HSE MEETING – REVOCATION OF DOCKS REGULATIONS
Jane WillisHSE
Stephen WilliamsHSE
Vincent JoyceHSE
Helen SmithHSE
Hugh RobertsonTUC and HSE Board member
Andy GreenUNITE
Richard SteelePorts Safety and Skills
Background
The decision to revoke Docks Regulations has been made but the status of the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) was uncertain. HSE & PSS wanted to remove the ACoP and replace it with an industry Code of Practice (CoP). Unite had argued that the ACoP carried legal weight which compelled adherance and would only support the retention of the ACoP.
Meeting opened
Jane Willis stated that the HSE’s preferred option was to have a CoP which was felt to be more flexible and easier to understand and useable, in addition the benefits of a CoP is that it can be easily amended without great difficulty unlike an ACoP. However she acknowledged the points made by the trade union that something which had greater legal weight would be needed and accordingly she had consulted with HSE solicitors on the legaility of a stand alone ACoP and was advised that this could be done; Unite re-iterated that only the weight of legally enforceable rules could protect workers in the dock industry and help facilitate union safety representatives in their day to day role.
HSE maintained that there are areas of the existing ACoP which have been superceded or are out of date and cannot be retained. Unite agreed but stated that the retention of the ACoP was not due to any ideological reason but by reason of practicability and their effectiveness as there were also many areas in the existing ACoP which are still highly relevent and which should be retained.
HSE insisted that all areas within the docks ACoP which have been superceded by other Regulations and ACoP’s, such as LOLER, would legally have to be replaced. Unite conceded the point but reminded HSE that there many dock specific details in the ACoP which remain relevent and could not be lost.
Unite reminded the meeting that there is a major threat to de-regulate the dock industry and that we should be mindful that we do not make changes based on a snapshot of the industry today, but that we should consider the impact of a future de-regulated industry which would see a proliferation of untrained agency labour entering the industry. Such a scenario would require strong regulation in the dock industry.
Proposal
After extensive discussion, the HSE have proposed the retention of the Docks ACoP and to update and modernise them. This will be achieved by using up to date regulations and their ACoP’s such as LOLER, to replace and update existing areas of the docks ACoP. However if there is additional dock specific detail in the current dock ACoP which isn’t in these other up to date regulations, then the detail in the existing dock ACoP will also be retained and included in the updated version. Where there does not exist a suitable alternative to the current areas of the docks ACoP, these areas of the ACoP will be retained, subject to them being relevent and legally compliant. There are some areas which will need to be removed completely as they do not currently conform to equality legislation e.g. terminology use – physical and mental impairments. The updated Docks ACoP will include references to PSS guidance
Outstanding Work to be completed
HSE have requested that the trade unions undertake a study of the HSE draft ACoP document which has already removed much of the outdated areas to identify which remaining areas of the existing docks ACoP are relevent and which we would wish to retain and those we believe we should not.
NB. I believe as a precaution we should go further and re-check the whole docks ACoP to ensure that the HSE document has not already removed some critical areas.
HSE have asked Unite and other unions to review their ACoP and respond with their points as soon as possible. I have reminded HSE that Unite will need to consult and discuss with union representatives from the several ports as the commodity types are diverse, containers, ro-ro, general cargo, bulks and liquids etc.
The working group will report to the HSE board in December and recommend a hybrid document which retains the ACoP but which is updated. The ACoP would also include references to the PSS guidance.
Recommendation
The HSE conceding to retain the Docks ACoP is a major success as this was opposed by the HSE themselves and the employers, the updating of the ACoP also allows us an opportunity to modernise and strengthen the existing ACoP in a way which benefits our members in the docks.
I recommend that we draw together a group of representatives as soon as possible, who have the necessary knowledge and safety experience, to identify those key areas in the present ACoP we would wish to retain in their entirity and elsewhere extract all other relevent working practices and procedures which we would want to retain alongside the updated areas.
Note:
Steve Williams reminded those present that HSE intended to hold an dock industry conference in 2013 to which all the key stakeholders would be invited.
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