The Contester Blog

Baggage handlers have lately been having trouble in hauling very heavy bags. According to an HSE report, three fourth of the baggage handlers have pain in their lower back due to the heavy weight they have to lift every day. Half of them reported problem in their knees while more than two fifth said that they often face problems in their shoulders.

According to workers’ union Unite, baggage handlers are five times more prone to suffering musculoskeletal disorders as compared to other workers, as they lift at least nine tonnes of weight in every work shift.

Union Unite has therefore started a new campaign intended to reduce the maximum baggage limit in airlines. The campaign called ‘Lighten up’ intends to reduce the baggage limit to 23kg from the existing limit of 32kg.

The move has been supported by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Aviation Industry Committee and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

In line with the campaign, Holiday charter company Thompsons has reduced its baggage limit to 23kg. While many other companies have agreed to the move in this direction, they want it to be an industry-wide move and do not want to do it alone.

The campaign is also urging the HSE to make regulations in order to reduce the weight limit.

According to Steve Turner, Unite national officer, the baggage system is never completely automated as most of the passengers would like to believe. The fact is that in every flight, the baggage has to be picked up by baggage handlers more than a dozen times, and this puts a heavy strain on them.

The integration of good health and safety management systems is an essential principle of any business. Companies need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions to employees with regard to health and safety issues. The health and safety consultants from Workplace Law can assist companies in training staff to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures by identifying and improving upon awareness and attitude, and communication about safety to improve the health and safety culture within an organisation

This entry was posted on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 5:09 am and is filed under Business, Legal + More, Online Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.