Andy Boylan seconds Motion A33 Composite 3 that was carried by conference.Conference notes that Acoustic Shock is a problem that has been steadily rising across many workplaces PCS represents. In the past year there has been well over 100 reported acoustic shock incidents in the DWP Group alone, some of them malicious with callers blowing whistles on the line as an example. This is exampled in the DCS call centre areas of the DWP where the previously installed amplifiers, which had been installed to try and reduce acoustic shock incidents, were removed when the IPCC telephony was installed.
Conference notes that in this example there were no Risk Assessments carried out on the changes as the employer (DWP) declined to accept that there was a significant risk.
Acoustic Shock is a problem that could happen to anyone handling calls and can be distressing. Short term effects can include temporary loss of hearing, feeling sick and dizzy, and inflammation of the ear. Mid or long term effects can include permanent hearing damage and also panic attacks or depression.
Modern equipment legitimately installed correctly is compliant with noise at work legislation if used appropriately. However poor telephone lines or background noise will often cause a call handler to increase the volume of the call in an attempt to hear the caller, increasing their risk of Acoustic Shock. It is not clear if continually turning volume levels up breaches average noise exposure limits under this legislation.
Equipment exists now to monitor incoming sound, filter out excessive background noise and leaves a more clear sounding voice than if the equipment was not used. The equipment usually costs less than the price of the IP telephone it can be connected to, and can usually be used on a range of telephones, whether analogue or IP based. Conference instructs the NEC to investigate such noise filtering equipment, commonly referred to as a digital amplifier with filtering technology, and seek independent tests to demonstrate the effectiveness of this equipment.
Subject to proven effectiveness, Conference instructs the NEC to campaign at all levels throughout PCS that such equipment is installed by the employer for headset users across each workplace we represent.
Conference believes that PCS needs to be in the vanguard when taking legal test cases to defend members' rights at work and therefore Conference instructs the incoming NEC to ask Branches for details of members who have suffered an acoustic shock which has potentially resulted in a detriment to their Health and take a series of test cases against employer's who have not been taking steps to reduce the incidence of acoustic shocks.
For a great range of conference news reports and video clips I refer you to our friends at the PCS Shropshire blog: http://www.pcsshropshire.selfip.org/newspage/
