Hazards 105, January-March 2009

6-7 Credit crunch Welfare reforms are demanding the sick and unemployed get into work, but the jobs don’t exist. A new workplace safety strategy promises improvements, but the funds to deliver just aren’t there. As the recession bites, Hazards argues that workers could get less of the credit and feel more of the crunch. more

8-13 News in brief Unions slam ‘wrong’ welfare bill. Workers ‘afraid’ to take sick leave. PCS victory in EU sick leave case. Injured firefighters fight sacking rule. Work caused heart attack. Work stress ups caesarean births. Unpaid overtime on the increase. Unions welcome working hours move. Employers ignorant of silica risks. Lafarge recalls cancer risk cement. Browned off at cancer rebuff. TUC calls for work cancer action.

14-15 Enforce less, kill more Greater emphasis on enforcement of safety workplaces is the best way to reduce the workplace fatality rate and work-related ill-health, unions are warning. It’s just the Health and Safety Executive doesn’t have the bodies or the cash to do the job.

16-17 Social unrest Multinational companies are keeping their customers sweet by parading their ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ credentials. But without independent scrutiny, these programmes frequently amount to little more than corporate PR, warns Garrett Brown. more

Centrepages Collect your cards! Play the blame game and find out how you can protect yourself at work. A Hazards poster.

22-23 Fighting families The government responds promptly to business moans about the “burden” of safety legislation. Louise Adamson, whose brother was electrocuted at work, says it should be paying more attention to the burden on bereaved families. more

24-25 FACK at work Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) has brought together the relatives of people killed at or by work. Hazards spoke to FACK members about their high profile campaign for justice. more

28-33 What the unions say Directors’ code is a ‘complete failure’. Recession could kill on site. Warning on deadly contract pressures. Terrible news in Scotland. Hazards Questionnaire. Small worker wins big improvements. Vibration still causing disease. Insurer tried to blame dead worker. What’s the price on your life? Union victory on docks asbestos. Not just an industrial killer. Asbestos ‘hidden killer’ campaign. Nanotechnology controls are ‘inadequate’.

34-35 International news Video nasties miss the point. Union role in air crash miracle. Privatisation ‘raised death rate’.

36-40 Resources Latest resources from unions, experts and enforcers and a backpage pin-up-at-work poster for Workers’ Memorial Day, 28 April.