Respirators

[lurker]

I can't believe you lot are telling him to let it go!

Don't we all have a moral duty to help our fellow humans?
You are now in an ideal situation that your unfortunate ex-colleagues are not.
You have nothing to loose by helping them.
Contact local office of HSE stick to facts - avoid mentioning why you have left.

Of course they will be interested, people are bluddy dying from these exposures & its costing all of us taxpayers a fortune for their NHS treatment

Also if this cowboy company is getting away with breaking the law they are undercutting all the companies who are trying to work honestly
Personally they NEED to go under to help protect honest folks

I'm sure it was a shock but you are well out of it - as I'm sure you now are beginning to realise.

 

[HawkEye]

Well it seems things might get better. It looks as though I may have a job at another firm now. I went around on monday handing around my C.V and luckily enough a local firm is in dire need of new people. They were especially interested in the funding from CITB and I'm going in for an interview on friday.

Big soft moose, thank you for that recommendation, although I will have to turn that one down. Thanks though


As far as HSE are concerned, I will probaly mention it in a few days to them again. I will definately mention it to CITB, who will not do anything about it as they only cover the employment and funding, but its worth mentioning just to highlight the firm and draw attention to that a little. After all, this particular firm likes to captialise on the full apprenticeship funding they receieve from CITB for young starters, and if those young people pick up those sorts of bad habits then its not good.

Obviously its not my business anymore, but I will mention it to the relevant authorities on this because it breaches health and safety legislation in quite a few serious ways. If it was minor, like not using a pushstick or whatever on the DIM saw then fair enough, I'm not an arsehole lol. But this is quite a serious breach, and indicative of their general working practice.


I spent the rest of last week coughing up muccus, and it continues today. First few days I was blowing my nose and I could see saw dust particles, it was nasty... and that's not to mention the worse, most damaging stuff, which you can't even see. Woke up every morning with a terrible sore throat which is getting a little better each day.

 

[wizer]

Glad you got a new placement. Where abouts is it and what sort of work are you doing?

 

[HawkEye]

Well its a flooring company. They specialise in fitting all sorts of different hardwood flooring and rennovating old ones. They also make furniture aswell.

The guy I spoke to seemed really nice, and its nice and local aswell, infact its within walking distance. We talked at length about the type of work involved, obviously I would need to be trained up from scratch, but my background in joinery definately enhanced the prospect of employment. I was able to answer alot of what he asked me about some of the products he had there in the shop, and hazard a good guess about what I did not know.

I don't want to say that much more about it in case it slips through my fingers, but I like what I see so far and I hope they give me the job.

 

[Jake]

I can't believe you lot are telling him to let it go!

He's still trying to get his first foot on the employment ladder.

 

[Loz_S]

I can't believe you lot are telling him to let it go!

He's still trying to get his first foot on the employment ladder.

So what?

Anyone in that situation has a moral obligation to "do the right thing". Sticking your head in the sand or using a very convenient excuse that it's "nothing to do with me" is just not acceptable.

There's no need for it to become a personal crusade, merely list all of the regulation breaches to the appropriate authority and leave it up to them to sort out.

If everyone decided to do nothing we would very quickly descend into a decadent hell hole where anything goes, 'cos no one gives a shít.

...pretty close to what we have now, actually....

 

[lurker]

He does no need to do that, all he has to do is ring HSE local office & say" I worked here there was lots of wood dust & no controls - please go & investigate and let me know the outcome"

By the way Hawkeye I'm really pleased for you that things appear to be turning out for the good.

 

[OPJ]

The firm in question has a long history of being tight apparently, always has been, recession or no recession. Many people have left there very suddenly for spurious reasons. It felt like a bottom of the barrel type place,where the employees are not a valued part of the workplace, they are used to get the work done like you would use a piece of equiptment to cut something up and then disregard it when your not using it. The pay is especially poor, a guy who was 20, started work there at 16, had been there for four years and was on £6.50 an hour, 8am-4.30pm. He was not the lowest paid there. Technically he was a qualified joiner, and should be recieving over £10/ hour.

This sounds very familiar to me! :shock: I used to work for a firm just like this. Our hours were 7.30 to 17.00 and would've delighted with £6.50 after three-years at college!! :x My basic rate was £6.06 after the first-year. It was an increase of 9p from my starting wage, IIRC... :roll:

A total disregard for health and safety on part of the employers, but then again, as mentioned, if those there had a problem with it then they would have piped up before now.

I don't know if that's strictly true... Chances are, you would've been working with a few 'old boys' who aren't as clued up on the H&S regs. as us youngsters, fresh out of college... It is the employer's responsibility and duty to do something about it...

The 'shop I worked in had machines that don't comply with the current regs., mainly with regards to braking and run-down times... Most of which were well over ten seconds (I assume nothing has been done about this)! Worst part is, they have a HSE rep. visit every few weeks. He's never made a sound about it. He seems to be more concerned with people clearing up their own rubbish.

For a while, I contemplated reporting them to the HSE. But, my conscience got the better of me. Although, I have a hatred for the company as a whole and the way it's run, there are a lot of decent blokes who work there and I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of feeling 'responsible' should their jobs all become at risk. Our workshop manager is a decent bloke; good man in a very bad company. While I would've liked to have seen the MD [raise middle finger, here! :x] take the fall, I know he would've tried to blame it all on the other man - and it wouldn't be the first time, either.

So, I can sympathise with HawkEye and his decision not to get too involved. Let the past be and continue your woodworking safely. Best of luck with the new job, by the way!