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04/11/05 - MAJOR ACOUSTIC SHOCK INCIDENT HIGHLIGHTS DANGERS IN RUN UP TO CONFERENCE
The CWU have advised that staff at a BT call centre in Aberdeen suffered multiple acoustic shocks over a two day period on October 20 and 21 from white noise bursts transmitted through their headsets. This comes just 2 weeks before the Acoustic Safety Programme conference, which will address exactly this issue.

A total of 45 out of the 160 BT telephone operators in the call centre received around 145 shocks in total as their headsets failed to provide the protection they needed. Staff are now making representations to BT through the CWU, which believes BT managers should have shut down the call centre as soon as the fault was detected, rather than putting their members at risk by continuing operations.

Dave Joyce, CWU National Health and Safety Officer said:

“ The CWU has steadfastly campaigned for recognition of Acoustic Shock, a devastating 21st century industrial injury problem, and for a technological solution. The roots of the Union's campaign go back over 15 years when the first cases came to light. The size of the Industry has more than doubled since then with a growing risk affecting a million workers in Call Centres today. So far the CWU and PCS unions have handled more than 700 acoustic shock cases, securing more than £2 million in out-of-court settlements for workers.”

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Notes to editors:

The media are invited to a briefing at the start of the Acoustic Safety Programme Conference on Monday November 7 at 9am, at the National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LW.

The conference will address acoustic safety issues in the work place, particularly call centres, with many of the UK’s biggest call centre employers, and the foremost health and safety experts present. With hundreds of legal cases pending, and a ‘class action’ imminent in the Republic of Ireland, it is an issue which needs to be addressed.

Starting at 9.00am, the briefing will begin with a tour of the National Physical Laboratory’s state-of-the-art facilities, including a photo opportunity with the Health and Safety Minister Lord Hunt, and interview opportunities with the key speakers.

To find out more about the dangers of acoustic shock, follow the link to an article recently published in Public Service magazine. >click here<

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