On March 20, a massive explosion ripped apart a BP refinery in Texas City, killing fifteen people and injuring more than 100. Lord John Browne, BP chief executive, moved swiftly to express his deepest sympathy for the families involved. Flying out to the stricken plant the following day, Lord Browne was quoted by the Financial Times as saying: “Yesterday was a dark day in BP’s history. We are responsible for what happens within the boundaries of our plant”.
Regardless of the outcome of the ongoing investigation into the cause of the blast, the tragedy teaches us some important lessons about the risks facing the people who bear the burden of the industries that make modern civilisation possible.
The blast comes at a time when unions and NGOs alike are attacking the growing use of contract labour as a way for companies to reduce employment costs and undermine labour rights. Steve Lyle, a representative of the Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying: “We are concerned about safety and companies using contractors that aren’t skilled and aren’t familiar with the plant”.
The scale of outsourcing has grown rapidly in many industries over recent years. In the case of the Texas City Plant, there were about 1,100 BP employees and 2,200 contractors on site when the explosion occurred. BP was undergoing periodic large-scale maintenance, specialised work that is predominantly carried out by contractors. According to BP’s new sustainability report published in March, there were 11 workforce fatalities last year, of which seven were contractors and four employees. Similar figures are available from other oil companies, and indeed other industries. While it is difficult to generalise, it does seem that contractors are indeed more vulnerable to fatal and serious accidents than full time employees. Companies need to address this urgently. This is not the first time Texas City has suffered a major explosion. In April 1947 the City was obliterated by an explosion on a ship in the local docks that set off a catastrophic chain reaction in oil refineries and chemical plants. The official death toll was 581 but unofficially it was thought to be well over 1000. It was the largest death toll from a single disaster in North America until the twin towers were destroyed on September 11, 2001.
Communities such as Texas City, the oil-producing Niger Delta, the mining and steel towns of the world, and those near airports and nuclear power plants often suffer from pollution and other risks associated with heavy industries. They are often gritty and grimy places, only coming to attention when disaster strikes. Consequently, how companies treat their most vulnerable workers and communities is the ultimate litmus test of their commitment to responsible behaviour. At a time when the corporate responsibility agenda is broadening and becoming more complex, it is timely to remember two foundation stones of CSR: the health and safety of employees and the communities that support our industries.
Corporate Citizenship Briefing, issue no: 81 – April, 2005
David Logan is a founding director of The Corporate Citizenship Company.
Over the last 15 years in consultancy, David has specialised in helping US and European companies internationalise their citizenship programmes and set up self-assessment systems to monitor and measure them.
COMMENTS