Hazards, issue 81, January-March 2003

Contents pdf

4-5 Criminal neglect Average annual pay of Britain's top bosses. £1.5 million. Average fine for workplace safety offences, £12,194. Do the maths. Hazards argues that small fines alone are not an adequate deterrent for Britain's workplace safety criminals. [pdf]

6-7 Stitch that! Textiles union UNITE has organised over 700 workers at a strains-riddled US catalogue clothing company after distributing its own glossy - and distinctly unflattering - catalogue to customers. more

8-9 Fighting for our lives! If employers are more accountable in law, you will be safer in work. Hazards says union reps and safety campaigners should be preparing now for Workers' Memorial Day, 28 April, theme "employer accountability for workplace health and safety". more

10-15 News in brief Corus carnage. "Nuisance" dust masks to go. Scots up pressure for asbestos payouts. MPs back new asbestos rules. What price on your life? Depressing news. Turn the pressure on employers. More workers get work hours protection. Europe to take on workplace stress? Disability action at work. You're working, just not employed. Workplace passive smoking action. Inflexible fiends. Businessmen behaving badly.

18-19 Give us a break! You are an adult. You go to work, you do your job. You'd think that going to the toilet would be part of the deal. Unfortunately, Dickensian bathroom breaks policies, aided by a toilet breaks loophole in the law, is putting the health and dignity of workers at risk. more

20-21 Union building Global building and wood union federation IFBWW has its own worldwide health and safety initiative involving more than 100 unions in 65 countries, says programme director Fiona Murie. A Hazards photofile. more

22-23 Two million killed each year The latest global workplace fatality figures from the International Labour Office show how dangerous the world of work can be. Jukka Takala, director of ILO's SafeWork programme, calls for a global response. [more]

26-31 What the unions say HAVS and haves not. TUC calls for research rethink. Shopworkers face daily terror. Disability barrier. Stress doubles in a decade. Hazards Questionnaire. Insurers and TUC get rehab. Sickie nation. TUC welcomes compo review. Compensation reform. War jabs resisted by health unions. China mine killings continue. TUC's first workplace Prof. Zoo workers go ape. "Slave labour" racket exposed. Events.

32-34 Resources Trade union publications, reviews, unions online and latest news from our safety watchdog.

35-36 Send the government a message! Over 2,000 workers have died since Labour promised a corporate killing law. Tell the government the wait is killing us. more