Mikael Stenmark, senior safety representative at Northvolt Ett: “There’s a reason why these requirements exist.”
A work environment report with demands for actions has been sent to the Work Environment Authority.
At the end of last week a safety representative sent a report to the Work Environment Authority with demands for work environments actions. He had tried to get a clear picture of what rules apply for protective masks in Downstream since August but without results. Norran has tried contacting the safety representative without success but the factory's senior safety representative Mikael Stenmark says that it is a matter of tardiness by the employer.
– They have not sprung into action and he has then turned to the Work Environment Authority which can make decisions in the matter, he says.
The documentation in the report reveals that there is a lack of both protocols and knowledge about how to handle the gas masks that are to protect the staff from hazardous chemicals. There is no information about how they are to be used, stored or cleaned. The storage spaces are also deficient according to the report. Nobody knows when it is time to change filters are there is no system in place to order new ones.
– The legislator has certain knowledge requirements which includes knowing how to put on, maintain and store the gas mask and new protocols have not been updated there. And there’s a reason why these requirements exist, comments Mikael Stenmark.
However, the dissatisfaction is not just to do with handling safety protocols, the leadership inside the factory is also the subject of criticism. Norran has been shown a report filed against a middle manager in the factory. In the report, 17 out of 23 employees in the department voices serious accusations against the manager’s leadership.
– We feel compelled to speak out about these problems as the manager’s behaviour creates stress, frustration and a lack of motivation, the report says.
The manager is said to behave unprofessionally, give unclear instructions and violate both safety rules and the company's own regulatory regime which is to have led to both a bad work environment and worse production results but also real risks for the staff.
For example, the manager is said to have not bothered with certain safety measures, not performing safety checks of equipment or training which has led to both incidents and to “staff lacking the knowledge to protect themselves”, according to the document.
The employees think that the trust has been broken and now demand that the senior management fires the manager and remedies the work environment problems that have arisen.
– Considering the serious problems we have pointed out we think that fast action is necessary. The manager’s behaviour has damaged the staff’s morale, trust and productivity and it has proven to be damaging to the company’s integrity, they write.
But so far nothing has happened. Despite some of the criticism being about violation of safety rules that lead to direct risks for the staff “the complaint has been left without action”, according to a person with insight into the matter.
– They ignore the complaint, do not take the situation seriously and the employees feel neglected, the person writes to Norran.
Matti Kataja, head of communication at Northvolt, says that the company does take complaints seriously but that not everyone think that the actions are enough.
Matti Kataja, head of communication at Northvolt responds to Norran in an email that the matter of protective masks is something that the company has been working on for a longer period of time but he does not explain why it has taken such a long time for the safety representative to get an answer to his questions that he felt force to make a report. However, it is now clear when the new training programme will get started.
– We are already using new masks now and a new training session is set to go at the end of February and we will roll it out in March, Matti Kataja writes.
Regarding the complaint against a specific manager that the report writers perceive not to have been taken seriously, Matti Kataja responds that matters are dealt with in different ways in the company such as in guidelines and codes of conduct and that complaints are always dealt with.
– If we find out about a safety flaw that needs to be fixed we always act according to our protocols. There may be employees who think that the action was not exactly what they had wished for and there are also times when we cannot share detailed information about actions for integrity reasons, for example in HR issues, writes Matti Kataja.