Hazards, issue 85, January - March 2004

contents [pdf]

4-5 In sickness and in work Sickness absence rates are the lowest on record and a TUC survey shows we have the unhealthy habit of working when sick. So why are bosses calling for a clampdown on "malingerers"? And why is a visit to the doctor portrayed as shirking? Simon Pickvance reports. more

6-9 News in brief Doesn’t it make you angry, HSE? HSE faces Commons probe. Work hurts, no bones about it. Minister’s wrong smoke signals. Businessmen behaving badly. Amicus wins safety rep time off. Clergy rights get closer to good. Employers play a deadly game. Workers see more screen problems. What price on your life?

10-11 Selling death The global asbestos industry blocked a deal that would have made it more difficult to unload asbestos on the developing world. It bought scientists and column inches in national papers. And it is killing hundreds of thousands each year. more

14-15 Dirty secrets of the cleanrooms There are serious concerns about the long term health impact of the microelectronics industry worldwide. Leslie Byster and Ted Smith, veteran campaigners from California's Silicon Valley, have seen the future - and it's hazardous. more

16-17 Be annoying! Hazards pays tribute to Alan Dalton, Britain's top safety and environmental troublemaker. more

Centrepages Stop snooping New technology, from body part scanners to surveillance devices to lab tests, means the boss can now monitor us for supposed defects or aberrant behaviour, from what we say to what our genes say. But a new privacy code may soon change all that. more

20-29 What the unions say
Jail for "utterly reckless" killer boss. More delays for work killing law. Australia's killer call. Canadian unions win work deaths law. Workers' Memorial Day 2004. It's official - life is cheap. Euro support for TUC hours campaign. DTI wrong on hours says DTI. Seafarers launch fatigue action. Modern management is bad for you. Make the boss own up to accidents. Safety warning over contracting out. Hazards Questionnaire. TUC fears on crime victims move. Unions become safety enforcers. Sober workers fired. Union chemical escape route.

30-34 Resources
Publications, online resources, events and latest news from HSE.

36 Workers' Memorial Day, 28 April 2004
Tear-of-and-use poster for your local Workers' Memorial Day events - because safe work is a right, not a privilege. more