Drivers Compensated for Developing CTS due to Bad Working Conditions
The Court has awarded more than twenty thousand pounds as total compensation to three train drivers who complained about permanent damage to their hands due to bad working conditions. The three claimants developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) while driving trains that open from the Carmarthen Depot of Arriva Trains Wales.
The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) claimed that strange wrist positions and handling power controls and brake in insufficient space led to this disease. Arriva Trains Wales refused to acknowledge its liability as it said that the disease was not due to work conditions.
ASLEF approached the court and claimed there was no proper seating place or adjustable seating for the drivers and no arm rests. It also claimed that due to health complications arising from bad working conditions, one of the drivers could not work for nearly a year.
Honourable Justice Judge Vosper declared after a five-day long trial that the claimants had developed CTS during work. He added that Arriva Trains Wales had not taken proper precaution and that the workplace was not suitable.
The general secretary of ASLEF, Keith Norman, stated that this case would encourage other
ASLEF lawyer Bill Gasson of Thompsons Solicitors said that this case is a big achievement for all the drivers who have to work for hours in cramped spaces. He added that there was a failure on part of Arriva Trains Wales in evaluating the bad working conditions of the drivers. Not even the basic precautionary safety measures were put in place by the company and this resulted in the workers developing CTS, said Gasson.
All organisations need to make appropriate efforts to protect the well-being of staff, the Certificate in HR Practice (CHRP) by Workplace Law, imparts training to managers to successfully manage appropriate policies and procedures and improve upon management skills to help reduce the risk of work-related injuries.
