UCATT survey exposes Asbestos failings in industry
30 December 2014
A recent online survey conducted by the construction workers union, UCATT, has shown that there are
significant failings by employers to ensure that employees are not exposed to Asbestos. The survey of over 750 UCATT members showed that:
- 60% of respondents reported that by they may be exposed to asbestos due to the nature of their work.
- When exposed to asbestos, 63% believed it was a major health and safety concern.
- Where asbestos was a potential issue in the workplace - a staggering 36% of respondents claimed they had been in contact with asbestos in the last 12 months.
- 38% of respondents reported employers not having adequate procedures in place to protect them against exposure.
- 28% of the respondents highlighted that they had not received adequate training on asbestos awareness.
Steve Murphy, General Secretary of UCATT, said: "Asbestos kills thousands of workers every year and construction workers are now at the greatest risk of being exposed to asbestos. The results of our survey show that employers are persistently failing to prevent workers being exposed to asbestos, they are playing Russian roulette with construction workers lives."
Other top concerns in the survey were falls from heights, manual handling and stress.