The four major education unions have joined a coalition demanding the removal of asbestos from all public buildings, including schools, within the next 40 years.
Some 27 trade unions - including school leaders’ union the NAHT, teaching unions NEU and NASUWT and the Association of School and College Leaders - have called for all three main political parties to include the deadline commitment in their manifestos for the next general election.
The unions have set out their demands in a letter sent today to leaders of the Conservative, Green, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.
Their call comes as the Labour Party conference begins in Liverpool this week and in the same term that schools faced closures and classroom evacuations over the risks of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Asbestos is a material that, when disturbed, can increase susceptibility to cancer.
The letter to the four party leaders states that asbestos exposure “is still the biggest cause of work-related deaths in Britain”.
“Asbestos is one of the great workplace tragedies of modern times and it is a national disgrace that Britain has one of the highest mesothelioma mortality rates in the world,” the letter continues.
The union coalition is calling for the parties to commit to implementing the recommendations of the Work and Pensions Commons Select Committee’s Sixth Report, The Health and Safety Executive’s approach to asbestos management, which was published last year.
The recommendations include setting a 40-year deadline for the removal of asbestos from non-domestic buildings, focusing on removing the highest-risk asbestos first, and the early removal from the highest-risk settings, including schools.
And the report also recommended the creation of a central digital register of all asbestos in non-domestic buildings, describing its location and type.
‘Insidious’
An NEU survey of 19,000 schools in 2019 found that around four in five said they had asbestos somewhere on the site.
And the Health and Safety Executive began inspecting schools for asbestos a year ago.
Today’s letter states: “The full implementation of the recommendations within the committee’s report is an essential step on the road to ensuring that schools, hospitals and all public buildings are safe from the blight of this insidious cancer-causing material.
“We would be grateful for your support on this critically important issue and look forward to receiving your response.”
The Conservative Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have been contacted for comment.
