Record compensation sums have been awarded in out-of-court settlements to two members of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers. Neither teacher now works in a school. They talk to Clare Dean
Eric McCreery, a technology teacher, developed occupational asthma after exposure to wood dust in a Cardiff comprehensive school workshop.
The 52-year-old, now studying at Glamorgan University, has been awarded pound;200,000 negotiated by the NASUWT.
Mr McCreery used to be fit and healthy. He cycled and played soccer. Today, he relies on drugs for asthma and has a sinus condition. After 10 years in a dusty workshop, he has lost his sense of smell and taste and has problems with his hearing.
He has had nine operations in the past 13 years, six on his sinuses and three on his ears. He faces further surgery and has been declared medically unfit to teach.
He blames conditions at Llanishen high, a large comprehensive in the northern suburbs of Cardiff, for developing the chronic symptoms of allergic rhinitis and occupational asthma. He stopped teaching there at the end of 1997.
Cardiff County Council does not accept liability for his illnesses but made the out-of-court payment.
Mr McCreery complained that the school’s workshop over the 10 years he worked there was dusty and dirty. He claimed that there was no dust extractor and he was not provided with protective clothing or a mask.
“The school knew I was ill,” he said. “I complained repeatedly about my working conditions. All I wanted was to carry on teaching in a clean environment.”
There is no history of allergy or asthma in Mr McCreery’s family and he had just five days off with sinus infections in 20 years of working in woodwork rooms before joining Llanishen.
He had his first operation on nasal polyps in 1988, five months after starting work at Llanishen. There were follow-up operations in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998.
Mr McCreery developed tinnitus and had by-pass valves fitted in both ears to relieve pressure, pain and hearing loss in 1997. A grommet was fitted in another operation the same year.
“I can’t work in any dusty environment now,” he said. “Schools are very dusty, particularly workshops. I react to dusty environment. It’s pretty unpleasant. I can’t breathe.”
The father of two, classed as 10 per cent disabled, is on a pension of around pound;11,600 and is taking a masters degree in multi-media computing at Glamorgan University.
“What does the compensation mean to me? Very little in terms of my health and I have lost my career. Nothing will replace my career.
“I’ll be 53-years-old when I finish my course at Glamorgan. Will I be employable?”
