain follows the correct procedures in regards to […]

Presenteeism

Recent statistics prove that workers are taking less time off sick than ever before but this can well be a false economy situation particularly for members we represent in the WET Service Group. Workplaces now face a bigger problem of presenteeism not absenteeism whereby workers are struggling into workplaces with ill health symptoms and end […]

Health and Safety event for Safety Representatives of Branches in the Water, Environment and Transport Service Group

Following on from the success of the 2012 WET Health & Safety event, this Conference calls on a similar event to be staged in the spring of 2014 as Health and Safety remains one of the key areas for our members. Positive feedback was received from all attendees last time and experience gained from others […]

Ensuring Adequate Maintenance of Manhole Covers

This 2013 WET Conference is aware of a serious safety incident in Severn Trent Water which resulted in a sewerage operator losing the tips of his fingers on one hand. The individual concerned was gaining access to a confined space but suffered the injury as the stay on the manhole cover collapsed. Such assets particularly […]

Direct to Site Working

Issues are being experienced in some Branches including Scottish Water whereby the Working Time Regulations appear to be being misinterpreted in particular when working time begins. Instances that have come to the fore include employees being required to do basic vehicle checks in their own time before commencing work. In addition, employees are being told […]