Welding lecturers begin strike at City of Glasgow College

On December 18 last year the Health and Safety Executive wrote to the college's chief executive, Paul Little, advising that contraventions had been established.

The HES found that lecturers had not been properly trained in how to use the local exhaust ventilation (LEV) systems, meaning they could be exposed to welding fumes which carries health risks such as lung cancer.

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Furthermore, it was discovered that lecturers had been carrying out demonstrations of welding on a workbench in the middle of the workshop, without use of LEV. Management were unaware of this occurring, and lecturers were unaware that this was incorrect.

Mr Little was told: "You have therefore failed to provide employees with suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training, namely in relation to the measures that require to be in place to control the health and safety risks from welding."

While the college did resolve the breach of regulation 12, the EIS-FELA union branch for the college raised a number of other concerns about the welding and fabrication department.

The union alleged competent risk assessments for welding and fabrication had still not been completed, training in basic workshop safety had not been provided, RPE masks had not been provided, and health surveillance for staff exposed to fumes and dust had not been forthcoming.

A ballot for strike action was successful, with the college informed this would take place on March 20, 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31; and April 1 and 2. More dates may follow if the dispute is not resolved.

On Friday a picket was held for the first day of the action, with hazard tape placed outside the entrance to the campus.

Dave Moxham of the STUC told the striking lecturers: "I remember as a 16-year-old on a construction site being handed a welding gun and a mask and they said, 'do you want to have a go Dave?'. If anyone's seen me with a hammer, you don't want to see me with a welding gun.

"That was horrible early 1980s health and safety, and I'm not saying that's what we're seeing today but the tolerance of any form of bad health and safety has an insipid effect.

"It doesn't just affect people here, it affects culture. All industrial action is bigger than just the moment."

John Brown, a former welder at BAE Systems in Govan, said: "There is no safe level for a carcinogen.

"In Great Britain at the moment 13,000 people are made ill by their work and 12,000 of them are made ill by dust and fumes in their work. Much of it is historical due to asbestos but not all of it.

"Welders are 44% more likely to contract a cancer than non-welders, the whole thing is a potential life-shortening, life-depleting death sentence. There are solutions which do work but they have to be properly instituted."

An EIS-FELA spokesperson said: "Due to the intransigence of CoGC management, reaching an agreed settlement to the health and safety dispute has been significantly hampered, and our welding lecturers are therefore left with no other option than to take strike action.

"Our branch stands in full solidarity with the affected members in their struggle for better and safer working and learning conditions. All management has to do to settle the dispute and avoid strike action is to put basic health and safety measures in place."

A City of Glasgow College spokesperson said:  “The UK's independent regulatory body for health and safety has formally confirmed that this matter has been fully addressed by the college and is now closed with all required actions implemented and independently verified. 

"The college was given a clean bill of health by the Health and Safety Executive with confirmation that welding and fabrication training could continue from Friday, 6 February because we are fully compliant in every area. This was before EIS-FELA even balloted their eight welding members for industrial action on this matter. Furthermore, independent external assessment has concluded that exposure levels to our welders were always significantly below regulatory thresholds.

"Given that position, it is unclear on what basis industrial action for only eight staff members is being taken. However, the college has already taken steps to ensure welding and fabrication training continues to minimise any disruption to our learners, and we can confirm that teaching has already resumed in this area and will continue during these strikes.  

“We are disappointed by the conduct of our EIS-FELA local branch officials, but this is only to be expected because we knew they would manufacture an excuse to hold industrial action in the run-up to the Scottish Parliament elections in May given they go out on strike practically every year.”