Hazards 111, July-September 2010
4-5 Abuse of power As BP, until this year Britain’s biggest company, reels from the impact of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, the UK government embarks on an unprecedented push to impose the deadly BP business model across the whole nation. more
6-7 A neutered watchdog Workplace safety has been undermined by the collapse of the Health and Safety Executive’s investigation and enforcement role. Academics Steve Tombs and Dave Whyte warn this “regulatory surrender” means even amputations are unlikely to be investigated and prosecutions are now a rarity. more
8-17 News in brief HSE stats don’t add up – official. HSE bad on safety, terrible on health. Voluntary fails, inspection succeeds. Businessmen behaving badly. HSE observes hi-tech horror. ‘Best recycler’ fined £200,000 for death. Chemical blaze firm lied. Firms blasted for Buncefield explosion. Son of WHC a costly flop. Controversy over fitness to work tests. Lead levels tied to nerve disease. RAF painter disabled by solvents. ‘Work until you drop’ move slammed. Asbestos registry pinpoints exposure. Campaigners denounce Canada on asbestos. Olympic suppliers ‘degrade’ workers. Stress danger to young women. More overtime, more heart risks. Protests grow at Foxconn suicides.
centrepages Death watch Two new official studies have confirmed the long-neglected workplace cancer crisis. But while the US report recommends urgent preventive action, the UK report is just another body count. more
20-21 Slash and burn Securing safe and healthy workplaces requires good regulations, proper enforcement and decent rights, unions have told an official enquiry. But the government seems intent on axing lifesaving protections regardless of the evidence. more
22-23 Our day Workers’ Memorial Day, the 28 April event each year where unions and safety activists ‘Remember the dead and fight like hell for the living’, has become the world’s largest safety campaign, marked by unions from Argentina to Zimbabwe. A Hazards photofile. more
24-31 Unions and campaigns Random drug tests legally ‘dubious’. TUC pointers on drugs and alcohol. Blacklisters to be named and shamed. Beating blame-the-worker schemes. Caterpillar didn’t move despite warnings. Temp’s lack of training led to injury. Bosses didn’t see the need for goggles. What price on your life? Tribunal fails to protect safety rep. Scaffolder gets brain damage payout. Unfit fitter finished by flawed floor. Vibration cost mason his job. Train deaths led to nervous breakdown. Cash van driver overturns conviction. Scotrail chief ‘ignoring reality’ on safety. Campaign aims to scupper pirates. Firefighter wins human rights safety ruling.
32-33 International news Union work gets more deadly. Cheap masks won’t protect Gulf workers. Roof work equals early retirement. House arrest for work death. Australian union bans nuke work.
34-35 Resources Publications and tools for safety campaigners.
Backpage We didn’t vote to die at work A Hazards poster.
