BT engineers read this

BT engineer claims for tinnitus and deafness


10th August 2010
CWU Legal Services is encouraging any BT engineers who suffer from tinnitus and deafness and who have used oscillators and amplifier tone sets supplied by BT to contact the union. It appears that many BT engineers have been negligently exposed to high noise whilst using this equipment and may be eligible for compensation.
  Compensation claims tend to be successful where the engineer used the green or a combination of the green and yellow tone sets, whereas BT dispute liability where the engineer used only the yellow or blue sets. If you have used the green and/or yellow and/or blue tone sets and now suffer from tinnitus or are hard of hearing you may well be entitled to claim compensation. The average award is in the region of £7,000.but can be significantly higher in certain cases.
  A number of these claims are currently being litigated in the Cardiff County Court and the Court has asked the solicitors concerned to consider whether a Group Litigation Order would be appropriate.
  If a Group Litigation Order is imposed there would be a cut off date for registering new claims. CWU is therefore encouraging any members who are potentially affected to register a claim via the freephone CWU helpline: 0800 8046674 (lines open Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm. One of our solicitors will contact you within 48 hours).
  Tony Rupa, Head of CWU Legal Services, said: "It is important that you register a claim today so that we can ensure that your claim is dealt with now and within any time limits that may be set by the Court.
  "If you have any questions about your eligibility to make a claim, please contact the helpline directly and one of our advisers will help you."
  CWU Legal Services Scheme is a benefit of membership and you are entitled to free legal help if you or a member of your family has suffered injury due to someone else's fault, whether the accident happened in or out of work.

Legal services helpline: 0800 8046674 Monday - Friday 8am - 6pm.

You say no to the abolition of the retirement age

My latest poll has now closed. The result was 40% for and 60% against the abolition of the default retirement age. The people have spoken.

Closure of Barrow DQ

Please read this from my colleague Sally Bridge and support our members in Barrow.

Dear Colleague,

  The announcement by BT last week to close Barrow DQ has left many of you shocked and concerned regarding your future employment with BT.
  The CWU is angry with BT and does not believe that this announcement should have been made without reasonable alternative work being identified and we have written to Gavin Patterson, the CEO of BT Retail, expressing our outrage and seeking urgent talks.
  It will be our intention to campaign to apply maximum pressure on the company to ensure that work is brought to Barrow. BT has a responsibility not just to their employees but to the community of Barrow to do this. It is also our objective to ensure that the employment of the Manpower employers is included in our campaign.
  There is a dedicated web page at www.cwu.org to receive updates and a Facebook page has been set up to allow you to share your views and concerns with each other. This is an open forum it will also allow other BT employees to share their support and solidarity. The name of the Facebook page is CWU - BT Jobs for Barrow.
  Please remember that BT managers may also join this group and will have sight of all comments posted.
This is the first of regular newsletters that the CWU will be issuing and will keep you updated on developments while working with your local representatives to bring ‘BT jobs for Barrow’.
  Any questions to be addressed to:

Sally Bridge
CWU Assistant Secretary

New IVF fact sheet

The CWU Equality Department produces fact sheets on a range of work related issues. Our latest on IVF has now been uploaded to http://www.cwu.org/factsheets.html. If you have any questions or comments please let me know at lroy@cwu.org.

Come to the Chainmakers centenary event

On Saturday the 18th of September trade unionists from all over the UK will gather at the museum of the black country in Dudley to celebrate the centenary of the Cradley Heath women Chainmakers successful struggle for a fair days pay.    The CWU and other trade unions are sponsoring the event. Please come along and join us for a day of celebration, education, music and other entertainment. If you or your organisation would like to make a donation it would be much appreciated. Please contact me for further information at lroy@cwu.org
  The following outlines the story of the Chainmakers struggle. It can be found at htttp://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/images/cradleyheath/
"During the 19th century the Black Country, in particular the Cradley Heath area, became the centre for chain making in Britain. Heavy to medium chains were produced by men in factories, however the smaller chains (often known as 'hand-hammered' or 'country-work' chains) were often hand-worked by women or children in small cramped forges in outbuildings next to the home. The work was hot, physically demanding and poorly paid. Like other homeworking, chainmaking was an example of a "sweated" trade, where workers (often women) were paid a pittance to produce cheap goods at home.
  At the start of the 20th century the campaign to end the exploitation of "sweated" labour gained increasing popular support. In 1909 the Liberal government passed the Trade Boards Act to set up regulatory boards to establish and enforce minimum rates of pay for workers in four of the most exploited industries - chain-making, box-making, lace-making and the production of ready-made clothing. In the Spring of 1910, the Chain Trade Board announced a minimum wage for hand-hammered chain-workers of two and a half pence an hour - for many women this was nearly double the existing rate. At the end of the Trade Board's consultation period in August 1910, many employers refused to pay the increase. In response, the women's union, the National Federation of Women Workers (NFWW), called a strike.
  The strike lasted 10 weeks and attracted immense popular support from all sections of society - nearly £4,000 of donations were received by the end of the dispute from individual workers, trade unions, politicians, members of the aristocracy, business community and the clergy. The founder of the NFWW, Mary Macarthur, used mass meetings and the media - including the new medium of cinema - to bring the situation of the striking women to a wider audience and the strike became an international cause célèbre. Within a month 60% of employers had signed the 'White List' and agreed to pay the minimum rate, the dispute finally ended on 22 October when the last employer signed the list."

Pride in Brighton & Hove 2010 - Pride and (No) Prejudice

Go to Brighton this Saturday and have a really great day out at the annual pride event. Read more and make a donation here Pride in Brighton & Hove 2010 - Pride and (No) Prejudice

Have you been a victim of a disability hate crime?

The Police currently have powers to get involved in matter where hate crimes cover race or LGBT issues but it seems to be a different story for disabled people.
  The Equality & Human Rights Commission are running a data gathering exercise and are asking for victims to come forward. If you want to find out more please click on the link below
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legislative-framework/formal-inquiries/inquiry-into-disability-related-harassment/
  For more information you can contact the Equality Department in CWU HQ.