GMB Warns On Asbestos In Schools
Thursday 2nd February 2012
GMB WARNS OF DANGERS FROM ASBESTOS IN
SCHOOLS AS NEW ALL PARTY REPORT SET OUTS SIX ACTION POINTS TO
PROTECT PUPILS AND STAFF FROM HIDDEN KILLER
There is a real risk of increasing the
danger of asbestos in schools buildings killing pupils and staff
alike if these recommendations are not properly implemented and
there is not a mandatory system of accountability
GMB warned that there is a grave danger that
the recommendations in the report from the All Party Parliamentary
Group (APPG) on “Asbestos in Schools – the need for action”
published yesterday will be a dead letter as more and more schools
opt out of local authority control and will not have the expertise
to implement the recommendations.
There is a real risk of increasing the danger
of asbestos in schools buildings killing pupils and staff alike if
these recommendations are not properly implemented and there is not
a mandatory system of accountability. GMB is calling for cast iron
guarantees that all schools opting out of local authority control
will properly account to parents and staff on a regular basis as to
how they plan to implement the report’s important
recommendations.
GMB has a large membership in schools with
members working as Support Staff such as Teaching Assistants,
caretakers, dinner ladies, cleaners, laboratory technicians all of
who could potentially be exposed to asbestos on a daily basis.
The six recommendations in the report are as
follows-
1
The government should set a programme for the phased removal of
asbestos from all schools, with priority being given to those
schools where the asbestos is considered to be most dangerous or
damaged.
2
Standards in asbestos training should be set and the training
should be mandatory. The training should be properly funded.
3
It is recommended that the DfE and HSE jointly develop asbestos
guidance for schools and that current standards be reviewed.
4
A policy of openness should be adopted. Parents, teachers and
support staff should be annually updated on the presence of
asbestos in their schools and the measures that are being taken to
manage it.
5
Pro-active inspections to determine the standards of asbestos
management should be reinstated, with a view to reducing future
costs.
6
Data should be collected centrally on the extent, type and
condition of asbestos in schools and this becomes an integral part
of the data collection of the condition of the nation’s
schools.
John McClean, GMB National Health & Safety
Officer said, “GMB endorses the statement from Jim Sheridan
MP, who chairs the APPG on asbestos, where he states – “This is a
national scandal. Urgent action is needed to prevent pupils,
teachers and other staff being exposed to this deadly killer
dust”.
GMB recognises that this is not a new
problem and there has been a failure by successive governments to
even acknowledge the scale of the problem. The publication of the
booklet gives an opportunity to finally address the problem by
acting on the six recommendations within the report.
As schools become unaccountable under
academy status and the state education system breaks up, the
government must reassure parents and school staff that their
schools will not kill them.
All school governors, and head
teachers in schools accountable to local authorities and those that
are not must make sure they know how to combat this danger in their
schools and protect the pupils and staff. A carefully planned,
phased removal of asbestos from all schools will not be cheap but
is necessary. They have to be accountable to parents and staff on a
regular basis for this.”
Ends
Contact: John McClean, GMB
National Health & Safety Officer on 07710631329 or 01462 492400
or Dan Shears, GMB National Health & Safety Officer on 07918
787781 or 020 7391 6715 of GMB Press Office: Steve Pryle on 07921
289880 or Rose Conroy on 07974 251823.
Notes to Editors:
1 The APPG report – Asbestos in
Schools – the need for action was published on Wednesday
1st February 2012 and is now available to
download.
Asbestos In Schools The Need For Action
All - Party Parliamentary Group On
Occupational Health & Safety
2 The APPG Group on Asbestos is a Sub Group of
the APPG on Occupational Health.