A housing company has been accused of "playing god" and trying to hide issues of asbestos from tenants.
Earlier today it was announced that construction workers operating for Magenta Living will be taking strike action over new rules that could see them forced to handle deadly asbestos.
More than 100 maintenance and repair workers employed by Magenta Living will begin a week of industrial action from Monday, February 6, and have vowed to strike every other week until April 23, adding up to a total of 30 days.
The strike was announced by Unite the Union following a change of Magenta Living's asbestos policy. Previously, workers who identified asbestos were instructed to stop work while further investigations were carried out, with specialist contractors being brought in to remove the deadly substance if needed. Under the new policy, workers are expected to work with asbestos, the union said.
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Magenta insists the asbestos in its properties is "low-risk" and says its plans for dealing with it are "robust" and "safe."
But the social landlord is now being accused of "playing god" over the asbestos issue with guidance to workers that suggest they should not tell tenants if asbestos is found in their home.
In a document issued to Magenta workers labelled "asbestos essentials", there is guidance around how workers should approach the issue of asbestos removal. One question asks "What should I do with a tenant who asked me why I'm wearing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and RPE (Respiratory Protective Equipment)?"
The guidance adds: "You should ask the tenant to vacate the room before putting on your RPE and PPE. If they note that you are wearing PPE, you should tell them that you are following company procedures, as you are working with power tools and doing maintenance activities that could create dust and other waste products." The guidance does not say to mention the word asbestos to the tenant.
Unite said the revelation of this guidance is "highly disturbing." Regional officer John Sheppard said: "All households have an absolute moral right to know the exact nature of all work being carried out in their homes.
"There is a fundamental management problem at Magenta Living, they are not prepared to listen to any reason safety concerns, they seem prepared to play God with the health of tenants and workers alike. It is this attitude which is the fundamental reason that our members at Magenta Living are being forced to take strike action, due to them being forced to work with asbestos."
A spokesperson for the group said: "Magenta Living has been in discussions with colleagues from Property Care and the Trade Union Unite for over 2 years in relation to health and safety working practices when dealing with low-risk asbestos materials.
"Asbestos was commonly used in buildings up to the year 2000 and therefore is in many properties built before this date. This isn’t unusual nor specific to Magenta Living as asbestos was used throughout most housing stock and in most other building types in the UK.
"We see customer and colleague safety as a priority and have developed robust procedures with an independent industry expert who has confirmed this is the safest way of working around low-risk asbestos materials.
"These procedures follow Health and Safety Executive guidance, and we believe they mirror industry best practice widely adopted across the housing sector and amongst the construction industry nationwide. We have also employed an industry specialist to help address the perceived risk amongst our workforce including more advanced training.
"We also wish to be transparent with customers and have shared asbestos awareness publicity in a recent newsletter. We have also updated our website with further information about low-risk asbestos materials. As part of colleague training, if a customer asks about the work being undertaken, colleagues have been advised to ring their manager who will offer assurances to the customer about the nature of low-risk asbestos materials."
People living in some 13,000 properties across Wirral have been warned to expect "severe delays in repairs and maintenance" as a result. of the strikes which start next week.
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