Accident at Work with York / Plastic Sleeve

[without_a_paddle]

Hi all

I’m posting this message for advice from any CWU reps as I suffered a workplace injury while unloading packets from a York container last week (Friday 31 May).

As I reached the bottom of the York, one side of the plastic Correx insert that had been loosely in place popped off its catch and caught my right eye as I moved upwards. This caused damage to my eye and I went to A&E to be examined. I was told by the doctor who examined me that I had several scratches to the white of my eyeball / sclera that luckily missed the pupil, while causing bruising to the skin around the eye.

Although it luckily didn’t impair my sight, I was given antiseptic eye cream for the scratched eye surface and the bruising around the eye itself is still very sore from the injury.

The following day after the accident (Saturday 1st June) our local health and safety representative did a check of plastic sleeves in the York containers in the office and found several to be defective, which he then sent back to the local Mail Centre with a driver, to be taken out of service.

I’d be grateful for any advice on how to take this further, as I have just been made aware of Dave Joyce’s communication to all CWU branches in April that the use of plastic Correx sleeves were increasingly unsuitable.

[Barnacle]

That’s terrible! They are absolute trash and completely unsafe. I have no idea how they passed H&S.

[crazyshrew]

That’s terrible! They are absolute trash and completely unsafe. I have no idea how they passed H&S.

Because some overpaid baffoon created an absolutely ridiculous SSOW (arse covering) document for them. Completely impractical, my manager decided he didn't like it so refused to implement it in any form, and did any office actually get the snow shovels? ..sorry "parcel sliders" or whatever they were sold to us as.

Any comeback on RM that OP might hope for may not be as straightforward as they hope. The answers to the following questions will be very important.
In no order and I'm sure not exhaustive

We're they following the SSOW for using that kind of sleeve?
Have they be trained to use it?
Was the correct RM provided equipment being used?
Was the correct RM provided equipment available to use?
If it what not?

Unfortunately the post reads as though the job wasn't being done correctly (not judging here I've never seen anyone do it properly) So the answers to the training question and availability of equipment question will be extremely important.

[Zicomurphy]

No advice but had something very similar happen. The plastic sleeve wasn’t attached to the frame properly and it shifted and scratched my face about an inch from my eye. I would estimate a good 90% of the white sleeves we receive are defective in some way. Either not completely attached to the frame, broken sharp plastic edges or missing the velcro. Replacing the red sleeves with these is one of the worse decisions I’ve seen in over 30 years in the job and, unfortunately, representative of the contempt top management seem to have had for its workforce over the last few years.

[rogersh]

Firstly I would contact your Area H&S rep

"As I reached the bottom of the York" - Just saying what may be RM response!
Have you been trained to use the shovel?
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=110174&hilit=correx+yorks

I have edited this recent LTB from the UNION - H&S Forum.

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=113161

No: 140/2024 19 April 2024
Our Ref: C1/24 To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues, Introduction of 'Correx' York Container Sleeves - Serious Health, Safety & Ergonomic Concerns and Safety Management Failures:
This is an update for Branches, Safety Reps and members on the decision of Royal Mail senior Operational Directors and Management team to roll out nationally and universally across all operations - automation and manual functions, York Container white plastic Correx Sleeves (or liners) and to withdraw from service and scrap all red Auto-Levelling Parcel/Packet (ALP) sleeves. Without any proper trials, proof of concept or meaningful consultation with the Union, senior Operational Management introduced the white plastic 'Correx' York Container Sleeves into the automation operation and the manual sortation operation. Against strong health, safety and ergonomic objections from the CWU Health, Safety and Environment Department, Royal Mail have continued to persevere with 'Correx' sleeves despite;

• Firstly, the 'Short and Long Term safety and wellbeing risks to the workforce.

• Secondly, ignoring the frail, fragile, poor quality of the 'Correx' material and its inability to withstand the arduous use requirements of equipment in the Royal Mail network with thousands being damaged and going out of service every week, broken up, smashed, split, punctured etc., with many continuing in use in a poor hazardous condition with local haphazard and botched repairs. The material breaks up and tears easily.

• Thirdly, apart from the musculoskeletal, manual handling risks of injury whilst manually sorting from the 'Correx' sleeves, the risks of 'cumulative' long-term musculoskeletal and back ill-health is a serious concern.

• Finally, cuts, and abrasions caused by damaged, sharp, jagged, split edges of the 'Correx' has become an additional problem with mounting numbers of accidents to the workforce and recently a customer was injured this way. We have made it clear to Royal Mail that the Safe System of Work is not fit for purpose and the so called solution of providing 'shovels' to staff to unload 'Correx' sleeves is totally impractical and seen by the workforce as no more than a 'joke'..........


Following the decision of Royal Mail, meetings have taken place with the RMG Director Health and Safety, with the RMG Head of Safety for Programmes and with the RMG Head of Assets where at each meeting we again expressed our strong objections to the removal of 'ALP sleeves’ and going over to a 100% 'Correx' sleeves for the above reasons. Letters have been sent to:

• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Chief Operating Officer, lodging an official complaint and requesting intervention by the regulator.
• The Royal Mail Group Director of Health and Safety.
• The Royal Mail Group Head of Health. (Copies of these three letters are attached).
The irony here is that 'informally', members of the Royal Mail Group SHE Team, Assets Team and Programmes Team have expressed the fact that they agree with the Union and the arguments, concerns and objections raised but they can't raise their heads above the parapet for fear of consequences from above! Further reports will be issued when there are further developments and responses received. Due to the number of enquiries received on this issue, would ASRs, Branches and IR Reps please ensure that this LTB and attachments is disseminated to local Unit Reps and Members.

Yours sincerely
Dave Joyce National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

Other link to letters

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-140-24-intr ... -failures/

[TopperGas]

A number of the OP's previous posts suggests they were on a Stage 3 for sickness, personally I'd be very careful of going down the compensation route for such a minor injury as this could well make them an even bigger target for management, as somebody else as already pointed out if a shovel wasn't being used management could well say you weren't following the company guidelines.

[without_a_paddle]

Thanks for your responses, guys.

I’m currently on a Stage 2 for an unrelated sick absence and I’m not off work with the eye injury so I’m thankfully / luckily still able to attend.

I wasn’t given training and nor did I sign off on any health and safety brief that showed me how to use said ‘snow shovel’ (that’s what they are! ) to unload parcels.

In any case, our parcel sorting staff throw oversized parcels into our individual Yorkies, including several large items last week. I’d like to see the resistance on your back by lifting / scooping a large boxed item out of a Yorkie with a shovel. Another example of a completely unrealistic implementation from RM in the handling of parcels!

Having been in the job nearly 30 years, I’ve never had an injury like this and it stinks of hand-wringing - “let’s blame the individual postie at source for our collective failure to maintain equipment correctly”.

PS. Our office has one (ONE) parcel slider / snow shovel for a workforce of around 40 staff so you can imagine the unfeasible task of waiting your turn to ‘shovel your slider’!

[MailSorter10]

Think of MC workers. I only learned about "snow shovels" from this forum, never seen one and we have to unload and load everything manually into the yorks. I get scratched by white correx almost daily.

[yellowbelly]

.......

I wasn’t given training and nor did I sign off on any health and safety brief that showed me how to use said ‘snow shovel’ (that’s what they are! ) to unload parcels.

In any case, our parcel sorting staff throw oversized parcels into our individual Yorkies, including several large items last week. I’d like to see the resistance on your back by lifting / scooping a large boxed item out of a Yorkie with a shovel. Another example of a completely unrealistic implementation from RM in the handling of parcels!

..................

One thing in your favour - you say you've never been given training.

The show shovel is to scrape smaller parcels out from the bottom of the York into boxes not lift them upwards and out. If they're big the whole
front cover of the York should be opened so you don't have to lift oversized upwards in the York.

[SpacePhoenix]

They're bringing in green ones with lids for the SD lockers

[Barnacle]

They're bringing in green ones with lids for the SD lockers

Caught sight of one of the green goblins today

[guardianangel]

In my experience the cwu solicitors work with royal mail,seek advice outside of this,go see your own solicitor ,get as much information as possible and dont forget there has been no competent risk assessment on these plastic inserts in yorks,there have been lots of back injuries and lacerations with royal mail ignoring the health and safety ,its time they paid for complete lack of responsibility for its workforce