|
|
 |
|
|
ARCHIVED
NEWS January - December 2005 |
Back to latest news
Hazards news, 17 December 2005
Britain:
Is your boss more bah humbug than seasonal star?
Ebenezer Scrooge is alive and griping and can be found in the
UK's offices and factories, according to the TUC.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
USA:
BP’s deadly crimes could go to trial
A BP report into the March fire that killed 15 at its Texas City
refinery has acknowledged there were serious lapses in management’s
safety approach. In a separate move, the government safety watchdog
OSHA has said it is referring the case to the Department of Justice
(DoJ), which will decide whether to bring a criminal prosecution
against BP or BP bosses.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
TUC backs more penalties for dangerous firms
The TUC has welcomed a Health and Safety Commission (HSC) consultation
on possible new penalties for workplace health and safety offences.
A TUC response to the consultation notes: “The current regime
is often viewed as having little preventive impact due to the
both the falling level of enforcement activity and the low levels
of fines imposed by the courts.”
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Trinidad:
Unions threaten a national strike for safety law
Unions in Trinidad and Tobago are warning a national strike is
a real possibility if the government fails to enact a safety law
already agreed by both parliament and the president. The warning
came from the country’s most powerful unions after their
members marched through the streets of Port of Spain calling on
the government to implement the Occupational Safety and Health
Act (OSHA).
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
Union shops enforcement sell out
An attempt by official safety enforcers to introduce self-regulation
is the retail sector has been criticised as “misguided”
by shopworkers’ union Usdaw. It says major retail chains,
including Asda, IKEA, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, have all been
fined for criminal breaches of safety law at the same time that
the government is piloting a reduction in inspections.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Global:
Shipbreaking yards may have killed thousands
Thousands of workers involved in the shipbreaking industry could
have died over the past two decades due to accidents or exposure
to toxic waste on the ships, according to a new report. ‘End
of life - The human cost of breaking ships’, published this
week by Greenpeace and the International Federation for Human
Rights (FIDH), says steps must be taken to ensure that established
safety guidelines are observed.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
Post union hits out at “barmy” first aid plan
Postal workers’ union CWU has strongly condemned a Royal
Mail proposal to outsource first aid training. The union’s
national health and safety officer Dave Joyce said the plan was
“barmy”.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Global:
Cost cutting ups dangers in garment trade
A fire in Delhi that has claimed the lives of 12 garment factory
workers, including a 10-year-old child, is the latest example
of deadly cost cutting measures in the sector, a global union
federation has warned. ITGLWF general secretary Neil Kearney said:
“The World Trade Organisation must begin to look at the
social dimension of trade in the textile and clothing sector with
a view to ensuring that backstreet manufacturers don’t have
access to international markets”.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
Amicus backs sacked sick Nissan worker
Nissan’s use of private detectives to snoop on workers taking
sick leave has been condemned by a union. Amicus reps at the company’s
Washington car plant were speaking out at an unfair dismissal
tribunal in Newcastle brought on behalf of sacked paint shop team
leader Brian Murphy.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Europe:
Experts forecast changes in occupational risks
Changes in society, work organisation and production methods are
leading to new types and new combinations of occupational risks
which demand new solutions, a European Agency survey has concluded.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
Inquest finds KFC worker “died after bullying”
An inquest has decided that a teenager took her own life after
being bullied by fellow workers at a KFC restaurant. The hearing
was told Hannah Kirkham, 18, was attacked and humiliated.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
Non-union workplaces clueless on consultation
An investigation by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) boffins
into workforce participation in non-union workplaces has found
most are clueless when it comes to consultation rules and there
is very limited participation from the workforce as a whole.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Europe:
Ministers agree diluted chemicals law
European Union ministers have approved the landmark REACH law
to control the use of chemicals, after two years of discussion
and intense lobbying. The ministers' version of the law, however,
does not force firms to replace dangerous chemicals with safer
alternatives, unlike the text passed last month by the European
Parliament.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
MPs raise concerns about asbestos law changes
Dozens of MPs have joined legal and safety campaigners to raise
concerns about proposed changes to asbestos safety regulations
which “could put workers, home owners and families at risk”.
As of 14 December, 70 MPs had signed an Early Day Motion (EDM)
critical of Health and Safety Commission proposals and calling
for more research.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
Asbestos killed youngest mesothelioma victim
An inquest has found that a 32-year-old father of three was killed
as a result of childhood exposure to asbestos in the home.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
Sufferers win drugs for asbestos cancer
A high profile campaign in north-east of England has won asbestos
cancer victims the right to a life-extending treatment on the
NHS. Mesothelioma sufferers from the region had faced paying £24,000
to a private hospital to get the Alimta drug treatment, or travelling
down to Liverpool or London, where the drug is already available.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
Asbestos campaigner received top honour
A woman whose search for the true cause of her husband’s
death has helped protect thousands of workers’ health and
ensured adequate compensation for victims of asbestos-related
disease, has had her work honoured. Nancy Tait MBE, the founder
of the Occupational and Environmental Diseases Association (OEDA),
is this year’s recipient of the prestigious Institution
of Occupational Safety and Health/Sypol Lifetime Achievement Award.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
USA:
Night work linked to premature births
Working nights while pregnant increases the risk of giving birth
prematurely by up to 50 per cent, according to a new study. Working
nightshifts in the first three months was linked to a doubling
in a woman's risk of early labour.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
Britain:
Lawyers and insurers clash on compensation
Insurance industry proposals to speed up and reform the personal
injury system could result in more profits for insurers and lower
payouts for claimants, lawyers have warned.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards
news, 10 December 2005
Britain:
HSC to call for explicit safety duties on directors
Company directors should be subject to explicit new legal safety
duties, the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has decided. A
6 December meeting of HSC, the body that advises the government
on health and safety, backed the position argued by unions and
safety campaigners and will now be recommending there are positive
legal duties on directors to ensure their organisations comply
with safety law.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
USA:
Call for nanotechnology safety controls
Amid growing evidence that some of the tiniest materials ever
engineered pose potentially big health, safety and environmental
risks, momentum is building in the US Congress, environmental
circles and in the industry itself to beef up federal oversight
of the new nanomaterials, which are already showing up in dozens
of consumer products.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
No-one to be charged over 31 Paddington rail deaths
No individuals will face charges over the 1999 Ladbroke Grove
rail crash which claimed 31 lives. The Crown Prosecution Service
(CPS) said there was “insufficient evidence” to provide
a realistic prospect of conviction of any individuals.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Malaysia:
Massive under-reporting of workplace illness
The majority of cases of occupational disease are being missed
in Malaysia, a survey has found. The Consumers Association of
Penang (CAP) investigated patient admissions over 24 hours in
a health clinic serving a large worker population from the Penang
free trade zone.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Pakistan:
Safety dominates journalists’ working lives in Asia
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has declared
safety the top priority for journalists working in Asia following
the shooting of journalist Nasir Afridi in Pakistan. The death
of Afridi brings the global death toll of journalists and media
workers during 2005 to 105, and the total for Asia to 43, with
25 of these occurring in South Asia.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
TGWU demands killing law after rail bosses let off
The failure to prosecute rail executives over the Ladbroke Grove
rail crash, which killed 31 people, has highlighted the need for
a new Corporate Manslaughter Bill according to the union TGWU.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Europe:
Year-long campaign to protect young workers
A European Union-wide campaign will start next year to highlight
the safety of young people at work. The European Agency, which
is behind the initiative, says official Eurostat data shows the
risk of work accidents is at least 50 per cent higher among those
aged 18-24 years than in any other age category.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
Abused jobcentre staff fight for their jobs
Workers at jobcentres across the country are being balloted for
strike action in response to staffing cuts which their union says
are already leading to increasing assaults and spiralling stress.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
China:
Deadly coal mine disasters continue
The death toll from the 27 November colliery blast in China’s
Heilongjiang province has risen to 171. At least two officials
connected with the mine have been arrested for dereliction of
duty, with confirmation of the death toll coming as a spate of
new disasters hit the country’s notoriously hazardous coal
mines.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
Minister to involve workers in avian flu plan
Government minister Ben Bradshaw has agreed that poultry workers
at the sharp end of the food processing industry are ideally placed
to keep tabs on whether or not avian flu has come through the
system. At a meeting with food and agriculture union TGWU, the
Defra minister agreed to invite TGWU reps on to the stakeholders'
Avian Influenza Group.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Europe:
On-call is working time says European Court
On-call time must be included in working time calculations, according
to a European Court of Justice ruling. In a case brought by French
unions, the court ruled that night duty carried out by a teacher
in an establishment for people with disabilities must be taken
into account in its entirety when ascertaining whether the rules
of Community law laid down to protect workers – in particular
the maximum permitted weekly working time – have been complied
with.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
Concern at “reckless endangerment” of RAC staff
The union Amicus has reacted angrily to a news report suggesting
an agreement has been reached between the police and RAC which
would see RAC employees acting as look-outs in crime riddled areas.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
Compensation for minor injuries nurse
A nurse at Newquay's minor injuries unit has been awarded compensation
after slipping on a wet floor and breaking her knee. Alison Romback,
who was working at the unit in June 2005 when the accident happened,
received an undisclosed sum.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
Committee recommendations would hurt claimants
The TUC is warning that the recommendations of a top Commons committee
would have a damaging impact on workplace compensation claimants
and on prevention.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
Retail giants fined for safety offences
Sainsbury’s and IKEA have joined the list of major retail
chains prosecuted this year for criminal breaches of safety law.
The government is currently piloting a self-regulation approach
in the retail sector, where top companies in the scheme are not
visited by official safety enforcement officers.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
Employers’ solicitors compromise tragedy investigations
Investigations by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into work-related
deaths and injuries are being compromised by the presence of employer
solicitors at interviews of employees by HSE inspectors, the Centre
for Corporate Accountability (CCA) has told the Law Society.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
Company fined after teenager loses foot
A company making concrete weights in north Wales has been fined
£10,000 after a court heard how a worker had his foot amputated
after an accident, Lee Small, 17, was injured when his heel became
stuck on a concrete mixer track after
he slipped off a moving table.
Britain:
No job is safe from asbestos risk
The true extend of Britain’s asbestos disease epidemic is
becoming fully apparent as more and more workers with incidental
exposure to asbestos are being struck by asbestos cancers. Latest
reports include a teacher and a shopfitter killed by the deadly
fibre.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
Britain:
Partial smoking ban an “utter waste of money”
Safety enforcers and a major brewer have added to the criticism
of the government’s proposed partial smoking ban in pubs
and clubs.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards
news , 3 December 2005
Britain:
Health and safety is better organised
TUC’s new organising strategy for health and safety has
won backing from top union leaders.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Britain:
Usdaw calls for extended supermarket security
Extra security is needed to protect supermarket workers now new
licensing laws have come into effect, retail union Usdaw has said.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Poland/Britain:
Polish PM urged to tackle bad employers
TGWU has urged the Polish prime minister to raise with Tony Blair
the miserable treatment experienced by thousands of Polish workers
in the UK.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Britain:
Falls not treated with sufficient gravity
Falls from height are the top cause of death in Britain’s
workplaces and are a top prevention priority for the Health and
Safety Executive. But despite 53 people dying in workplace falls
in 2004/5, the courts do not seem to regard these preventable
deaths as serious crimes.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Denmark:
Too much standing can land you in hospital
Prolonged standing at work is responsible for the development
of serious varicose veins, a new study has found. The authors
says the study “suggests that standing or walking at work
should be limited and alternate with other positions such as sitting,
preferably with the legs in an elevated position.”
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Britain:
Partial plan to stub out smoking under fire
Tony Blair is facing a revolt by Labour backbenchers over plans
to allow smoking to continue in some pubs in England. Some 81
MPs - including 50 Labour backbenchers - have signed a parliamentary
motion calling for a “total ban on smoking in pubs, restaurants
and public buildings”.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Britain:
TUC to HSE – inspect, enforce and regulate
The TUC says the Health and Safety Executive’s “simplification”
response to the government’s “better regulation”
drive should concentrate on making the safety system more effective
rather than just attempting to reduce regulatory burdens on business.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Britain:
HSE big cheese arrives from food body
Geoffrey Podger has taken up his post as the new Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) chief executive.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
USA:
Job exposure to common pesticide linked to cancer
Workplace exposure to the common pesticide diazinon appears to
increase the risk of lung cancer and possibly other cancers, according
to a major study.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Germany:
Loud noises 'bad for the heart'
Living or working in a noisy environment could increase a person's
risk of a heart attack, a new study has concluded. Writing in
the European Heart Journal, researchers say the risk appeared
to be related to how loud rather than how annoying the noise was,
so current noise safety levels may need to be stricter.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Global:
Occupational medicine faces twin attack
The scientific integrity of occupational medicine is being increasingly
undermined as a result of pressure from governments and industry,
a new report has concluded.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Britain:
Abattoir asbestos killed man
A Merseyside man died as a result of asbestos exposure in an abattoir.
Liverpool's Coroner's Court ruled last week that John Jackson,
78, had died of the asbestos cancer mesothelioma as a result of
exposure to asbestos from lagged pipes in the building he rented
for a pet food business in the 40s, 50s and 60s.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
China:
At least 146 die in mine blast
A blast which ripped through a colliery in north-east China is
now known to have claimed 146 lives. Officials say the expect
the death toll to rise to 151.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
Global:
Canadian union threatens James Hardie ban
A Canadian construction union leader is threatening to ban James
Hardie products ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver
unless the company settles an agreement to compensate victims
of asbestos-related diseases.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
USA:
Deadly BP buries more bad news
In the US the day before a national holiday is known by the media
as “take out the trash day”, a good day to bury bad
news. BP, mired in controversy over its recent safety record,
chose last weekend’s Thanksgiving break, the biggest holiday
in the US calendar, to release two highly critical reports.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
USA:
Injured someone? Call a spin doctor
Killing and maiming people at work can be bad news. Faced with
the prospect of “reputational damage”, companies are
turning to a quick and easy solution – the public relations
(PR) expert.
Risks 235, 3 December 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards
news , 26 November 2005
Britain:
Cancer chemicals killing tens of thousands, says TUC
Britain is facing an occupational cancer epidemic that could be
killing up to 24,000 people every year, four times official estimates,
according to an authoritative new TUC report. The report by Hazards,
the TUC-backed health and safety magazine, concludes that the
incidence of occupational cancer in the UK is much higher, and
suggests that it is between 12,000 and 24,000 deaths a year.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005 •
Hazards
cancer guide
South
Africa: No worker is safe, says asbestos expert
Workers exposed to chrysotile (white) asbestos are developing
deadly diseases, discrediting industry “safe use”
claims, a South African asbestos industry expert has said.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Employers failing tackle the UK’s long hours culture
Government claims that Britain's long hours culture is being transformed
by new rights to request flexible work patterns have been challenged
in a new TUC report.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Scottish report backs jail terms for work killers
Unions have welcomed the report of an official expert committee
convened by the Scotland’s justice minister which has recommended
jail terms for killer employers.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Global:
Unions call for action after China bird flu death
Global foodworkers’ union IUF is demanding urgent action
after government officials in China confirmed the first death
from bird flu of a commercial poultry worker. IUF said: “This
death must serve as a warning to the World Health Organisation,
the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Organisation
for Animal Health (OIE), whose current efforts to avert a global
pandemic in humans do not recognise H5N1 as an occupational hazard
and ignore the core issue of agricultural workers' health and
safety rights in arresting the spread of the virus.”
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Minister pledges to deliver law on work manslaughter
Plans to make it easier to prosecute companies in England and
Wales after fatal accidents will “absolutely” be implemented
before the end of this parliament, the minister responsible has
told the Financial Times.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Jailed quarry boss ignored safety
A quarry owner who ignored Health and Safety Executive (HSE) orders
to stop work posing an immediate risk has been jailed for nine
months. Mark Broadbent, 35, from Earthstrip Plant in Wymondham
showed “contempt” for HSE prohibition notices and
put “profit over safety”, Norwich Crown Court was
told.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Boss guilty of worker’s death
A construction boss has been convicted of manslaughter after his
“total contempt” for worker safety led to the death
of an employee. Wayne Davies, 36, who ran Knighton-based A&E
Buildings, who employed 40-year-old Mark Jones to help erect steel-framed
barns, had ignored safety concerns expressed by Mr Jones's wife
about his working conditions.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Balfour fined £60k for roadworker death
Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering has been fined a total of £60,000
and ordered to pay £45,000 costs at Wolverhampton Crown
Court, after pleading guilty to breaches of health and safety
legislation. The case brought by the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) followed its investigation into the death of employee Stephen
Haywood.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Britain’s continuing asbestos cancer crisis
Two things are certain in occupational health and safety –
asbestos is a potent workplace killer and negligent employers
will make sure it remains so.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Europe:
Euro MPs back major chemicals law
The European Parliament has approved far-reaching legislation
which will lead to the safety testing of thousands of chemicals
used in common industrial use. The law, called Reach - Registration,
Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals - would create one database
including all chemicals used in the EU.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Unhappy workers 'risk becoming ill'
Workers who are unhappy in their jobs are more likely to become
ill, according to research. A study of 250,000 employees by Lancaster
University and Manchester Business School found that job satisfaction
influenced mental health in particular.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Worker Safety Adviser funds up for grabs
A £1 million fund to encourage greater worker involvement
in health and safety in small businesses is accepting applications.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) operates the Worker Safety
Adviser (WSA) Challenge Fund - worker Safety Advisers are a watered-down
and extremely rare version of the national system of roving union
safety reps unions have been seeking for over a decade.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Canada:
Dangerous global toy trade exposed
Toys sold in rich nations are being made by exploited workers
in dangerous, sweatshop conditions, Canada’s national union
federation has said. A Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) brochure,
‘Toys made in sweat and pain,’ exposes the “appalling”
labour practices in the toy industry, particularly in China where
75 per cent of the world’s toys are manufactured.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
First prosecution by NHS security
The new NHS Security Management Service, the company set up to
protect NHS staff and patients, has successfully prosecuted a
man who hit two members of staff at a Birmingham hospital. Prosecutors
had earlier refused to take action in the case.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
Seven figure payouts for injured workers
Two workers who sustained devastating injuries in workplace incidents
have been awarded seven figure payouts at the High Court.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
New national centre on workplace health opens
A new national centre of excellence to promote health in the workplace
was launched in Buxton this week. The Centre for Workplace Health
aims to develop simple, practical solutions to workplace health
problems through academic research and will provide a range of
training and occupational health services designed to minimise
ill health and injury in the workplace.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
Britain:
TUC Compensation Bill briefing
The TUC has published an online briefing on the government’s
planned Compensation Bill, which seeks to restrict the activities
and claims farmers and proposes weakening rules on negligence.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards news, 19 November 2005
Britain:
What would you do to dangerous bosses?
The Health and Safety Executive wants your views on new approaches
to workplace safety enforcement and penalties. A consultation
is asking whether alternative penalties, such as administrative
fines, restorative justice, conditional cautioning and enforceable
undertakings, could have a role to play.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
USA:
Cheap masks won’t offer flu protections
A US government’s strategy to combat a flu pandemic will
fail because the cheap disposable face masks recommended for health
staff are not up to the job, unions and public health experts
have warned. They say normal surgical masks, which cost only a
few pence, lack federal approval as a shield against particles
the size of viruses.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Britain:
Accidents plummet in paper firm
A paper company working with print union Amicus has achieved a
massive cut in workplace accidents. Amicus says an effective employer
and trade union partnership had reduced accident rates by 63 per
cent and improved health and safety at St Regis mills.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Global:
Note to UK - workplace smoking bans work
Bans on smoking in public places have been highly successful in
Ireland and New Zealand, according to reports in the 12 November
issue of the British Medical Journal.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Britain:
Scots slam shameful safety stats
Scotland’s unions have reacted with dismay to new official
figures showing the country has Great Britain’s highest
work fatality rate. Health and Safety Executive statistics released
earlier this month showed fatalities in Scotland rose from 15
in 2003/4 to 36 in 2004/5, an increase of 140 per cent, adding
that HSE enforcement figures show there are fewer convictions,
lower fines, and fewer enforcement notices issued in Scotland.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
China:
Chemical plant explosion kills at least five
At least five people died after seven explosions rocked a chemical
plant in north-east China's Jilin province on 13 November.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Britain:
Past asbestos exposures killing thousands
Britain’s biggest industrial killer is still claiming thousands
of lives every year – and the toll is still rising.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Canada:
Healthcare unions push for safety needles law
Healthcare workers in Ontario, Canada, have launched a province-wide
print, radio and outdoor advertising campaign to push the Ontario
government to make safety-engineered medical sharps mandatory.
Research cited by the unions shows in facilities where safety
needles are in use, up to 90 per cent of sharps injuries are prevented.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Britain:
Asbestos crimes leave a new generation at risk
Criminal neglect of safety laws is placing a new generation of
workers at risk of asbestos disease.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Australia:
Asbestos giant Hardie faces fresh boycott threat
Australian unions have warned James Hardie, the company that prompted
a damaging global campaign after it tried to evade asbestos compensation
payouts, it will face another round of boycotts if it doesn’t
deliver on its promises to dying Australians.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Britain:
Insurers bid to stop asbestos payouts
Thousands of people who were exposed to asbestos at work could
lose the right to compensation if three senior judges overturn
a ruling in a test case before the appeal court this week. At
stake is more than £1bn in compensation for pleural plaques
over the next few decades which insurers argue they should not
be obliged to pay.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Global:
New epidemics at work
A retreat from regulation and enforcement, combined with the impact
of globalisation, is leading to new problems and new epidemics,
according to a new book. ‘Occupational health and safety:
International influences and the “new” epidemics’
exposes how hard won regulations are being undermined by deregulation
and how the export of hazardous work is creating a new degeneration
of workplace disease victims in developing nations.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Britain:
Workplace asbestos exposure linked to colon cancer
Men who've been exposed to asbestos run a greater risk of developing
colorectal cancer. Writing in the American Journal of Epidemiology,
researchers say men in the asbestos-exposed group were 36 per
cent more likely to develop colorectal cancer than were men in
the heavy-smoker but not asbestos-exposed cohort.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Britain:
Football club fined £4,000 over death of teen player
Falkirk Football Club has been fined £4,000 following the
death of an apprentice player, Craig Gowans, 17, who was electrocuted
when training equipment he was carrying touched an overhead power
cable.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Britain:
Firm fined £40,000 over worker death
Belle Car Transporters and Specialist Services has been fined
£40,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 costs for breaching
health and safety regulations after a worker died when he was
crushed by a car transporter.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Britain:
The road is Britain’s most dangerous workplace
Britain’s roads are the country’s most dangerous workplace
as under-pressure workers, struggling to meet deadlines and suffering
fatigue from long hours, become a danger to themselves and others.
New research suggests millions of Britons who drive regularly
for their work are “crash magnets” who are much more
likely than other road users to cause accidents.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
Global:
Worker safety under siege
If you thought financial risks to shareholders seemed these days
to be a bigger concern worldwide than safety risks to workers,
you’d be right. ‘Worker safety under siege: Labor,
capital, and the politics of workplace safety in a deregulated
world’, a new US book, shows how the important safety laws
and preventive approaches developing in the 1970s are now under
threat worldwide.
Risks 233, 19 November 2005
|
LATEST NEWS
|
Hazards news, 12 November 2005
Britain:
Only a new law will stop the work bullies
An estimated two million people have been bullied at work in the
past six months, a TUC survey suggests. About 75 per cent of the
bullying was perpetrated by managers or supervisors, TUC found,
and is now calling for a new law to protect workers from bullying
bosses.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
USA:
Union glee as court ends protection racket
The US Supreme Court has ruled that companies must pay plant workers
for the time it takes to change into protective clothing and safety
gear and walk to their work stations. The move, which considered
a worker challenge to practices at the meat processing giant IBP,
was welcomed by foodworkers’ union UFCW, which has advocated
for decades that all required time in the workplace is paid time.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
AA wrong on pee and tea breaks
Call centre workers employed by the car recovery giant AA say
the firm must come clean on toilet and other breaks. Paul Maloney,
GMB senior organiser said: Adults in the AA call centres have
to put up their hands like schoolchildren to get time to get a
drink of water or to visit the toilet.”
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
Call for action on asbestos cancer
A new “Action Mesothelioma Charter” from the British
Lung Foundation (BLF) is calling for urgent measures to give more
rights to people with the fatal asbestos cancer mesothelioma and
for the government to make the issue a top public health priority.
The organisation says every five hours someone in the UK dies
from mesothelioma.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
Teachers secure payouts after violent attacks
A teacher who was hit on the head when a child from another school
hurled a brick has been awarded a £130,000 payout after
a five year fight by her union NASUWT. The unnamed former head
of religious education was left unable to work and still has blackouts.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
China:
Officials order bosses down mines
China's authorities have ordered that coal miners should always
be accompanied underground by at least one manager, the Beijing
News has reported. The move is part of a renewed effort to improve
standards in China's mining industry, which has the world's worst
safety record.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
Fears over call centre acoustic shock
A union has expressed concern about the safety of call centre
workers in Aberdeen after complaints about bursts of noise in
their headsets. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said 45
out of 160 operators suffered “acoustic shocks” over
two days.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
Amicus targets the “silent” asbestos epidemic
Private sector union Amicus is stepping up its campaign to compensation
asbestos disease victims and says it has seen a marked upturn
in calls from affected workers.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
Workplace toll shows “more needs to be done” says
HSC
Latest official accident and ill-health figures show some improvements
but still leave cause for concern, officials have said. The Health
and Safety Executive says its figures for 2004/05 show progress
on occupational ill-health and the number of RIDDOR reportable
injuries, but adds fatal and major injuries remain a concern.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
Campaign rubbishes official work disease figures
Official UK statistics on work-related ill-health are missing
the overwhelming majority of cases, safety campaigners have warned.
The Hazards Campaign, an informal coalition of unions and other
safety organisations and activists, raised its concerns at a protest
outside a Health and Safety Commission open meeting
Risks 232, 12 November 2005 •
A job to die
for?
Britain:
Public at risk from new asbestos rules
A planned relaxation in the law protecting the public from asbestos,
announced by the government, will see families and workers facing
an increased risk of asbestos-related illness, contractors, unions
and experts have warned.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
What would you give your right arm for?
Workers are still being maimed on the cheap by negligent employers,
recent court cases suggest.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
No manslaughter charges after Corus death blast
Police have said they will not be bringing manslaughter charges
against any individuals in respect of the Corus blast furnace
explosion. Three men died and a further dozen suffered horrendous
injuries in the disaster at the Port Talbot works in November
2001
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
Scots workplace mental illness toll revealed
Mental illness is the most common cause of absence from work,
according to new research for the Scottish Executive. The See
Me campaign found a third of employees off work due to mental
illness gave a different reason for their absence, with some using
faked sick notes rather than admit to depression or stress.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
Want to be a better campaigner?
Are you doing a great job out there campaigning for safer workplaces,
but would like to have new skills so you can do the job that bit
better? A new charity, the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, has opened
nominations for its inaugural awards scheme, offering training
fellowships to emerging campaigners.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Britain:
TUC on smoking and the Health Bill
A TUC parliamentary briefing on smoking and the government’s
planned public health measures says the union body strongly opposes
the current proposal to exempt bars that do not sell food and
private members’ clubs from the smoke-free provisions of
the Health Bill.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
Trinidad:
Teen death proves urgent need for new law
The death at work of 17-year-old Dinesh Rampersad, buried alive
under tonnes of cement at a Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) plant, proves
how desperately Trinidad needs a promised safety law, unions have
said.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005
|
LATEST
NEWS |
Hazards news, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Ownership, leadership, partnership – and protest
A Health and Safety Commission open meeting in London on 8 November
will give the public an opportunity to quiz top safety officials
on Britain’s safety policies and practice. The Hazards Campaign
will protest outside the meeting, saying safety is now a poor
second to business friendly initiatives under the HSC’s
strategy, and want more worker involvement, greater employer accountability,
an increase in safety inspections and stricter safety enforcement.
Hazards Campaign news release
Britain:
24 February 2006 is Work Your Proper Hours Day
The TUC's award-winning 'Work Your Proper Hours Day' will take
place on Friday 24 February next year. This is when the TUC estimates
that people who do unpaid overtime will stop working for free
in 2006 and start to get paid.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
USA:
BP could have prevented deadly blast
The 23 March explosion at the BP Amoco Texas City Refinery that
killed 15 workers and injured 170 could have been prevented if
the refinery had taken basic safety measures and heeded past safety
warnings, an official report has concluded. An independent panel
into the blast convened by BP will be headed by former secretary
of state James Baker, who ran election campaigns for three Republican
presidents and whose law firm and institute have had recent financial
links to BP.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Safety call after teacher payouts
Teachers' union NASUWT is calling for a review of health and safety
rules in schools after winning hundreds of thousands of pounds
in compensation for members injured or made ill at work.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
USA:
Ford in “incredibly stupid” toilet crackdown
You know things are tense at work when management starts timing
rest room breaks. But Ford Motor Co is doing just that.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Amicus launches massive attack on bullies
Bullying in the workplace is a growing drain on the economy, according
to the union Amicus. The problem costs up to £1.3m a year
in sick leave, lost productivity, people leaving their job and
the cost of replacing them, the union said.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Global:
Union warns of workplace avian flu risks
Avian flu is a serious occupational health and safety issue, global
food and agriculture union federation IUF has warned. IUF says
fears of a global pandemic of avian influenza (H5N1) “have
again highlighted the indissoluble link between public health,
food safety, trade union rights and health and safety at the workplace.”
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Another level crossing, another worker dead
A farm worker has been killed when his tractor was hit by a train,
prompting renewed calls from a rail union for urgent action on
level crossing safety. Father-of-two David Muffett died on 19
October when a train smashed into his tractor on a Norfolk level
crossing.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Canada:
Firefighters win fight for cancer compensation
Firefighters in British Columbia (BC), Canada with certain kinds
of work-related cancer will find it easier to get official compensation,
thanks to rule changes agreed by the provincial government. The
new law, which was introduced after a lengthy campaign by firefighters’
unions, will recognise leukaemia, brain cancer and five other
kinds of cancer as occupational hazards for long-time firefighters.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Laxer rail accident inquiry rules invite cover-ups
Back door relaxation of rules that require independently led inquiries
into serious rail accidents will open the way to a cover-up culture,
rail union RMT has warned. The union says it has learned that
independently led formal inquiries into serious incidents will
be waived by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) if the
employers directly involved agree that one should not be held.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Hutton chosen to replace Blunkett
John Hutton has been named as the new work and pensions secretary
following the resignation of David Blunkett. The appointment comes
ahead of a Green Paper on incapacity benefit, intended to get
up to one million of the 2.7m claimants back to work.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
USA:
Journal reveals corporate safety corruption
Big business is involved in a deadly campaign to maximise profits
at the expense of workers’ health, according to papers in
the latest issue of the International Journal of Occupational
and Environmental Health (IJOEH). A special issue on the “corporate
corruption of science” details how safety standards have
been derailed by industry domination of occupational health research
and corporate lobbying.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Britain’s remorseless asbestos epidemic
The asbestos cancer mesothelioma is killing five people every
day in the UK – and the daily toll is rising.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Firm pays £30,000 for ignoring asthma risks
A Gloucester company that put its workers at risk of contracting
occupational asthma has been ordered to pay fines and costs of
more than £30,000. Gloucester Magistrates' Court heard that
Thermo Radiometrie Ltd had allowed its employees to work with
rosin solder flux, a substance which has been known for decades
to cause asthma.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Chemical fumes to be reduced in paints
Levels of organic solvents in paints are to be strictly curtailed.
The move, which is in response to a European paints directive
and follows years of union campaigning for safer paints, applies
to paints and varnishes used by professionals as well as do-it-yourself
decorators, and includes emulsions for walls and gloss paint for
wood.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Stress rife in NHS, bosses say
Most NHS employers think up to half of their staff may be suffering
from workplace stress, a report has concluded. A survey for NHS
Employers found that 62 per cent of health service organisations
estimated that half their workforce might be under stress.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
France:
Daily grind wears out joints
Wear and tear caused by heavy jobs can cause permanent damage
to the joints, a study has found. French researchers found certain
jobs were linked to a greatly increased risk of osteoarthritis
in the knees, hips and hands.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Sweden:
Heavy work makes you sick
Workers performing jobs that require heavy work are far more likely
to take long-term sick leave, a Swedish study has found.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
Britain:
Fall case highlights ladder dangers
A Grimsby man has received £4,650 in an out-of-court settlement
from his employer after falling from a ladder and suffering a
serious back injury. The settlement comes as the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) prepares to highlight the dangers of ladder work
in National Ladder Week, 14-18 November.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005
|
Hazards news, 29 October 2005
Britain:
Anger over smoking climbdown
The TUC has reacted angrily to proposals to exempt some bar workers
and workers in private clubs from the proposed ban on smoking
in workplaces and public places. This followed speculation that
the government was likely to take stronger action, taking into
account the results of the recent consultation exercise which
showed that 90 per cent of respondents wanted a complete ban.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
India:
Silent victims of silicosis
A large number of quarry workers in India are dying a slow death
without any compensation from their employers, campaigners have
revealed. The groups have petitioned the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) and demanded compensation from the Labour Ministry
for those affected by silicosis, starting with the workers from
Delhi.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
Gangmaster inspections watered down
The GMB has expressed fears that government plans to water down
the licensing proposals for gangmaster registration could lead
to another Morecombe Bay tragedy instead of preventing it.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Global:
Unhappy workers face health risks
Researchers in Finland have found that workers who felt they were
being treated fairly had a much lower incidence of coronary heart
disease, the leading cause of death in all Western societies.
Study author Mika Kivimaki of the Finnish Institute of Occupational
Health wrote in Archives of Internal Medicine: “Lack of
justice may be a source of oppression, deprivation and stress.”
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
Action on acoustic shock
A conference next week will address an emerging and serious occupational
health issue – acoustic shock. By 2005, £2 million
in out-of-court acoustic shock injury settlements claims have
been secured in the UK, with unions CWU and PCS handling 700 cases
between them.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
Government launches new health strategy
The government has launched a new strategy on health, work and
well-being at work. TUC's Hugh Robertson called for more occupational
rehabilitation and said: “We strongly welcome any initiative
that will help produce a joined up initiative on issues such as
rehabilitation and return to work, however the government must
not loose sight of the fact that the top priority must be to prevent
people being made ill or being injured in the first place.”
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
Amicus demands reinstatement of 'whistleblower'
Amicus is demanding the reinstatement of one of its members suspended
by Leeds Mental Health Trust. The union believes that two leading
members of staff are being victimised because they have raised
safety concerns about problems concerning the design and building
standards of three PFI hospitals built by Leeds Mental Health
Trust.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
24 hour opening means greater risk of hearing loss
TUC and disability charity RNID have warned that changes in the
Licensing Act, allowing 24 hour opening, will lead to an increased
likelihood of workers in bars, clubs and pubs being exposed to
dangerously loud noise for longer.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
HSE updates guidance for food sector
HSE has published a new edition of its guidance for food manufacturing
industries, ‘A recipe for safety: Occupational health and
safety in food and drink manufacture’. Doug Russell, health
and safety officer for the union USDAW commented: “The Recipe
for Safety campaign has been a brilliant example of the benefits
of trade unions, employers and the HSE working together.”
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
Textile workers to sue over hearing loss
Textiles companies could face potential fines of millions of pounds
if courts find they let their employees go deaf through work.
The Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Industrial Deafness Litigation
involves about 1,500 former textiles workers who claim to suffer
from noise-induced hearing loss from working at local mills.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
DWP to pay staff for not pulling a sickie
The government is to pay bonuses to civil servants who turn up
for work rather than pulling a sickie, according to newspaper
reports.Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) minister Lord Hunt
said cash incentives are planned as part of attempts to tackle
high levels of public sector absenteeism, reports the Telegraph.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
Airport masseuse with RSI awarded £109,000
A masseuse who worked in Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class lounge
at Heathrow has been awarded £109,000 in damages after developing
repetitive strain injury. Elizabeth King, 28, first developed
problems in the lead-up to Christmas 2000 during an increase in
passengers and staff shortages.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
Britain:
PCS Report It! campaign
Civil service union PCS is to run two co-ordinated campaigns on
health and safety. One to improve the general level of reports
of near-miss and minor incidents and the second to place particular
attention on the need to report all incidents of violence, abuse
and threat.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
New
Zealand: King Kong set doesn't need to be unsafe
Unions in New Zealand are warning that the new King Kong movie
production is putting health and safety of workers on set at risk.
“This is an American owned production company organising
the work in New Zealand, and the company and Jackson need to take
proactive steps to ensure the safety of the workers on their set,”
said NZCTU president Ross Wilson.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
South
Korea: New restrictions on asbestos
The South Korean government is reported to be introducing new
tighter regulations on asbestos. Once designated, the import,
manufacture and use of asbestos will be strictly limited.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005
|
| |
| |
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards news, 22 October 2005
Britain:
TUC concern at broken enforcement promise
The TUC has expressed grave concern at a dramatic drop in official
workplace health and safety enforcement activity. Latest figures
show the numbers of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecutions
taken and enforcement notices issued have fallen dramatically,
despite repeated assurances from HSC chair Bill Callaghan that
this would not occur under HSE’s “2010 and beyond”
strategy.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Europe:
REACH would benefit health and the economy
A planned Europe-wide law on chemical safety and testing would
help avoid 50,000 cases of occupational respiratory diseases and
40,000 cases of occupational skin diseases from exposure to dangerous
chemicals in Europe each year, according to a new report. And
it says there would be a saving to the European Union’s
25 member states of 3.5 billion euros (£2.4bn) over 10 years,
from reduced sickness benefit payouts, improved health and lower
absenteeism.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Britain:
Amicus members suspended for raising fire fears
A hospital trust has suspended two workers after they drew attention
to fire safety hazards.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
China:
Jewellery workers lung payouts fight
Migrant workers employed in China’s jewellery trade are
developing deadly silicosis and are being denied compensation,
campaigners have warned. Campaigners say the workers come from
poverty-stricken rural areas and have little knowledge of health
and safety.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Britain:
Workers pay with their lives for deregulation
Workers are paying a high price for the constant government drive
to “deregulate” business, according to a new report.
The Crime and Society Foundation’s ‘Criminal Obsessions’
report says more than a thousand employees die in occupational
fatalities each year, yet safety inspections are low and enforcement
is lower still.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Australia:
Government to savage safety laws
Workplace safety laws have been added to an Australian government
hit list for its business-led deregulation taskforce. Prime minister
John Howard and treasurer Peter Costello this month revealed the
plans to set up the taskforce to review and remove regulation
in areas such as health and safety and the environment.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Britain:
No manslaughter charges for Potters Bar
There will be no manslaughter charges in connection with the Potters
Bar rail crash that killed seven people and injured 70 in May
2002. HSE has said a decision whether to bring charges under the
Health and Safety at Work Act would be taken after the coroner’s
inquest.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Europe:
Guide to prevention of workplace strains
A European collaboration on strain injuries prevention has resulted
in the creation of an online guide. Global union federation UNI’s
European telecoms wing and ETNO, the employers’ organisation
for the sector, have worked together on a year-long European Commission
financed project.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Britain:
Shell safety fines top £1m in six months
Oil giant Shell has been fined £100,000 following an explosion
inside a chemical tanker, bringing its total health and safety
fines in the last six months to £1 million. The latest penalty
for criminal breaches of safety law came after a tanker driver
was knocked over in a blast, which happened as he was filling
up at Shell Chemical UK's Stanlow complex.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
UK:
NI smoking ban ups pressure in England
Unions and campaigners have welcomed the announcement that Northern
Ireland is to ban smoking, and said the move increases pressure
on the government to follow suit in England.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Britain:
Worker dead in machine for day
A worker crushed to death in a machine lay undiscovered for 24
hours. An investigation has begun into the death of Michael Joyce
at the Freudenberg Technical Products plant on north Tyneside.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Britain:
Husband fights to prove asbestos killed his wife
Stewart Littlemore has launched a desperate bid for help proving
his wife was killed by deadly asbestos. Mr Littlemore is fighting
to claim compensation after his wife Margaret died in July aged
54 of the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Britain:
Workers to pay the Asda price?
Asda has come under fire for planning a “strategic assault”
on the working conditions of its staff, with a charity claiming
planned changes would include potentially illegal health and safety
measures. A War on Want report says Asda, owned by the Wal-Mart,
the world’s largest retailer, has drawn up a “Chip
Away Strategy 2005” aimed at reducing costs and increasing
productivity.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
Britain:
Employer jailed for factory beatings
An employer has been jailed for 14 years after nearly killing
one of her pickle factory workers. Taru Patel, 55, was found guilty
of grievous bodily harm with intent and false imprisonment, at
Harrow Crown Court.
Risks 229, 22 October 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Risks
228, 15 October 2005
Britain:
No place for “cancer rooms” in pubs
The TUC has welcomed indications from the Cabinet this week that
the government will agree to ban smoking in all pubs - whether
or not they serve food - but is calling on ministers not to attempt
a new compromise such as allowing pubs to have “cancer rooms”
where drinks are not served but patrons can light up.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
USA:
IBM rejects genetic screening at work
IBM, the world's largest computer maker, has pledged not to use
genetic data to screen employees and applicants in what it said
was the first such move by a major corporation.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Global:
Union says fatigue is a silent assassin
Professional drivers from across southern England converged on
Dover on 14 October to drive home the message that fatigue kills.
The action, part of an international week of action by transport
workers, was organised by the Transport and General Workers’
Union to reinforce the union’s message that long hours means
tired drivers and tired drivers are more of a killer on the roads
than drunk drivers.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Britain:
Firms fined £13.5m over Hatfield crash
Balfour Beatty and Network Rail have been fined a total of £13.5m
for safety offences related to the Hatfield rail disaster in 2000.
Passing sentence on 7 October, Mr Justice Mackay described Balfour
Beatty's breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act as
“one of the worst examples of sustained industrial negligence.”
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
USA:
Seven figure payout to carpenter with asbestosis
A San Francisco jury has awarded over $2.8 million (£1.6m)
in damages to a carpenter with asbestosis, a disabling scarring
of the lungs caused by asbestos exposure.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Japan:
Asbestos deaths doubled in last decade
Deaths from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma almost doubled to
a record 953 in 2004 from 500 in 1995, according to latest Japanese
government statistics. The statistics highlight an enormous discrepancy
between the number of cases and the relatively small number receiving
compensation.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Britain:
Large fines don’t add up to real justice
Unions and campaigners have reacted with dismay to the “paltry”
fines for the Hatfield train disaster.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
India:
Seven labourers killed as brick kiln collapses
The manager of an Indian brick kiln has been arrested after the
structure collapsed, killing seven workers. Three others were
injured, one critically, when a pillar, which was supporting a
layer of bricks at the kiln in Guptipara, collapsed.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Britain:
Gas blast family want corporate crime law
A couple who lost their daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren
in the Larkhall gas explosion are backing calls for a change in
the law. Transco was fined a record £15m in August for breaching
health and safety laws
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Britain:
Welfare reforms must help, not penalise
Unions have warned the government that welfare reforms flagged
up this week must provide genuine support to help people into
work and not be a “crackdown” on benefits claimants.
Work and pensions secretary David Blunkett said he wanted to liberate
benefits claimants from dependence, saying where people “reassociate
with the world of work, suddenly they come alive again”.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Australia:
Reducing union site access is deadly
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has warned that
federal government plans to restrict union access to construction
sites could result in more deaths. Official studies in Australia
have also confirmed a marked union safety effect.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Britain:
Asbestos victims robbed of compensation
Asbestos cancer victims of Turner and Newall (T&N), once the
world’s largest asbestos company, are to be paid less than
a quarter of the compensation they are due. Federal Mogul, the
US owners of the company, is responsible for hundreds of cases
of cancer linked to asbestos but will pay out just 24p for every
pound to which victims are entitled.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Australia:
Asbestos, cancer and caring
Lorraine Kember watched her husband, Brian, deteriorate over two
years from a healthy, active man in his early 50s, to being pain
wracked and feeble, destined to die aged 54 from the asbestos
cancer mesothelioma. In ‘Lean on me: Cancer through a carer’s
eyes’ she chronicles their life together and how both she
and Brian dealt with his illness, caused by exposure as a child
to asbestos dumped around the town of Wittenoom, Australia.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Britain:
Mesothelioma continues its deadly course
The asbestos cancer mesothelioma is claiming 40 lives a week in
the UK and the deaths show no sign of abating.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
Britain:
£12,500 fine after worker disfigured by burns
A steel firm has been fined £12,500 after a worker suffered
extensive burns when he fell through a poorly-welded safety gate
and landed on hot metal. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
said Alpha Steel’s behaviour “fell well short”
of legally required safety standards.
Risks 228, 15 October 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards news, 8 October 2005
Britain: Union rep faces sick sacking threat
A union has slammed a “heartless” council employer
that gave a union safety rep a final written warning after he
was badly injured doing his job as a traffic warden. UNISON has
made an employment tribunal application claiming trade union victimisation.
Hazards, 3 October
2005
Global:
Agency firms want a soft touch from safety watchdogs
Firms supplying agency labour are seeking an easy ride from official
safety enforcers, new research has concluded. Official safety
bodies are having difficulties responding effectively to the increasing
use of agency workers, it found.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
Britain:
Campaign exposes chemical link to breast cancer
Women are being kept in the dark about the cancer risks from industrial
chemicals, campaigners have warned. Public service union UNISON
and the Women's Environmental Network (WEN) say their ‘Big
See Challenge' will press the case for tighter controls on cancer
causing chemicals.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
Global:
ILO backs global union’s ‘fatigue kills’ message
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has backed a global
union’s campaign against the deadly risks of fatigue in
the road transport sector. The United Nations body is throwing
its support behind the ITF’s worldwide International Road
Transport Action Week, to run from 10 to 16 October 2005.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
China:
Explosion at state-owned coalmine kills 34
An explosion has killed 34 miners at a state-owned coal mine in
China. The No2 Coalmine run by the Hebi Coal Industry (Group)
Corp in Henan Province had previously been named one of China's
top 520 state-owned enterprises.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
Britain:
Microelectronics workers protest at safety “stunt”
Former National Semiconductor workers and campaigners have expressed
dismay at the company’s paid-for high profile in a major
safety event. They claim the Nat-Semi sponsorship of the RoSPA
Scotland two-day event was just a PR “stunt”.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
Britain:
Builders fined for serious safety offences
Two major construction firms have been fined in separate safety
cases. MJ Gleeson Group plc was fined £50,000 after a quantity
surveyor died under the wheels of a forklift truck and Bellway
Homes was fined a total of £16,000 for safety offences and
£1,372 costs after bricklayer Craig Noble, 20, was injured
in a fall down an unguarded stairwell, suffering a fractured skull
and neck injuries.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
Australia:
Government says jail would confuse bosses
The Australian government’s employment minister has said
stringent penalties on killer bosses are wrong because they will
confuse employers. Kevin Andrews, a minister with the anti-union
Liberal federal government, has come out swinging against laws
introduced at the state level by their Labour administrations
which impose fines and jail time for bosses whose negligence leads
to a worker's death.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
Britain:
Watchdogs say partnerships are the “the way forward”
Britain’s health and safety watchdogs have launched a new
project to boost “partnerships” on health and safety
with large organisations. The Large Organisation Project Pilot
(LOPP) “is about customer-focussed and coordinated activities,
aimed at finding the most effective approaches to partnership
working with the aim of securing improvements in health and safety,”
said the incoherent HSE acting chief executive Justin McCracken.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
Sweden:
Mineral oils up risk of rheumatoid arthritis
Workers exposed to mineral oils face a greatly increased risk
of developing rheumatoid arthritis, new research has shown. Swedish
researchers found occupational exposure to mineral oils, in particular
hydraulic or motor oil, increased by 30 per cent the risk of developing
the worst form of the condition.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
Spain:
Chemicals cause breathing problems in cleaners
Cleaners are suffering breathing disorders caused by exposure
to bleach and other irritant chemicals, a new study has found.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
Britain:
High passive smoking levels in hospital
A national newspaper is backing calls for a blanket smoking ban
in all workplaces after its own tests found workers in a hospital
were facing dangerously high exposures.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
Britain:
The complete TUC guide to everything
The TUC has published ‘Hazards at work: Organising for safe
and healthy workplaces’, the epic, must-have, one-stop guide
for safety reps and anyone else who knows the difference between
seeing a safety problem and solving it.
Risks 227, 8 October 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards
news, 1 October 2005
USA:
Union denounces DuPont’s bad behaviour
A North American union has denounced DuPont corporation’s
“abominable” health and safety record and has criticised
its behavioural safety programmes. A report from the Steelworkers’
Union (USW) launched at the World Congress on Safety and Health
at Work in Florida “illustrates that DuPont’s many
violations and accidents are not just isolated incidents of worker
failure, but establish a clear pattern of denial of corporate
responsibility,” said the union.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Britain:
If you want to get safe, get organised
Union workplaces are safer, healthier places for a reason –
because union organisation keeps them that way. It’s not
that we know more – although we usually do – it is
because we have the numbers, the support and the skills to get
our safety message across.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Turkey:
Garment workers face sudden silicosis danger
The fashion for artificially worn-in jeans is taking its toll
on health, researchers have found. Jet sandblasting, used by manufacturers
to distress the fabric, is leading to deadly cases of silicosis.
Disabling cases caused by inhaling crystalline silica have been
diagnosed in denim sandblasters in Turkey.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Britain:
Safety reps should get noticed!
TUC is urging union safety reps to make sure employers take notice
of their safety concerns. A new online guide to union inspection
notices says each one “is a formal notice issued to a manager
by an accredited trade union safety representative.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Global:
UK giant BP faces flak over £12m safety fine deal
UK headquartered multinational British Petroleum (BP) is facing
union criticism abroad after receiving the USA’s largest
ever workplace safety fine, over US$21m (£12m), in a secret
deal with safety authorities.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Britain:
Why the long face?
After the massive success of this month’s barking mad puppy
animation the TUC is backing itself to produce yet more winners.
TUC’s intention is to develop a series of flash animations
aimed at getting out a positive message about union membership.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Canada: Hotel 'bed war' escalates
Room attendants at Toronto’s famous Fairmont Royal York
Hotel took their 15-minute breaks en masse last week, hoping to
make a point in a “bed war” about escalating workloads
in an industry increasingly reliant on heavy luxury bedding to
lure customers.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Britain:
New workplace health strategy imminent
The government is to launch a new workplace health strategy later
this year and is to appoint a national director “to focus
on the health and well being of people of working age.”
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Canada:
Forest union threatens death strikes
Forest workers in Canada are considering shutting down the entire
forest industry for a day of mourning every time a logger is killed
at work, in a bid to focus attention on the industry's high fatality
rate.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Britain:
Government offshoot’s deadly overseas role
Top executives of a government-backed quango - CDC, formally the
Commonwealth Development Corporation - are pocketing six figure
annual payouts for running companies overseas with scandalously
poor safety records.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Bulgaria:
Better enforcement delivers better conditions
A labour inspection clampdown in Bulgaria has led to a massive
improvement in safety and working conditions. A report from the
General Labour Inspectorate (GLI) said improved regular inspections
and penalties led to a doubling of the number of employers adopting
programmes to eliminate workplace risks between 2003 and 2004,
and a clear drop in the number of workplace accidents.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Britain:
Asda guilty of multiple safety offences
Supermarket giant Asda has been fined £22,000 after a worker
was buried under a mound of chilled chicken and another suffered
an electric shock. Asda’s US parent company, Wal-Mart –
the world’s largest retailer – has attracted controversy
for a string of safety and employment offences at its stores in
Canada and the USA and for safety standards at its suppliers in
developing countries.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Finland:
Job stress link to stroke and heart attack risk
Young men with high work demands and a lack of control over their
job situation show signs of early atherosclerosis, according to
a new study. Researchers conducting imaging tests found increased
thickness of the lining of the carotid arteries, which supply
blood to the head, in men who reported having low job control
and high job strain, according to the study in the current issue
of Psychosomatic Medicine.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Britain:
Unhealthy silence as toxins cause breast cancer
The government and the “cancer establishment” have
been accused of failing to tackle the causes of breast cancer,
particularly exposure to industrial chemicals.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Global:
Road Transport Action Week, 10-16 October 2005
The International Transport Workers’ Federation’s
(ITF) highly successful annual ITF Road Transport Action Day,
which has been organised since 1997 under the slogan ‘Fatigue
Kills!’, will this year be expanded into an Action Week
for the first time.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Britain:
Smoking ban is winning hearts and minds
Pressure is increasing on the government to introduce a blanket
ban on smoking in bars.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Britain:
Asbestos widow gets six figure payout
A Worcestershire woman whose carpenter husband died after being
exposed to asbestos dust at a jail is to receive a six-figure
payout from the Home Office. Barry Price, 67, died in 2002 from
the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma, which he contracted
through his job at Hewell Grange Prison in Redditch.
Risks 226, 1 October 2005
Earlier 2005 news
|
Britain:
Gangmaster backtracking throws a lifeline to criminals
Unions TGWU and GMB have warned that government pressure for the
Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) to limit pre-licensing inspections
to those gangmasters deemed sufficiently “risky” means
rogues will avoid detection and will be granted a licence to operate.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Ireland:
Workers breathe easier after smoking ban
Ireland's nationwide ban on smoking in all workplaces has not
only cleaned up the air in pubs and restaurants, it has also improved
the health of the people who work there, researchers say.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Britain:
TUC welcomes minister’s move on offshore hours
TUC has welcomed an indication from a government minister that
he is minded to change the law to make clear offshore workers
are covered by the Working Time Directive.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Global:
Tobacco industry weakened pesticide regulations
The tobacco and chemical industries together campaigned to delay
and weaken international regulations on pesticide use, according
to new US research.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Britain:
Ambulance fleet safety overhaul after UNISON warnings
Every one of the Welsh ambulance trust's fleet of newly converted
vehicles needs to be altered to make them safe, it has emerged.
The union UNISON, which highlighted the safety fears earlier this
month, has welcomed the move.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Global:
Work-related deaths on the rise
As many as 5,000 people die every day as a result of work-related
accidents or illnesses, the International Labour Organisation
(ILO) has said. The UN body said the global death toll from work-related
incidents and disease was an estimated 2.2 million a year, 10
per cent higher than three years ago.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Global:
Airport check-in causes real pain
Airport check-in staff are facing abuse, violence and pain as
an everyday consequence of their work, according to an ILO study.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Britain:
Amicus welcomes progress on Scots work killing law
Amicus has received the backing from Scotland’s justice
minister in its campaign for corporate killing legislation in
Scotland.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Global:
Deregulation is the treacherous choice
Regulation and enforcement are the best ways to ensure safe and
healthy workplaces, top international union leaders have said.
They called on the ILO to back a rights based approach, with trade
union recognition and reasonable rights of access to workplaces
to recruit, organise and represent on health and safety.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Britain:
UK work cancer figures a “pointless” under-estimate
The Health and Safety Executive is grossly under-estimating the
real incidence of occupational cancer in the UK, a major new report
suggests. It dismisses as “pointless” and “counterproductive”
the 1981 estimates by Richard Doll and Richard Peto used by HSE
to calculate occupational cancer numbers in the UK.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Australia:
Unions get restless over dangerous beds
Hotel and hospital staff in Australia say they won’t accept
lying down the introduction of dangerous new beds.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Britain:
Boss jailed after worker crushed
Managing director Paul White, the owner of a recycling firm, has
been jailed for 12 months, fined £30,000 and ordered to
pay costs of £55,000 after an employee died in a shredder.
Kevin Arnup, 36, from Norwich, was crushed to death after being
pulled into the machine
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Britain:
Firms could get safety inspection opt-out
A top government official has indicated some firms will soon be
able to apply for self-regulation, opting-out of the official
health and safety inspection system. Paul Millar, head of the
Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) retail enforcement
pilot, said there were plans for a ‘traffic light’
system in which ‘excellent’ businesses, that demonstrated
high standards through self-reporting, customer feedback or external
accreditation, would not be inspected by health and safety and
food safety inspectors.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Britain:
HSE warning after site transport death
Companies should plan how vehicles move around their sites, the
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned after the death of
worker. Derbyshire company Glebe Mines Ltd was ordered to pay
£32,600 in fines and costs by Chesterfield Magistrates.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Britain:
Careless boss caused schoolboy’s crushing
A reclamation yard boss has been told to pay up £18,000
in fines and costs after he crushed and seriously injured a schoolboy
in a forklift truck accident.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
Britain:
Roofing firm urges worker sun protection
A leading UK roofing firm has urged industry to help protect their
workers from the sun, even though this requirement was dropped
from a planned Europe-wide law.
Risks 225, 24 September 2005
|
EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news, 17 September 2005
Britain:
RSI a major pain for workers and bosses, say physios
The number of employees suffering from potentially debilitating
work-related upper limb disorders is on the increase, physios’
union CSP has warned. It said official statistics showed a “massive”
448,000 British workers now suffer from repetitive strain injuries
(RSI), a jump of 52,000 since 2001/02.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
USA:
Jury awards $15 million for popcorn lung
A jury has awarded a former popcorn plant worker $15 million (£8.2m)
after finding that his exposure to butter-flavouring fumes led
to his severe respiratory problems. The verdict brings to nearly
$53 million (£29m) the total amount awarded in the last
two years against the makers of the popcorn flavouring, International
Flavors & Fragrances Inc. and a subsidiary, Bush Boake Allen
Inc.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Global:
Shock over substandard ships
UK officers’ union NUMAST has voiced concern at a second
case in a week of a ship being detained in a UK port with crew
members suffering substandard conditions.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Britain:
Union alarm over rise in jobcentre violence
Attacks against Jobcentre staff have risen by 62 per cent since
jobs were cut in the department 18 months ago, civil service union
PCS has said. PCS blamed job losses for the rise in assaults.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Britain:
Eurostar’s strikebreaking threatens security
Security of passengers and baggage at Eurostar’s UK operations
has been seriously undermined by the strikebreaking tactics of
security sub-contractor Chubb, rail union RMT has warned.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Global:
Workers face danger from “savage capitalism”
An increasingly deregulated, cut-throat global trading climate
is bringing back the deadly “savage capitalism” of
the 19th century, a top US workers’ rights campaigner has
warned. Garrett Brown told a seminar of US trades unionists that
transnational corporations now roam the world looking for the
most vulnerable workers and the most compliant governments.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Britain:
North Sea must speed up safety improvements
The oil industry is not working fast enough to meet its own North
Sea safety targets, the Health and Safety Executive has warned.
Gary Luquette, president and managing director of Chevron and
chair of the industry's Step Change in Safety leadership team,
admitted its members realised they had “lost the plot”.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Global:
Unions protest at Canada’s asbestos exports
Unions around the world protested on 9 September at Canada’s
dangerous asbestos export drive.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Britain:
Man jailed for warden spit attack
A man who spat at a traffic warden when he was told his tax disc
was out of date has been jailed for 56 days. He pleaded guilty
to assault after his saliva was tested with a DNA testing “spit
kit”.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
China:
Unions condemn Disney’s Mickey Mouse standards
Employees of the new Hong Kong Disneyland have complained about
oppressive work rules, including a ban on drinking water in front
of customers which means workers can go half a working day without
fluids.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Britain:
HSE gets to bottom of ladder “ban”
The latest in a string of wacky stories about supposed burdens
of safety laws is doing the rounds – a claim that new regulations
to prevent falls will mean a ban a window cleaners’ ladders.
The story, covered on BBC’s flagship Newsnight programme
last week, was declared “a myth” by the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE).
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Britain:
Workers “need mental health help”
Employers should do more to help support workers who are suffering
from mental health problems, according to a new report. The British
Occupational Health Research Foundation (BOHRF) said counselling
could help staff to stay in work.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Britain:
Top safety boss wants directors to be responsible
A massive 85 per cent of health and safety professionals want
a new law on corporate manslaughter. A survey by safety specialists’
organisation IOSH, found respondents believed the way to tackle
work-related fatalities was the use of penalties that reflect
the gravity of the offence (69 per cent), with half the respondents
saying the likelihood of conviction should increase.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Australia:
Smokers can sue for asbestos disease payouts
Thousands of people in New South Wales stand to benefit from a
landmark NSW District Court ruling that opens the way for former
smokers to be compensated for asbestos-related lung cancer.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Britain:
Call for action on dangerous ambulances
The Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) is calling for the
Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) to be prosecuted after a damning
report from safety inspectors. In a rare move, the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE) had issued notices against two named individuals
including the ambulance service's human resources director.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Britain:
Warning for 'square-eyed' workers
British adults spend are spending up to 53 hours during a working
week watching TV or staring at a computer screen, according to
a survey of 2,750 people by the Eyecare Trust. It said an “astonishing”
63 per cent of us admit to regularly leaving work with a terrible
headache, while 53 per cent suffer from tired or strained eyes.
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
Britain:
Safety reps’ guide to apprenticeships
The TUC has teamed up with the Learning and Skills Council to
produce a safety reps’ guide to safety for apprentices.
The guide outlines how to ensure those on apprenticeship schemes
and other trainees are provided with a safe environment and given
adequate support and training
Risks 224, 17 September 2005
|
LATEST NEWS
|
Hazards news, 10 September 2005
Britain:
'Be brave' and make work smoke-free, says TUC
The TUC is calling for the government to “be brave”,
resist vested interest lobbying and seize the opportunity to ban
smoking in all workplaces, including all pubs and clubs, by April
2006.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
USA:
Union warning on immigrant workers at risk
Immigrant workers are dying at work at a far greater rate than
native-born workers in the US, a new study has found. Research
by national union federation AFL-CIO found workplace fatalities
among all foreign-born workers increased by 46 per cent between
1992 and 2002 and Latino workers fared even worse, with a 58 per
cent jump in on-the-job deaths in the same time period.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Smoky casinos want get-out-of-jail cards
Two-thirds of casino workers want to see smoking banned from their
workplaces and other half believe it is adversely affecting their
health, according to a new survey. It also found some casino workers
are now being asked to sign away their right to sue if they develop
passive smoking-related disease.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Ukraine:
Chernobyl 'likely to kill 4,000'
New estimates say around 4,000 people will die from the effects
of the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl reactor in the Ukraine,
which sent a radioactive cloud across Europe.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Plea for complete pub smoking ban
The government has been urged to introduce a comprehensive ban
on smoking in pubs after new research showed that many publicans
would stop serving food so they could get around a planned smoke-free
law.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Trinidad:
Union concern as safety act goes unsigned
Trade unions in Trinidad and Tobago have expressed serious concerns
about the government’s failure to sign into law a new health
and safety act, passed by parliament over a year ago.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Unions meet in offshore leave row
Union leaders representing North Sea oil workers seeking four
weeks' paid holiday per year have met to decide their next move
and have agreed to continue to support and encourage North Sea
employees to take employment tribunal cases over the disputed
holiday rights.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Canada:
Authorities don’t count worker deaths
Canadian authorities have no idea how many workers are stricken
each year by diseases related to work, because they don’t
keep records, a top occupational health authority has warned.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Amicus calls for better safety rules offshore
Oil industry workers need better health and safety protection
and rights, the offshore union Amicus has told the government.
At a meeting in Aberdeen this week, union leaders told health
and safety minister Lord Hunt there should be a complete revision
of the “fundamentally failing” health and safety representative
regulations for offshore workers.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Australia:
Unions say nano-loopholes may hurt workers
Unions are warning that thousands of Australian workers could
be being exposed to potentially dangerous nanoparticles. They
are calling for urgent regulation and say they could even press
for nanoparticle production to stop.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Read this or the puppy gets it
OK, the puppy doesn’t get it. TUC respects the health and
welfare of workers and working dogs. But TUC is using more and
more creative ways to get its message across – if you want
safety, dignity and a decent place to work, you want a union.
See the puppy for yourself - Comfort
breakdown
Britain:
Executives cleared of train crash blame
Five rail executives charged over the Hatfield crash in which
four people died and more than 100 were injured in October 2000
were this week cleared by an Old Bailey jury of breaking safety
rules. However, Network Rail, the successor organisation to Railtrack,
which was responsible for Britain's railway infrastructure at
the time the King's Cross-Leeds train was derailed at 115mph,
was convicted of safety breaches.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
How could no-one be to blame?
Rail unions have reacted angrily to the acquittal of five rail
managers on charges relating to the Hatfield rail crash, and say
the rail executives responsible should be facing jail time.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Asia:
Occupational disease in Asia, Hong Kong
ANROAV, the Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational Accident
Victims - a coalition of victims’ groups, trade unions and
other labour groups across Asia – will hold its annual meeting
in Hong Kong from 20-24 September.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Balfour Beatty guilty in death case
Construction giant Balfour Beatty has admitted failing to protect
the safety of its employees following the death of a roadworker.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Government “encouraged” danger cover-ups
Dangerous and fraudulent employers have been helped cover-up their
wrongdoing because of the government’s flawed whistleblowing
rules, according to an official watchdog.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Work smarter not longer says government
Working smarter is key to improving employee msatisfaction and
productivity, the government has said. The call came on the publication
of a joint DTI, TUC and CBI guide to tackling Britain’s
unhealthy long hours culture.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Cocktail effect of doctors' hours
A study has shown how important the reduction of junior doctors'
hours has been, equating the effect of long shifts to drinking
a few cocktails.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Gloom after decision on sunshine exposures
The TUC and safety campaigners have warned that a lifesaving opportunity
could be missed after MEPs voted down a measure that would have
made employers responsible for protecting workers from harmful
exposures to sunlight.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Injured shipyard worker in payout battle
A welder who has been left brain-damaged after an accident at
a Clyde shipyard is still awaiting compensation 10 years after
receiving the horrific injuries at work. Arthur Thomson and wife
Jean are angry they have received no compensation, despite the
once fit and active man's life being ruined.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
Britain:
Sick record used to refuse job applicants
The government’s hopes to channel workers on incapacity
benefits “from welfare to work” might hit a major
barrier – employers don’t want to take them on. The
latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook from the Chartered Institute
of Personnel and Development (CIPD) reveals that more than 60
per cent of employers exclude groups with certain characteristics
from the recruitment process.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards news, 3 September 2005
Britain:
Wake-up call to firms over London blasts
Britain's employers are being urged to “wake up” after
a survey found that many business leaders were failing to protect
staff in the aftermath of the London bombings. Amicus said hardly
any chief executives had taken the time to attend a health and
safety meeting and that 69 per cent of firms polled for the union
had not consulted union safety representatives on terrorism issues.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
Britain:
Transco fined £15m for killer gas blast
The gas supply company Transco was fined a record £15 million
last week after being convicted of serious safety breaches which
led to the deaths of a family of four in an explosion. The jury's
guilty verdict against Transco, which made a profit of £390
million last year on a turnover of £2.2bn, was unanimous.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
USA:
Concern as US exports do-it-yourself enforcement
The rapid expansion of a voluntary alternative for firms who want
to opt-out of formal safety inspection and enforcement is causing
concern in the US and Europe.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
Britain:
Scotland gets a voice on safety
Workplace health and safety policy in Scotland is to be directed
by a new “partnership”. Scottish ministers and their
Westminster counterparts have joined forces with the Health and
Safety Commission (HSC) in a bid to improve workplace conditions.
The partnership brings together businesses, unions, UK, Scottish
and local governments, the Health and Safety Executive and health
and safety professionals “to help implement HSC's GB-wide
strategy to improve workplace health and safety”.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
South
Africa: Migrant gold miners return home to die
The deadly legacy of South Africa’s apartheid system is
still being felt across southern Africa, as migrant gold miners,
ailing as a result of heavy dust exposures, return to their rural
homes to die.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
Britain:
New workplace health stats published
Latest occupational health statistics, pulled together from the
UK’s piecemeal workplace disease reporting system, have
been published by the Health and Safety Executive. HSE’s
figures are incomplete and are thought by many to be very conservative.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
China:
Government acts to stem mine deaths
China is promising radical action to stem the huge number of fatalities
in its coal mining industry. Officials say they are suspending
production at a third of China’s coal mines, with the 7,000
mines affected required to meet national safety standards before
they can reopen.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
Britain:
Asbestos killing more before their time
An engineer who was suing Yorkshire Water for their negligence
in exposing him to deadly asbestos has died of mesothelioma. Jonathan
Kay died knowing he had won his legal fight after Kelda Group
plc – formerly Yorkshire Water Authority – admitted
liability, and is one of a new generation of younger workers succumbing
to asbestos cancers.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
Britain/USA:
Equitas pays £167m to settle US asbestos claims
Equitas, the company set up to assume Lloyd's of London's massive
liability exposures, said this week it had settled some of its
largest remaining direct liabilities with a $300 million (£167.1
million) payout to six major policy holders to settle US asbestos-related
claims.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
USA:
Female night workers face breast cancer risk
The 24-hour economy is placing women at an increased risk of breast
cancer, a major study has warned. Researchers from Harvard University
have established that regular night shifts increase the chance
of developing the disease by as much as 50 per cent.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
Britain:
Hospitality trade warned of work smoke legal risks
The hospitality trade faces an ever rising threat of legal action
from employees whose health is damaged by secondhand smoke, health
charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has warned. It said
its registered legal letter sent to all the major hospitality
trade employers could form part of any future court cases for
compensation from employees whose health is damaged by secondhand
smoke.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
Britain:
Big rise in NHS assault prosecutions
There has been a 15-fold increase in prosecutions of people who
physically assault NHS staff.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
Global:
Conditions at sea are getting worse
The international shipping industry offers almost endless opportunities
for lawlessness and terrorism, a new report by the International
Commission on Shipping (ICONS) has warned. It says the status
of the seafaring profession has diminished even further as a result
of the post 9/11 global security regimes.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
Canada:
Asbestos push makes country a global “pariah”
News that a leading Conservative MP in Canada has been struck
with the asbestos cancer mesothelioma has led to renewed calls
for an end to the country’s energetic global promotion of
the killer fibre. Tory MP Chuck Strahl's announcement that he
has cancer, the result of workplace asbestos exposures in his
youth, should be a wake up call for the government to support
a global ban on asbestos, said New Democrat (NDP) MP Pat Martin.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
Canada:
Bike couriers push for union protection
Bike couriers in Canada, tired of what they describe as years
of government neglect of their health and safety concerns on smog-filled,
crowded city roads, are turning to unions for support and representation.
Risks 222, 3 September 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards
news, 27 August 2005
Britain:
Prolonged standing can kill you
Up to 11 million UK workers could face serious health problems
from prolonged standing at work. For some circulatory conditions,
for example atherosclerosis which is a risk factor for heart attack
and stroke, prolonged standing could be as risky as smoking, and
prolonged standing at work could cause a hike in blood pressure
equivalent to 20 years of ageing.
Risks, 27 August 2005
USA/China:
Disney probes China labour claims
US media giant Walt Disney has said it will investigate claims
that staff at factories in China making books for the firm are
working in unsafe conditions.
Risks, 27 August 2005
Britain:
GMB welcomes jail term for guard shooting
The union GMB has welcomed a 15 year jail sentence handed down
on a bank robber who shot a security guard during a raid.
Risks, 27 August 2005
Sweden:
Stressed women stop working earlier
Stress at work is a more common reason for women taking early
retirement than illness according to new research. The study,
conducted on 300 women in Stockholm by the public health institute
at the Karolinska Institute, found that less than half of healthy
working women actually work up to the age of 65.
Risks, 27 August 2005
Britain:
Rail guards needed to reduce violent crime
Rail union RMT has renewed its call for the return of guards to
all trains and for more uniformed staff on stations as British
Transport Police (BTP) reveals another rise in violent crime on
Britain’s rail and Tube networks.
Risks, 27 August 2005
Global:
Greenpeace slams toxic tech industry
Workers in China and India employed in the recycling of mostly
western electronic devices are being exposed to potentially hazardous
toxic substances, a new report has warned. The Greenpeace report
claims quantities of toxic heavy metals can be released into the
workplace and the surrounding environment at all stages of the
processing of electrical and electronic waste.
Risks, 27 August 2005
Britain:
Plea to drivers over roadwork deaths
Drivers approaching roadworks are being urged to take extra care
after a sharp rise in roadworker deaths on England’s roads
this year.
Risks, 27 August 2005
France:
Workers exposed to mutagens or reprotoxins
Hundreds of thousands of French workers are exposed either to
workplace chemicals that can cause genetic changes (mutagens)
or substances that are reproductive hazards (reprotoxins). A survey
by the French employment ministry's research and statistics department
DARES found about 186,000 French workers are exposed to mutagens
and 180,000 are exposed to reprotoxins – about 1 per cent
of the workforce for each.
Risks, 27 August 2005
Britain:
HSE warns employers of work transport risks
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned companies to
ensure that adequate precautions are being taken to prevent transport-related
accidents at work after two companies in the same street were
prosecuted.
Risks, 27 August 2005
Britain:
Overwhelming support for a total smoking ban
The majority of people in England and Wales back a complete ban
on smoking in workplaces, a new survey has suggested. Action on
Smoking and Health (ASH) and Cancer Research UK said 73 per cent
of the 1,000 people they surveyed said a ban should be applied
without exception.
Risks, 27 August 2005
USA/UK:
UK review as BP could face crime unit probe
As UK oil multinational BP faces rumours of a probe by a criminal
investigations unit in the US after a highly critical report of
its safety practices, Risks can reveal the UK Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) is keeping a close eye on developments.
Risks, 27 August 2005
Britain:
Horse care charity poisons workers
A horse sanctuary in East Anglia has been hit with fines and costs
topping £45,000 after its “cavalier attitude”
to lethal chemicals led to three of its workers being poisoned
and suffering physical and mental injuries that could affect them
for life.
Risks, 27 August 2005
China:
Worker involvement is “best” way to avoid tragedies
The solution to China’s appalling work safety record is
greater worker involvement, a Hong Kong-based workers’ rights
organisation has said. China Labour Bulletin said workers' health
and safety committees and independent trade unions were the answer.
Risks, 27 August 2005
Britain:
Bakery fined over accident cover-up
A bakery has been fined after lying to cover up a serious accident.
C Geary & Sons wrote to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
to say its employee Alan Mckenzie had broken his wrist in a fall
from his bike, but was caught out when the same worker suffered
a near identical accident a few months later.
Risks, 27 August 2005
USA:
Jobs linked to deadly brain diseases
New evidence suggests a wide range of jobs could carry a heightened
risk of degenerative brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s
and Parkinson’s. A study of more than 2.6 million US death
records has linked certain jobs to a significantly increased risk
of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, early-onset dementia and
motor neuron disease.
Risks, 27 August 2005
France:
Workplace asthma can be more severe
Occupational exposure to substances that trigger asthma can make
attacks more severe. Dr Nicole Le Moual and colleagues found exposure
to any occupational asthmogen was tied to an increased risk of
severe asthma - with the increase in risk ranging from 3.7-fold
to 7.5-fold.
Risks, 27 August 2005
|
EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news, 20 August 2005
Britain:
Hospital asbestos killed nurse
The family of a nurse who died after being exposed to asbestos
dust in a hospital has been awarded £175,000 in damages
from the Department of Health. Rebecca Little, 53, of Catterick,
died in February 2002 from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
USA:
OSHA concedes inspections beat advice
A top official in the US safety enforcement agency OSHA has conceded
that formal inspections could be almost three times as likely
to result in fewer work-related injuries and illnesses as official
advice alone.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain:
Teaching union issues voice loss warning
Teaching union NASUWT is warning education employers to work closely
with union safety reps to remedy the “archaic working conditions”
that are causing voice loss and other health problems. The call
came this week after the union negotiated a £150,000 settlement
for a teacher left with permanent damage to her vocal chords.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Malaysia:
Unions fuming over haze dangers
Unions in Malaysia have accused businesses of making a “mockery”
of emergency measures to deal with the haze from massive fires
blighting the country. The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC)
said businesses that had required their staff to report for work
had no respect for the authorities and were not concerned for
the health of their employees.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain:
Union rep designs drivers’ body map
Novel techniques to identify work-related health problems are
putting union safety reps in the driving seat, says George Partridge,
chair of the Northern TUC Health and Safety Forum. He is highlighting
the case of a member of the forum has designed his own drivers’
body map.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
China:
Coalmine deaths running over 100 a week
China’s coal mines, the most dangerous in the world, have
left nearly 700 workers dead or missing in just the past six weeks,
the State Administration of Work Safety has said.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain:
Union issues MDF safety alert
The TGWU has issued a safety warning to operatives working with
medium density fibreboard (MDF). The union says workers should
always wear a mask when cutting MDF and should use protective
clothing and barrier creams to protect skin.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Australia:
Row erupts over asbestos payouts
Fears that Australian multinational James Hardie Industries may
abandon an asbestos compensation scheme have led to angry exchanges.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain:
Postal union bites back at dangerous dogs
The union representing postal workers is calling for urgent action
to protect delivery staff from poorly controlled dogs. CWU says
with 5,000 to 6,000 incidents a year, dog attacks on UK postal
workers continue to be a serious problem for its members.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Australia:
Government staff to be robbed of safety rights
The right of 250,000 employees working in Australian federal government
departments to help from unions on health and safety issues will
be watered down by government workplace changes introduced to
parliament this week.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain:
No pee for parking attendant
A parking attendant has been suspended for going to the toilet.
The GMB member, employed by APCOA and who works in Kensington
and Chelsea, has been barred from work since 29 July and is facing
disciplinary action.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Australia:
Government staff to be robbed of safety rights
The right of 250,000 employees working in Australian federal government
departments to help from unions on health and safety issues will
be watered down by government workplace changes introduced to
parliament this week.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain:
ASLEF red light to “monster” lorries
Train drivers’ union ASLEF is warning the government that
allowing “monster” lorries onto Britain’s roads
would be an unpopular and dangerous move. Safety campaigners in
the US refer to the “overkill potential” of the larger
vehicles, with deaths per accident increasing with the size of
the lorry involved.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain:
Support for factory blast inquiry
Scottish union federation STUC has given its backing to the campaign
for an inquiry into the Stockline Plastics explosion in Glasgow.
Five men and four women died and dozens were injured when the
explosion demolished much of the factory on 11 May last year.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain/USA:
BP disaster probe reaches London
The top government chemical safety body in the US has told BP’s
London-based chief executive, Lord John Browne, there must be
an “urgent” independent review of its refinery safety.
The unprecedented call from the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation
Board (CSB) comes after a series of explosion’s at its US
facilities, including the massive blast in March that killed 15.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain/USA:
British companies face US welding fume test case
Two major British companies have been named as defendants in a
US welding fumes test case that could result in compensation claims
running into billions. Defendants include British welding product
manufacturers BOC Group plc – which says it is facing over
11,000 claims - and Esab, a unit of British engineering group
Charter plc.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Global:
Long working hours boost risk of illness and injury
Long working hours drive up the risk of injury and illness regardless
of the job you do, according to a new study. Research in the journal
Occupational and Environmental Medicine shows the greatly increased
risk has nothing to do with how hazardous the job is and support
government initiatives, such as those espoused by the European
Union, to cut working hours.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain:
Report confirms unions save lives on site
A report for a top Health and Safety Commission (HSC) committee
has confirmed the lifesaving impact of unions and safety reps
in the construction industry.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain:
Making the boss hand over the info
Safety reps can use employment law to force employers to hand
over crucial safety information, a workers’ health and safety
watchdog has said. Employment advisers from the London Hazards
Centre (LHC) say some employers are using the Data Protection
Act as a legal smokescreen to deny safety reps access to information
to which they are clearly entitled under the safety reps’
regulations.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
Britain:
MPs back comprehensive smokefree law
More than two-thirds of MPs would back a law to make all workplaces
and enclosed public places smokefree, without the government’s
suggested exemptions for pubs that do not serve prepared food
and for private membership clubs.
Risks 220, 20 August 2005
|
EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 13 August 2005
UAE:
More than two a day die on site
Construction workers are dying at a rate of more than two a day
on construction sites in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A report
in regional trade magazine Construction Week says around 880 workers
died on building sites in the UAE in 2004.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Britain:
Six figure payout for wood dust disease
An arts and crafts teacher has been awarded nearly £150,000
compensation after being forced into early retirement by a chronic
wood dust related occupational disease. The 52-year-old teacher
suffered nasal obstruction, headaches, nasal discharge and the
eventual diagnosis of rhinosinusitis.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
USA: $1.5 million payout for safety whistleblower
A US federal court has awarded $1.5 million (£830,000) in
damages to a painter who said he was the target of retaliation
after he complained about workplace hazards.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Britain:
Britain: Dismay at steel blast “accident” verdict
The union representing workers at the Port Talbot steel plant
where three workers were killed in a blast nearly four years ago
have reacted with dismay after a coroner instructed jurors to
return an “accidental death” verdict. Corus has been
guilty of a series of sometimes deadly safety lapses.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Global:
Union kicks out at shoe firm abuse cover up
Footwear retailers Clarks and Skechers have been asked to address
labour rights violations at a Taiwanese-owned footwear supplier
in Guangdong in China which systematically hides safety and other
violations from independent monitors. The Brussels-based International
Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation (ITGLWF)
says there are reports the company, which employs about 7,000,
coaches workers on how to speak to compliance teams or monitoring
staff who visit the facility, and threatens to fire workers who
speak out.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Britain:
Safety concern over growing self-employment
More than 1 in every 10 workers in Great Britain is now self-employed,
according the GMB. The union says the blurring of the distinction
between self-employed and directly employed labour is causing
problems, particularly in issues like health and safety.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
France:
More than 1 in 8 faces work cancer risks
More than 1 in 8 workers in France was exposed to workplace substances
that can cause cancer, according to latest figures. Blue collar
workers were more than eight times as likely to be exposed to
a carcinogen at work, with 25 per cent exposed, compared to managers,
with just 3 per cent exposed.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Britain:
Bullied NHS worker wins sacking tribunal
An NHS worker who won a bullying claim against his employer was
later unfairly dismissed from his post, an employment tribunal
has found. GMB member Jeff Williams was fired from his job as
deputy transport manager by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Global:
Cosmic rays “harm pilots' sight”
Airline pilots may be at increased risk of cararacts because of
their exposure to cosmic radiation, warn experts. When the researchers
compared the rates of cataracts with occupation, they found pilots
were three times more likely than the other adults to have this
eyesight problem.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Global:
Growing asthma risk confirmed
Occupational asthma has become one of the most common forms of
occupational lung disease in industrialised countries. The Italian
authors of a new study conclude the most cost-effective method
of lowering the rate of occupational asthma is to reduce workers'
exposure to offending agents as soon as possible to prevent sensitisation.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Britain:
Staff “not covered for terrorism”
Emergency service workers killed or injured during a terrorist
incident may not be covered by personal insurance policies, a
union has warned. UNISON, which represents emergency service workers,
has said insurance companies should drop exclusion clauses.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Britain: Union action call on Scottish fatality figures
TGWU Scotland has condemned the country’s appalling record
on health and safety at work and vowed to step up its campaign
for urgent action by the Scottish Parliament.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Britain:
Small fine for dangerous contempt for the law
A construction firm that ignored an official order stopping work
on a dangerously sub-standard scaffold has received a small fine.
Bosses at North Homes in Buchan, Scotland, said they were too
busy to check safety standards.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
Britain:
Death platform evacuated in new leak alert
More than 80 North Sea workers were evacuated in Sunday from a
production platform after a leak was discovered in a leg of the
installation. Sixty staff remained on Shell's Brent Bravo platform
and work was under way to repair the leak.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards
news 6 August 2005
Britain:
Call for end of dangerous “deregulation fetish”
The government’s “deregulation fetish” will
cost lives, a top workplace health and safety campaign has warned
ministers. At the Hazards 2005 conference in Leeds last week,
580 safety reps, union safety officers and national union officials
representing millions of workers agreed that the UK government’s
push to reduce inspections and “red tape” on business
so Britain can compete in the global marketplace will only succeed
in making Britain a far more dangerous place to work.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
USA:
BP plant blows up again
Federal investigators have launched a probe into an explosion
at BP's Texas City plant, the second such incident this year.
The earlier March 2005 blast killed 15 and injured 170 and has
been linked to staffing cuts and equipment failure.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
STUC concern at soaring work deaths
The number of people killed at work in Scotland last year showed
a massive rise, prompting Scottish union federation STUC to call
for rigorous inspection and enforcement in the nation’s
workplaces.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Ireland:
Union says figures miss most work deaths
The true level of occupational fatalities in Ireland could be
up to 10 times higher than reported, according to a union. Sylvester
Cronin, health and safety officer with SIPTU, has called for the
creation of a scientific review body to establish the extent of
work-related injuries and ill-health.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
Work accident hotspots revealed
Statistics compiled by the union GMB show there were 170,371 industrial
accidents reported to the Health and Safety Executive in 2003/4
- 318 people were killed by these accidents and 31,485 of these
accidents, or almost 1 in 5, was a major industrial accident,
with Birmingham topping the accidents league table.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
China:
Gas leak at coalmine kills 24
A gas build-up in a coal mine in central China has killed 24 miners
and left two missing, state media reported this week, in the latest
accident to strike the world's deadliest mining industry.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
Site union calls of action on deaths
Construction union UCATT says the industry’s appalling fatality
record shows the need for a safety clampdown.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Bangladesh:
Union leaders demand safety improvements
Trade union leaders in Bangladesh have demanded improved safety
at the nation's garment factories in an effort to clean up an
industry where dangerous working conditions cause dozens of deaths
and injuries every year.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
Journalists look to break workload impasse
Journalists in South Yorkshire are showing their mettle by walking
off the job three times a day - every day. NUJ members at Sheffield
Newspapers will be taking a screen break between 10am and 10.10am
every morning, a lunch break between 12.30pm and 1.30pm every
day, and another screen break between 3pm and 3.10pm every afternoon.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
Drivers get laptop injury payouts
Transco drivers who suffered back injuries as a result of using
the ill-positioned laptops fitted in their vans have received
compensation payouts. The GMB members took claims against the
company, which had refused to admit it was responsible.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
Compensation for nurse after brutal attack
A nurse who was brutally attacked three years before her colleague
was killed in a similar assault on the same ward, has been awarded
compensation from her bosses. Corinne Clarke was working alone
in 2000 on Springfield Hospital's John Meyer ward - notorious
as the scene of fellow nurse Eshan Chattun's violent death in
2003 - when she was attacked from behind.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
Memo to endangered workers - shut your eyes and shut your mouth
Workers are winning tribunals for safety victimisation at a rate
of one a week. Figures obtain by Hazards magazine show a total
of 896 safety victimisation claims were made in 2004/5, with 440
cases either won at tribunal or settled at ACAS in the year –
about two every working day
Hazards
magazine news release and victimisation
webpages.
Britain:
Injured worker is awarded £250,000
A factory worker whose arm was mangled in an accident plans to
use his damages of £250,000 to escape his boring job. A
court heard injuries to plastic injection moulding engineer Adrian
Stewart's hand and wrist left him unable to do manual work.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
Job peril of air traffic lack-of-desk-control
Air traffic control chiefs withdrew a job offer from a talented
graduate because he was too tall to fit his legs under the control
room desks. He is now doing the same job for a European employer
who provides adjustable desks.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
Official safety watchdog backs all out smoking ban
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has told the government
its planned smoking ban should cover all workplaces, including
bars. The call comes in HSC’s submission to a government
consultation.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
Safety criminals face little penalties
The penalty for criminal neglect in Britain’s workplace
remains worryingly low, recent cases suggest.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
Britain:
Top regulator wants anti-social orders for bosses
More use should be made of Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs)
to prevent unhealthy workplace practices, the country’s
largest enforcement agency has said. The Environment Agency, the
only national regulator larger than the Health and Safety Executive,
said the use of ASBOs and other measures that curtail and disrupt
their activities such as vehicle and equipment seizure are useful
new tools which could be highly effective.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005
|
LATEST NEWS
|
Hazards news 30 July 2005
Britain:
TUC demolishes 'compensation culture' myths
The UK is not in the grips of a US-style compensation culture,
nine out of every 10 workers injured or made ill by their jobs
never receive a penny, and the best way for employers to ensure
they stay out of court and keep costs down is to make their workplaces
safer, according to a new TUC report.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
USA:
BP cost cutting linked to deadly explosion
BP’s massive programme of cutbacks on staffing and maintenance
could have been at the root of the fatal Texas City refinery blast,
according to a report in the Wall St Journal. It contradicts claims
made by UK multinational BP in May that the disaster was the result
of “surprising and deeply disturbing” mistakes by
plant operatives and follows an official June report which found
mechanical failures and improperly designed systems were to blame.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
Road accident victim gets £390,000 payout
A UNISON member who was seriously injured in a car smash on his
journey home from work has received a £390,000 payout.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
USA:
Worker gets $3 million for “popcorn lung”
A former popcorn plant worker in the US has been awarded nearly
$3 million (£1.7m) after claiming he suffered severe lung
damage from a harmful chemical used to make butter flavouring.
Current and former workers at the Jasper Popcorn Co. are suffering
from bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare lung disease which can require
a lung transplant.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
GMB condemns ‘callous’ DHL sickness role
The union GMB has called on management at parcels firm DHL to
apologise publicly to the family of one of its employees who it
says was “callously sacked for suspected malingering or
unauthorised absence” when he was suffering from a disorder
that caused him to become confused and which led to his death.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
India:
At least 10 die in oil field fire
At least 10 workers have been killed and others are missing after
fire destroyed an oil platform off India's west coast. India's
oil minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said hundreds of people had been
on the platform, situated in the country's most important oil
field.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
Amicus wins offshore working time ruling
Amicus has won a test case ruling, establishing the Working Time
Regulations cover UK oil employees working offshore.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
China:
Mine explosion in kills 26
A gas explosion last week at a Chinese coal mine killed 26 workers
in the northern province of Shaanxi, the state-run news agency
Xinhua has reported.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
Managers ordered to take disability rights training
Three senior managers at Virgin Cross Country Trains have been
ordered by an employment tribunal to attend training in disability
rights law. The company had already been found to be in breach
of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) for failing to make
reasonable adjustments to enable train driver Martyn Hazelhurst
to return to light duties after an operation on his knee, which
was injured in a train crash.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
ASLEF says delayed is better than dead
Train drivers’ union ASLEF says that after this month’s
terrorist attacks in London the safety of drivers, railway workers
and passengers is its overwhelming priority. The union’s
general secretary Keith Norman said: “It is better to be
a delayed passenger than a dead passenger.”
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
RMT warns of action over Tube security fears
London Underground (LU) union RMT has warned it may ballot for
industrial action if its demands on Tube security are not met.
The union, which has 11,000 members on the Tube, is calling for
more rail guards on trains and better emergency training and equipment,
including breathing apparatus for rail staff.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
Mixed picture on workplace deaths
Latest Health and Safety Executive (HSE) fatality figures reveal
a mixed picture and have prompted a new call for employers to
improve control of workplace risks. The overall fatality level
for 2004/05 is down by 15 to 220, but this is due to a drop in
service sector deaths, with the number of deaths in the construction
and manufacturing sectors were both up.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
Deaths highlight deadly farming dangers
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning all farmers to
take care during the harvest. A series of recent fatalities have
highlighted the deadly risks in agriculture, by far the UK’s
most hazardous industrial sector.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
Staff suffering stress in silence
One in four workers know a colleague whose mental wellbeing has
suffered as a result of workplace stress, according to a new survey.
Half of workers believe that stress in the workplace is a “serious
problem” and over 40 per cent believe their careers would
suffer if they admitted to being affected by stress.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
Bags of problems for supermarket delivery staff
You don’t have to work down a mine or up a scaffold to do
back-breaking work, a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) study
has found. The study, part of the HSE's ‘better backs’
campaign, compared the weights lifted on a normal working day
for six jobs and found that the average weight lifted was 2,303kg.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
New disability rights from December
New disability rights will come into force from December this
year and will protect millions of people in Britain from discrimination,
the government has said. The new provisions will also extend the
Disability Discrimination Act’s (DDA) protection to people
with HIV, multiple sclerosis and all types of cancers, effectively
from the point of diagnosis.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
Britain:
Safety reps can help sick workers
The TUC has welcomed a new Health and Safety Executive guide on
long-term sickness absence and return to work issues. Each week
one million UK workers take time off work because of sickness;
almost one in five people who are off longer than 6 weeks leave
work permanently.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards
news, 23 July 2005
Switzerland:
Airline suspends 52 stressed whistleblowing pilots
Switzerland’s national airline Swiss has grounded and started
disciplinary proceedings against 52 pilots after they raised concerns
about how cockpit safety could be jeopardised by insecurity at
the firm.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
Shell deaths will now be investigated
Offshore union Amicus has welcomed the Lord Advocate's decision
to hold a fatal accident inquiry into two deaths on Shell's Brent
Bravo platform in 2003. The Lord Advocate, Scotland’s senior
law officer, said it would be in the “wider public interest”
for an inquiry into the deaths of Keith Moncrieff and Sean McCue,
overturning an earlier decision.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Japan:
Industry lobbying blocked asbestos ban
At least a part of Japan’s unfolding asbestos disease tragedy
might have been averted if the asbestos industry had not successfully
blocked a ban on the deadly fibre 13 years ago.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
Stressed caretaker faces punitive rent hike
A school caretaker who is off sick with work-related stress has
been hit by the school with a massive rent rise that could eat
up two-thirds of her monthly pay cheque.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
China:
Coal mine company hid bodies
The managers of an illegal coal mine in China hid the bodies of
17 dead miners after a gas explosion earlier this month so they
could under-report the death toll. Mine operators are obliged
by law to pay compensation to the families of miners killed at
work.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
£450,000 asthma payouts for Jus-Rol workers
A union asthma compensation case has led to a series of large
settlements for workers at a Tweedmouth factory whose health suffered
because of exposure to flour dust.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
GMB wants Europe to outlaw tagging at work
The GMB is calling on the European Commission (EC) to outlaw the
use of electronic tags to track workers. Reports have linked oppressive
workplace monitoring to a range of occupational health problems,
including musculoskeletal disorders and stress.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
USA:
Farmworker dies after collapsing in heat
A second US farmworker in a year has died of heat exposure in
triple-digit temperatures, sparking renewed calls from union leaders
for worker safety regulations in extreme heat.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July
2005
Britain:
Union “sickened” at belated Hatfield guilty admission
The leader of train drivers’ union ASLEF has said he is
“sickened and astonished” by Balfour Beatty’s
guilty plea this week on safety charges relating the Hatfield
train crash, over four years after the tragedy. The change of
plea at the Old Bailey comes after the judge last week threw out
manslaughter charges against the company and five rail bosses.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
Deaths fall as rail maintenance goes in-house
The decision to take rail maintenance back in-house has had a
positive impact on rail safety, an official report says. The Health
and Safety Executive’s annual report on railway safety shows
deaths and injuries to rail staff have fallen dramatically since
the move back to in-house maintenance.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
Risk tolerance is the real workplace killer
In the week after safety minister Lord Hunt launched an online
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) debate about “the causes
of risk aversion in health and safety”, a series of tragedies
have highlighted a far more pressing problem – deadly risk
tolerance by employers.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
Select committees to investigate manslaughter bill
Two top select committees are to undertake a joint enquiry “to
consider and report on the government’s draft Corporate
Manslaughter Bill.” The Home Affairs and Work and Pensions
Committees announced this week they have created two sub-committees
which will work together in scrutinising the draft Bill.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
Boss fined after security guard is asphyxiated
A company boss was fined £50,000 for breaches of health
and safety laws which led to the death of an employee. Security
guard David Bleak, 52, from Ramsgate in Kent, died from carbon
monoxide poisoning from a petrol heater while working at the former
Ashford Hospital on 13 November 2001.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Global:
Woozy forecourt workers crash going home
Petrol station workers are more than twice as likely to have an
accident while driving home as on the way to work. This is the
first confirmation of a link between low-level exposure to petrol
fumes and road accidents.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
Mental illness now Scotland’s top work health problem
Mental illness is the most common work-related health
problem in Scotland, and Scottish workers are more likely to suffer
from it than those in the rest of the UK. A new study shows mental
health problems have overtaken musculoskeletal disorders as the
most common health problem in Scotland’s workplaces.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
Sick miners are dying before receiving payouts
Miners are dying before receiving compensation for
serious industrial health problems, an MP has said.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
Hazard warning on asbestos scan vans
The TUC is warning that the arrival in the UK of US-style “scan
vans” that screen workers for occupational lung disease
is not the best way to deal with Britain’s asbestos disease
epidemic.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
Britain:
Preventing sickness absence becoming job loss
A new Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guide for safety and other
trade union representatives “suggests ways in which you
can work in partnership with employers and the workers you represent
to help prevent illness, injury and disability leading to prolonged
sickness absence and job loss.”
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005
|
LATEST NEWS
|
Hazards news, 16 July 2005
Britain: HSE continues move to
a more advisory role
The Health and Safety Commission says it is seeking “the
right balance of enforcement and advice”, in line with the
enforcement-lite approach sought by the government and the Hampton
report. more
USA:
Immigrants entrapped with promise of safety training
Federal immigration officials have used a bogus offer of mandatory
safety training to entrap undocumented construction workers in
North Carolina, who now face deportation. The fake training ruse
has angered safety authorities in the state, who say it has eroded
trust with groups of workers at particularly high risk at work.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
TUC calls for probe as tribunals plummet
The TUC has called for an investigation into a dramatic drop off
in the number of employment tribunal cases after the introduction
of new rules. Tribunals are the major route of redress for a number
of workplace safety issues, particularly for safety reps.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
India:
Out-sourced and stressed out
Complaints of stress and depression among Indian call centre and
software workers are rising. Long hours and the stress of masquerading
as a western worker have been blamed.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Strike threat over victimisation of FBU safety rep
Firefighters are to vote on industrial action to defend a safety
rep from victimisation.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
USA:
House moves to deform safety law
A Republican-led bid to severely weaken US health and safety law
has passed its first legislative hurdle. The House of Representatives
this week passed by a comfortable margin four “roll-back”
measures that if they become law will give most US companies fair
greater latitude to evade health and safety action and penalties.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
ASLEF backs report’s call for move on obstructions
Train drivers' union ASLEF has welcomed a call for better safety
measures in the report of the enquiry into the Ufton Nervet level
crossing crash last year. Train driver Stan Martin and five passengers
died and 71 were injured
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Japan:
Asbestos deaths scandal prompts ban by 2008
Japan’s health ministry has said it plans to ban all use
of asbestos by 2008 after recent revelations that hundreds of
workers have died from asbestos-related diseases. The government
is facing criticism for not acting sooner.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
TUC tells safety reps they can tackle stress
The TUC is urging union safety reps to tackle the workplace stress
epidemic, a problem which makes half a million people ill and
costs society £3.7 billion every year.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
China:
Dozens die in coal mine blast
A deadly coal mine blast in northwest China has killed at least
76 workers, with seven others still missing
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Shopworkers want “no ID, no sale” protection
Retail union Usdaw is pressing the government to make “No
ID, no sale” notices compulsory in stores across the UK
to stamp out underage sales of potentially dangerous goods like
knives and alcohol.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Union call for more Tube security
Transport unions have called for greater security on the Tube
after last week’s bomb attacks on London.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
USA:
Passive smoking at work linked to breast cancer
Secondhand smoke exposure has been linked conclusively to breast
cancer, with half of all cases linked to workplace exposures.
The Californian study found exposure to secondhand smoke increased
the risk of breast cancer by 70 per cent.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Hatfield rail killing charges thrown out
Charges against five rail bosses accused of the manslaughter of
four people who died in the Hatfield train disaster have been
thrown out. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “It
is further evidence for a new charge of corporate killing and
for new legal duties on directors so that people are held responsible
for such preventable incidents in future.”
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Risk aversion row brewing
The Health and Safety Executive has launched an online debate
“on the causes of risk aversion in health and safety,”
a move which is certain to highlight divisions about what some
see as a “business-friendly” shift in the safety watchdog’s
approach.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Firm fined after boy dies on work experience
A Welsh firm has been ordered to pay a £60,000 fine after
a 14-year-old worker was killed when a quad bike he was riding
overturned.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
UK workers take fewer sick days
Workers took fewer days off sick in the past year, a survey from
the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggests,
with absenteeism now at its lowest level since 2000.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Smoking ban “would save £4 billion”
An outright ban on smoking in all enclosed public places would
save the UK economy £4 billion each year, according to a
new report. The Royal College of Physicians’ report said
the savings would come from increased productivity, lower NHS
costs and reduced insurance, cleaning and fire-related bills.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Cape aims to cap asbestos liabilities
Asbestos campaigners have warned UK multinational Cape plc not
to railroad through a proposed £40m asbestos fund to cap
its asbestos disease liabilities. Campaigners say all previous
schemes to cap companies’ asbestos disease liabilities have
disadvantaged asbestos victims.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Asbestos cancer killed teacher
A teacher has died of the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. He had
been exposed during building work at a school in the 1970s.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005
Britain:
Searching for employers’ liability insurers
The TUC has published an online guide to tracking
down insurers for personal injury compensation cases. It says
many occupational diseases often manifest themselves many years
after exposure, and individuals whose employer no longer exists
might have difficulty finding the insurer responsible for a personal
injury payout.
Risks 215, 16 July 2005 •
TUC guide to tracking down employers’ liability insurers
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Risks
214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
Safety should be a priority for the 2012 Olympics
The TUC has welcomed this week’s decision to award London
the 2012 Olympics but warned that planning must start now to ensure
that there is not a repeat of the high death toll that occurred
in the run up to last year's Olympics in Athens.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
USA:
Unsafe BP not hurt by deadly explosion
The Texas City BP Amoco explosion that killed 15 workers and injured
170 won't hurt the giant energy company's bottom line, says the
company. UK-based multinational BP said this week in its annual
financial report that it does not expect settlements running to
tens of millions paid to victims of the disaster to substantially
affect its bottom line for next year.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
Landmark legal case triumph for overworked staff
A pub landlord who collapsed due to overwork and successfully
sued his former employers for failing to cut down on his hours
has won a “landmark” appeal court victory, says his
union TGWU. The ruling will have businesses across the UK re-thinking
their employees’ working hours, according to the union’s
solicitors
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
New
Zealand: New union safety reps have saved lives
A 60 per cent reduction in workplace fatalities is a vindication
a safety law that resulted in thousands of new union safety reps
in New Zealand, a top union boss has said.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
Bad checkout design is a pain
Retail union Usdaw is putting its back into a campaign to reduce
chronic back pain in checkout staff. Thousands of shopworkers
suffer from chronic back pain as they twist and turn lifting up
to two tonnes of goods in an average four hour shift at checkout
stations that are frequently badly designed, says Usdaw.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Japan:
Asbestos massacre revealed at factories
The deadly impact of widespread asbestos use in Japan is becoming
apparent as major Japanese manufacturers admit scores of asbestos-related
deaths amongst former employees, customers and local communities.
The tragedy, revealed by asbestos victims' groups and safety campaign
organisations, follows a surge in asbestos campaign activity following
the Global Asbestos Congress in Japan in November last year.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
Booze and cigs sales danger to shopworkers
Usdaw is warning that shop staff refusing under-age sales are
facing abuse, intimidation and even violence.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Global:
Wal-Mart faces safety flak
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is facing new accusations
about poor safety standards in both developing and developed nations.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
HSE research shows safety reps work
A Health and Safety Executive report has confirmed the “positive
link” between the presence of union safety representatives
and levels of health and safety awareness and performance.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Australia:
Worker dies, firm sends in the lawyers
A union is furious that the alarm wasn't raised for a worker found
drowned on a major Sydney rail site until 12 hours after he went
missing. The worker’s multinational employer, meanwhile,
responded by sending in two lawyers upon news of the death.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
Firm fined £100,000 after forklift death
Pall-Ex has been fined £100,000 after a forklift driver
was killed in a “readily foreseeable” tragedy. The
company made a pre-tax profit of £326,735 in 2004.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
USA:
Contact lens use in a chemical environment
Contact lenses are not a problem for people working with chemicals,
as long as safety guideline are followed, new official US guidance
says.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
Next fined £250,000 over warehouse death
Next Distribution has been fined £250,000 in connection
with the death of a worker in a training exercise at one of its
giant clothing warehouses in West Yorkshire.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Global:
Farmers' kids at risk for Ewing's sarcoma
Children of farmers face an increased risk of developing Ewing's
sarcoma - tumours of bone and soft tissues that mainly affect
children and adolescents -according to a report in the International
Journal of Cancer.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
British Sugar claims another life
Unsafe work practices and unsuitable equipment contributed to
the “accidental” death of a worker after a 30ft fall
at a factory, an inquest jury has ruled. The company has received
two six-figures fines already this year for earlier safety offences.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
Dangerous clamour for deregulation continues
The Tories say they are stepping up the pressure on the government
“to slash back on red tape rules undermining British business
and making life unnecessarily difficult for people and families.”
The move comes barely a month after the publication of the Hampton
report, which prompted chancellor Gordon Brown to promise “not
just a light touch but a limited touch” on inspections and
other regulatory measures.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
Scotland and Wales to introduce smoking bans
Workers in Scotland and Wales are to be protected by a comprehensive
ban on smoking at work, adding pressure on the government to close
a loophole in proposals for England that would leave thousands
of bar workers at risk.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
USA:
Heart attacks disappear with the smoke
Preliminary findings of a new study suggest the incidence of heart
attacks in a US town declined by 26 per cent in the six months
after the statewide smoke-free workplace law took effect. The
Fall River findings echo those in Helena, Montana, where a 2002
ban led to a 40 per cent reduction in heart attack hospital admissions.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
TUC guide to HSE’s stress management standards
The TUC has published an online safety reps’ guide to the
Health and Safety Executive’s stress management standards.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
Britain:
Migrant workers health and safety research
An in-depth study of migrant workers is being carried out in five
regions of England and Wales - London, East of England, South
Wales, the South West and the North East – and the researchers
are seeking your help.
Risks 214, 9 July 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards
news, 2 July 2005
USA:
Call for protection for immigrant workers
Strong labour laws that protect immigrant workers would benefit
employers and all workers, says a coalition of union and campaign
groups. “The fact that millions of immigrant workers in
our economy are forced to accept low wages, no benefits and outrageous
working conditions is something that affects us all,” says
AFL-CIO executive vice-president Linda Chavez-Thompson.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Pub workers urged to push for smoking ban
Pub and club workers in England are being urged by the TUC to
tell Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt exactly what they think
of her plans to exempt drinking establishments that don’t
serve food from the government’s proposed ban on smoking
in the workplace.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
India:
Gujarat bans benzene in diamond units
The Gujarat government has imposed a blanket ban on the use of
benzene by diamond polishing units across Gujarat. The move follows
reports of four diamond workers from Surat having been diagnosed
with aplastic anaemia due to exposure to benzene.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Train drivers don’t have to stand the heat
Train drivers’ union ASLEF is urging its members not to
tolerate dangerously high cab temperatures.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
USA:
Chemical dust explosions a “serious problem”
Preventable dust explosions in US factories have killed 100 workers
and injured 600 others in the last 25 years, an official safety
watchdog has said.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Time to settle rail safety dispute, says RMT
Rail union RMT has again called on Midland Mainline to negotiate
a settlement to the long-running dispute over the safe working
of multi-unit trains.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Australia:
Government fines threat to asbestos protesters
The Australian government is threatening to fine workers who marched
in a rally that led to an Aus$1.5 billion (£633.5m) settlement
for asbestos disease victims. A letter to workers at packaging
giant Visy informs them they face an Aus$6,600 (£2,790)
fine for breaching orders not to join the anti-James Hardie rally
last year.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
ConocoPhillips hit with £1m payout for refinery blast
A global oil company has been ordered to pay more than £1
million for breaching health and safety regulations after an explosion
at its Humber refinery. ConocoPhillips, the world’s fifth
largest oil refiner, was fined £895,000 and told to pay
full costs of £218,854 at a hearing at Grimsby Crown Court.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Europe:
Official backing for stricter chemical rules
Europe’s environment ministers have signalled support for
stronger rules for the most dangerous chemicals under the future
EU “REACH” regulations, the controversial package
of European Union chemical registration and authorisation rules.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Mowlem pays £20,000 after worker’s death
Construction giant Mowlem has been ordered to pay £20,000
in fines and costs after the death of a worker. Official records
show Mowlem plc has been prosecuted at least four times in the
last eight years for safety offences, including a £100,000
fine in a case relating to the death of a worker in 1997 and a
recent £75,000 for offences relating to the death of a rail
maintenance worker.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Canada:
Cancer report slams Canada on asbestos
A new report from the Canadian Cancer Society says: “Canada’s
promotion and sale of asbestos worldwide compromises our ability
to be taken seriously regarding cancer prevention, and exports
environmental exposure and cancers to those countries with the
least resources to control them. Transition programmes for asbestos
mining communities are needed and the sale and use of this potent
carcinogen should be banned.”
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Union dismay at no action over crane deaths
No legal action is to be taken over the collapse of a crane which
killed three workmen in London's Docklands. Alan Ritchie, general
secretary of the construction union UCATT, said: “This is
small comfort for the families of the dead.”
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Vibration rules shake up takes effect
New regulations on prevention of vibration risks in the workplace
come into force on 6 July, says the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE). It says the new rules, which deal with the control of diseases
caused by vibration at work from equipment, vehicles and machines,
will help both employers and employees to take preventive action
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Explosion death boss released from jail
One of only a handful of bosses to be jailed after the death of
a worker has been released. Glen Hawkins, the boss of the Anchor
Garage in Peacehaven, where teenage trainee mechanic Lewis Murphy
died in an explosion, has had his manslaughter conviction quashed
at an Appeal Court hearing.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Corporate manslaughter bill “needs complete redraft”
The government’s long-awaited draft bill on corporate manslaughter
is under heavy fire from lawyers who claim it is unworkable and
should be taken back to the drawing board. The Association of
Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) said that while it welcomed government
moves to legislate on corporate manslaughter, the draft bill lefts
dangerous directors off the hook, is confusing and full of loopholes.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Nursing ward staff sickness causes concern
Nursing ward staff take more sick days per year than most other
public sector workers, according to new figures. A report from
the Healthcare Commission, based on a survey of 135,000 staff
on 6,000 hospital wards, found on average staff have 16.8 days
sick leave in every 12 months.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Global:
Nuclear workers' cancer risk confirmed
Exposure to a low level of radiation is linked to a small increase
in a person's cancer risk, a study of nuclear power station workers
has found. An international team studied over 407,000 workers
in 15 countries including the UK, and estimates up to 2 per cent
of the cancer deaths were due to radiation exposure.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
Tesco fined after worker loses finger
Supermarket chain Tesco has been ordered to pay £50,000
after a court heard of a “culture of carelessness”
led to a worker losing a finger at its Norwich store.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Europe:
Unions call for action in Blair Euro presidency
Unions from across Europe are calling for action on workplace
issues including working time and chemical hazards at work during
the UK presidency of the European Union
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
Britain:
“Presenteeism” hits the white collar workplace
The UK's long-hours culture is becoming endemic in the world of
the white collar worker. More than half of the UK's white collar
employees - equivalent to 8.7 million people - work in a culture
where coming in early, staying late and battling on when ill is
expected, according to research.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards news, 25 June 2005
Japan:
New high for work suicide and mental illness
A record 130 people in Japan were eligible for workers' compensation
for suicide or mental illness induced by stress and excessive
work in 2004, according to latest labour ministry figures.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
Government urged to go the last step on smoking
The TUC, health organisations, safety enforcers and employers
have all urged to government to ensure its proposed workplace
smoking ban covers all workers, including those in bars and clubs.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
USA:
Don’t just lie down, act up!
Is no-one turning up to your union meetings, the safety committee
dying on its feet, and management blithely ignoring your every
word? It might just be time for an injection of creative organising.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
Gangmaster draft offers “sanctuary for slave labourers”
Unions have warned that gaps in the proposed new licensing system
for gangmasters and agencies will leave thousands of temporary,
mainly migrant, workers vulnerable to exploitation.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
USA:
Union irons out laundry firm’s resistance
A US union campaign to organise a major laundry company with a
poor safety record has scored a notable victory. Textiles union
UNITE HERE targeted ABN AMRO, the finance company backing Angelica
Corporation, in the run up to the 28 April Workers’ Memorial
Day this year.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
Injured train driver wins disability case
A Virgin Trains driver has been awarded £41,000 in damages
at an employment tribunal in Exeter. Martyn Hazelhurst claimed
the company failed to make adjustments while he was recovering
from an injury suffered in a rail crash.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
University support staff are suffering abuse
Non teaching staff in higher education are facing shocking levels
of abuse from managers, colleagues and students, according to
a union survey. UNISON says its poll of more than 1,100 cleaners,
porters and librarians found around 20 per cent had faced some
form of violence - for 84 per cent of this was serious verbal
abuse, but 15 per cent had suffered a violent attack.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Australia:
Unions back silicosis enquiry
Unions in Australia are warning of an explosion in the numbers
affected by silica-related disease and have welcomed a Senate
enquiry.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
Voice loss threat to call centre workers
Many thousands of workers are talking their way out of a job,
as voice loss threatens the livelihood of one in 50 call centre
workers, according to the union UNISON. UNISON delegates agreed
six key demands to cut the risk of voice loss, including regular
rest breaks.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
Firefighters back bill to protect emergency workers
The firefighters’ union FBU is backing a move for a tougher
sentencing law to protect emergency workers facing a “daily
diet” of bricks, missiles, punches and even bullets as they
go about their work.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
Safety minister calls for sick leave action
Health and safety minister Lord Hunt has urged managers to redouble
their efforts to tackle workplace absence.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
Women bear the brunt of back pain
Women suffer more back pain at work but are less likely to take
time off, an official survey has found. The Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) survey also found women were less likely to tell
their bosses they were in pain.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
NHS stress levels “very high and very real”
The NHS needs to do much more to tackle soaring levels of stress
in the workplace, because of the huge human and financial costs,
Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health
at the University of Lancaster, has said.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
Long hours peril in the NHS
The NHS shift system could be putting doctors and patients at
risk, experts have warned.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
USA:
Massive occupational asthma risk is revealed
Work-related asthma is fast becoming one of the most commonly
diagnosed occupational respiratory diseases in the US, a new study
has found.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
The deadly cost of asbestos
The asbestos disease epidemic is continuing to exact a heavy price
in communities across the UK.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
Britain:
£1m damages for injured window cleaner
A window cleaner who suffered devastating injuries when he fell
from an unguarded flat roof, has been awarded more than £1
million compensation at London's High Court.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards news,
18 June 2005
Britain:
Directors must be liable for work deaths, says TUC
Individual directors must be made liable for accidents and injuries
sustained at work if there is to be any change in the UK’s
poor safety record, the TUC has said. General secretary Brendan
Barber called on ministers to make amendments to the current bill,
or introduce new legislation to make individual directors liable
where their own management failure has resulted in staff being
killed or injured at work.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
USA:
Unions make workplaces healthier says CWA
Unions can have a dramatic impact on every aspect of workplace
health and safety, says US union CWA. CWA executive vice president
Larry Cohen commented: “Our health and safety work clearly
distinguishes what it means to work union, whether pushing for
safety and health improvements in a lead acid battery plant, a
hospital, on the police force, or as an outside technician or
service rep.”
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Britain:
Shredder boss admits manslaughter
A man was killed when an industrial paper shredder started up
while he was working on it after his boss ignored “fatal”
flaws with the machine, a court has been told. Paul White, 43,
of Drayton, near Norwich, admitted manslaughter over the death
of foreman Kevin Arnup in the machine, known as a paper hogger.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
USA:
Groups sue watchdog over pesticide risk to farm kids
A generation of America’s most vulnerable children face
an increased risk from exposure to hazardous pesticides, according
to a lawsuit filed last week against the US government’s
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The suit, by a coalition
of labour, environmental and public health groups, charges the
agency with ignoring the special risk to children growing up on
farms.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Britain:
Offshore deaths inquiry ruled out
The procurator fiscal in Aberdeen has rejected union and family
calls for a fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of two offshore
workers. The men's families reacted angrily to the decision after
campaigning for an inquiry into the incident on Shell's Brent
Bravo platform.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Australia:
Killer bosses to face jail time
New laws in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) will
give courts the power to jail killer bosses. The workplace death
legislation passed through state parliament this month and another
law, aimed at ending dangerous and unreasonable deadlines in the
trucking industry will take effect next year.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
USA:
Death firm barred from work for state
A US construction company found criminally responsible for a fatal
workplace accident has become the first in Michigan to be banned
from doing business with the state. Governor Jennifer Granholm
issued an executive order barring Lanzo Construction Co. from
receiving any state contracts until 2013, after the company was
found guilty of violating state rules and safety procedures in
the 1999 construction site death of a worker.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Global:
Calls for an end to child labour
TUC says nearly 250 million children worldwide should be lifted
out of work and into school. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber
was speaking on 12 June, the International Labour Organisation’s
World Day Against Child Labour.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Britain:
Action call after 11 site deaths in two months
The construction industry has claimed yet more lives, taking the
total since 1 April to 11.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Jamaica:
Unions call for action on sugar firm deaths
Unions in the Jamaican sugar industry are demanding urgent health
and safety measures following a series of fatal accidents. A meeting
on safety in the country’s sugar and banana industries,
organised by global foodworkers’ union federation IUF and
the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the University
and Allied Workers Union (UAWU), called on the government to investigate
recent workplace fatalities and to take corrective measures.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Britain:
Union concern over student violence findings
University lecturers’ unions AUT and NATFHE have reacted
with extreme concern after a new report exposed shocking levels
of student violence against staff working in higher education.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Britain:
Campaigners fight for medical exam centres
A massive cutback in the number of medical examination centres
where people are assessed for industrial injuries benefits is
being opposed by union and welfare rights campaigners. The closures,
which are the result of government outsourcing of the centres
to a private company, are scheduled to take place by 31 August
2005.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Britain:
Remorseless progress of the asbestos epidemic
The extent of Britain’s asbestos cancer epidemics continues
to reveal itself in press reports nationwide. The combined toll
of asbestos-related lung cancers and mesotheliomas is estimated
to be killing in the region of 10 people a day, and the number
is rising.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Britain:
Firms failing to provide sickness support
The majority of UK firms are failing to provide support for workers
suffering stress and strains, a survey has found. It also revealed
that 4 in 10 employers (41 per cent) do not have an occupational
health service.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Global:
Time to exercise makes better workers
Employers who heap on the pressure and demand longer hours and
fewer breaks are damaging their workers’ health and their
company’s productivity. A study of about 200 workers at
three UK workplaces - a university, a computer company and a life
insurance firm – found that workers who took exercise breaks
were more productive.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
Britain:
Doctors need substance abuse support
The British Medical Association (BMA) has called for more support
systems for doctors after a BBC survey showed alcohol and drug
abuse was widespread.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005
|
EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 11 June 2005
Global:
Carrefour slammed for Bangladesh fire inaction
The world’s second largest retailer, Carrefour, has been
accused by global textiles union federation ITGLWF of failing
to take adequate steps to ensure worker safety in the wake of
the April 2005 Spectrum Sweaters factory disaster in Savar, Bangladesh
that left 83 workers dead and well over 100 workers still missing.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
USA:
Union fumes at mine diesel exhaust increase
The US government’ Department of Labor has increased the
allowable worker exposure to diesel exhaust fume in thousands
of mines. The move, which weakens a 2001 Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA) standard for non-coal mines, has angered
USW, the union representing miners in the metal, mineral and stone
sectors.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
Workers “reduced to robots” by tags
Employees are being “dehumanised” by having to wear
electronic tags while working, general union GMB has said. An
increasing number working in retail distribution centres, which
supply goods to supermarkets, are having to wear tags, usually
on their wrists, to help speed up orders.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Australia:
Mining giant BHP faces safety probes
BHP Billiton, the multinational mining company that used union-busting
individual contracts to boost production at the expense of safety,
is to face courtroom showdowns with safety authorities and two
bereaved women.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
RMT to ballot customer hosts over train safety
More than 160 customer hosts at Midland Mainline are to be balloted
for strike action in an escalation of the dispute over the safe
operation of multiple-unit trains. Around 150 RMT guards at the
company are already in dispute.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
£140,000 payout to plasterer’s widow
A woman who watched her husband “suffer terribly”
before his death four years ago from an asbestos cancer, has received
a £140,000 payout. Community member Robert Brown died aged
57 in May 2001 from mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos
dust whilst working as a plasterer for Corby Borough Council.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
Esso pays dying man £90,000
A man dying of an asbestos cancer has been awarded a £90,000
payout. Gerald Read, 80, worked as a scaffolder at the Esso oil
refinery at Fawley from 1968 until he retired in 1981 and is now
suffering the fatal asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
Bad bosses should be named and shamed
Company bosses who ignore health and safety rules should be named
and shamed, a leading safety organisation has said. The Association
of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) said employers may think twice
about breaching safety rules if it means their companies’
reputation could be publicly tarnished.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
Firm pays £7,000 after worker is paralysed
A Derbyshire company has been fined £7,000 after a worker
fell from unsafe scaffolding and was paralysed. Kieran Mullin
Developments admitted a charge of having failed to take steps
to prevent any employees falling from the scaffold.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
HSE posts warning to Royal Mail delivery offices
The biggest ever Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection
programme in Royal Mail “couldn’t have come at a better
time,” says communications union CWU.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
Dull work increases heart attack risk
Having a dull job may increase your risk of a heart attack, researchers
have found. Dull, steady, unexciting work is associated with a
faster and less variable heart rate, which, in turn, is linked
to heart disease, said a team from University College London.
They found that men with “low-grade jobs”, meaning
they had little control over daily tasks, and men in low social
positions were at greatest risk.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
Majority say pub workers need passive smoke protection
Seven out of 10 people believe the health of pub staff should
be protected from secondhand smoke at work, according to a survey
by MORI for the British Medical Association (BMA).
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
New
Zealand: Meat company films naked workers
A New Zealand meat company is defending its use of covert filming
in staff shower rooms, claiming it is the only way to catch employees
taking drugs. Unions at Affco says drugs say they are dismayed
at the practice.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
Millions of days lost to workplace back pain
British business loses an estimated 4.9 million days to employee
absenteeism through work-related back conditions each year, according
to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
Sacked cancer sufferer gets £17k payout
A cancer patient who lost her job after taking time off for treatment
has been awarded more than £17,000 for unfair dismissal.
Jocelyn Herath, 48, had worked as a deputy town council clerk
for Newent Town Council before being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Britain:
Summertime and making a living ain’t easy
A belated break in the clouds has sent UK temperatures soaring,
leaving overheated workers sizzling in the 70s.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
Global:
Unions demand an end to the asbestos carnage
Unions worldwide have embarked on a global campaign to end “the
asbestos carnage”. Global building unions’ federation
IFBWW handed a statement to the ILO director general Juan Somavia
demanding ILO takes a clear health-based position in favour of
the elimination of the use of all forms of asbestos and asbestos
containing materials.
Risks 210, 11 June 2005
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards
news, 4 June 2005
USA:
Union anger at BP deaths PR
UK multinational BP is paying more attention to public relations
than the prevention of future tragedies, the steelworkers’
union USW has said. The union allegations come in a response to
a report the company issued in the wake of an investigation into
a refinery blast that killed 15 workers and injured 170 others
on 23 March.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Europe:
UK stalls progress on working hours limit
The UK government has led a minority group of European ministers
which on 2 June successfully blocked moves to end the UK “opt-out”
from the European Working Time Directive’s 48 hour ceiling
on the working week.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Britain:
Long hours are bad for health and productivity
Long working hours are damaging the health of UK’s industry
and its workforce, new research from TUC has shown. A report cites
a string of UK and international reports showing higher accident
levels and higher rates of heart disease, mental illness, bowel
problems and diabetes in those regularly working in excess of
48 hours a week.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
USA:
Workplace diseases? Call the spin doctor
A US construction company facing allegations of a major cover-up
of work-related accidents and disease has found a novel remedy
– it has retained a top spin doctor to cure the problem.
Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc., which is being sued by workers suffering
manganese poisoning, has recruited as its spokesperson Chris Lehane,
the ex-Clinton White House public relations guru credited with
helping the then-president survive the Lewinsky affair.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Britain:
Burnout hits half Britain's workers
More than half British workers claim they have experienced problems
associated with overwork and burnout during the past six months,
according to a new survey.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
USA:
Bush bid to slash millions from safety training
The US government is on the verge of eliminating one of the most
substantial sources of funds for groups that work to mitigate
the country’s massive work accident toll. Under threat is
a long established system that provides US$10-11million each year
for research, training, and educational efforts run by non-profit
organisations.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Britain:
Fatigue is causing ship collisions
Fatigue among sailors on merchant ships caused a “worrying
number” of collisions or near misses in 2004, the chief
maritime investigator has reported.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Global:
More calls for a global asbestos ban
Union and public health organisations worldwide are increasing
the pressure for a global asbestos ban. Unions worldwide are to
launch their campaign on 8 June in Geneva, with a ban now being
supported by both the Collegium Ramazzini and the World Federation
of Public Health Associations.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Britain:
Union anger at waste firm death
A union organisation has condemned a “scandalous”
lack of safety enforcement at a London waste transfer station
and says a life could have been saved if safety reps had extended
powers. Battersea and Wandsworth TUC (BWTUC) was commenting after
London-based World's End Waste (Investments) Ltd, was fined £100,000
and ordered to pay £4,982 costs following the death of Sam
Boothman.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
China:
Safety official owned death mine
The owner of an illegal small coal mine in which 18 miners died
was the local official in charge of coal mining safety, an investigation
has revealed. The Chinese authorities announced this week that
under a new scheme aimed at tackling mine deaths, about 100,000
senior coal miners will be designated as safety supervisors.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Britain:
Union warns of offshore safety sackings
North Sea oil and gas workers are still being fired for raising
safety concerns with their bosses, the union Amicus has said.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Britain:
Strike off as union wins action on Tube safety
Strike action by drivers on the Tube’s District Line has
been averted after London Underground and the British Transport
Police announced a series of initiatives to target yobs, vandals
and trespassers on the line.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Britain:
PM is half right on risks
The prime minister’s acknowledgment that there is no such
thing as “compensation culture” has been welcomed
by the TUC, but the union body has warned the PM not to go soft
on workplace risks.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
USA:
The new generation of asbestos claims
A new wave of asbestos cancers is being seen in people who contracted
the disease simply by being a family member of an asbestos-exposed
worker. Research in the United States has identified a growing
number of claims for compensation from these “paraoccupational”
victims of the incurable lung cancer mesothelioma.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Britain:
Health groups push for tougher smoking ban
Health secretary Patricia Hewitt has come under renewed pressure
from leaders of the medical profession to strengthen the government's
softly-softly approach to banning smoking in public places in
England.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Britain:
Cancer hit lollipop lady grilled on sick leave
A lollipop lady who survived stomach cancer has been ordered by
bosses to explain her time off work at a disciplinary hearing.
Mary Strang, 64, returned to the job she has held for almost 20
years five weeks ago after a two-year battle back to health.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Europe:
Pesticide use link to Parkinson's
Exposure to pesticides could increase the risk of developing Parkinson's
disease, researchers have warned. The European study concludes
high level users, such as farmers, were 43 per cent more likely
than non-users to develop the disease.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Britain:
Essex Council fined £200k over tree feller death
Essex County Council has been fined £200,000 over the death
of a park ranger. Hadrian Robinson died when a tree he was helping
to cut down fell on top of him.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
Global:
ICEM warns of contract labour dangers
A new report from global union federation ICEM warns of the serious
employment and safety risks posed by the increasing use of contract
and agency labour. ICEM, an umbrella group for chemical, energy
and mining unions worldwide, says the findings highlight the need
for governments to look at the risks posed by out-sourcing of
labour.
Risks 209, 4 June 2005
|
Hazards
news, 28 May 2005
USA:
DJ wins $10.6 million in stink over perfume
A former top-ranked radio host, who claims she was sickened by
a colleague's perfume, has been awarded $10.6 million (£5.79m)
in a US federal court lawsuit.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
TUC sees red herring in Brown red tape call
The TUC has told the Chancellor Gordon Brown his push for a reduction
in the red tape “burden” on business is more like
a red herring, as Britain is already the most lightly regulated
OECD economy.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
New
Zealand: Asbestos victims must die poor - official
New Zealand’s official compensation agency is challenging
the right of those dying from asbestos exposure to claim lump
sum compensation. If successful, the bid to bar claims from people
exposed before April 2002 would bar almost every asbestos cancer
victim from claiming for years to come because of the time lag
between initial exposure and the development of an asbestos cancer.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
Unions warn against attack on safety enforcement
Angry unions have told the Chancellor Gordon Brown his plans to
reduce the red tape on business by taking a “light touch”
on laws and inspection must not result in weaker safety enforcement.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Japan:
Migrant worker wins heart attack payout
Authorities in Japan have recognised that a heart attack suffered
by a Bangladeshi construction worker was caused by overwork and
have ruled he should be paid state compensation. Experts say it
is rare for a foreign worker to win recognition that heart problems
are related to their job.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
Prospect muscles in on bad backs
The union Prospect has thrown its weight behind a major national
campaign by the Health and Safety Executive to reduce the number
of back injuries at work.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Europe:
Unions call for European Commission to act on hours
Unions across Europe are calling on the European Commission to
back worker-friendly changes to the Working Time Directive already
supported by the European Parliament.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
Second six figure fine this year for British Sugar
British Sugar has received its second six figure safety penalty
of 2005. The company was fined £250,000 this week on charges
relating to an incident which saw an electrician seriously injured;
in February it was fined £400,000 for safety offences relating
to the death of a worker.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Global:
BP guilty of “corporate scapegoating”
UK multinational BP is facing a storm of criticism in the US after
“scapegoating” workers for the Texas City refinery
explosions that killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 in
March, with a US union saying some of the blame can be traced
back to the company’s London headquarters.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
Road firm pays £97,000 after worker burns to death
Crawley-based road contractor Colas Ltd has been fined £75,000
and ordered to pay £22,000 costs after a worker was burned
to death while cleaning a tanker.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
USA:
Safety warning as Hell’s Kitchen goes stateside
A leading US ergonomics magazine has issued a workplace safety
warning after it was announced that UK reality programme ‘Hell’s
Kitchen’ is to be exported to the US. Ergonomics Today says
Fox Television’s move to bring Gordon Ramsey and his ‘Hell’s
Kitchen’ show to America this summer is a safety issue “because
the celebrity chef is known best in Britain for workplace behaviour
that ergonomists warn against.”
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
Work continues to take massive toll
Millions of workers are suffering as a result of job hazards,
according to a new report from the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE).
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Nicaragua:
First blood for the workers in poisoning campaign
Campaigners encamped in front of the National Assembly building
in Managua have reached “Preliminary Agreements” with
authorities setting out a 21-point programme intended to ensure
medical, social and economic assistance to the victims of Nemagon
poisoning and kidney disease, which have affected workers on banana
and sugar cane plantations.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
Worker deaths are not counted
The death of a young British bank employee who fell ill and died
in Britain of a work-related disease will not be investigated
by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or included in official
workplace death statistics because she caught the disease on a
short work trip abroad.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Global:
Metalworker unions push for global asbestos ban
The International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), representing
metalworker unions from 100 countries around the world launched
a high-powered campaign this week for a global ban on asbestos.
A “death counter” at its global congress ticked off
the number of asbestos deaths occurring as the event progressed
– one additional death every five minutes.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
Stockline owners will not face blast charges
The owners of the Stockline plastics factory which exploded in
Glasgow last year, killing nine people, will not face criminal
charges over the tragedy, reports suggest.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
NHS staff shortages up violence risk
Violence against patients and staff is widespread in mental health
and learning disability inpatient units, new research shows, and
understaffing is a top cause.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
HSE metalworking fluids guide ducks cancer issue
The omission of occupational cancer from a new Health
and Safety Executive online guide on metalworking fluids has been
criticised by a top expert. Studies done in the US and Europe
found excess levels of a range of cancers.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
Britain:
Asbestos claims more lives
Britain is one of the worst hit countries in the world for asbestos
deaths. Cases are so commonplace in the UK these days they only
merit a few lines in local newspapers.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005
|
Hazards news, 21 May 2005
Britain:
TUC shatters compensation culture myth
Fewer than one in 10 people made ill or injured by their work
ever receive any compensation from the state or from their employers,
reveals a new report from the TUC.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005 •
A little compensation,
Hazards, number 90, 2005 • Hazards
compensation webpages, including compensation guide
and a dossier of recent compensation awards.
Global:
BP’s safety record slammed in US and UK
British multinational BP leads the US refining industry in deaths
over the last decade, with 22 fatalities since 1995 - more than
a quarter of those killed in refineries nationwide. In the UK,
the Health and Safety Executive this week showcased BP’s
“director leadership” on health and safety at an Edinburgh
conference, as an online briefing from Hazards magazine noted
a succession of penalties for serious safety offences in the UK
and elsewhere could all be paid out of chief executive Lord Browne’s
annual bonus.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
Midland Mainline guards in safety strike ballot
More than 100 train guards at Midland Mainline have been balloted
this week for strike action in an escalation of a long-running
dispute over the safe operation of multiple-unit trains.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Japan:
Abused rail staff get union help
Railway unions in Japan have opened special helplines for employees
facing public harassment in the aftermath of last month's huge
train crash. The unions have reported nearly 200 cases of harassment,
ranging from verbal abuse to physical injury.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
TGWU stands firm on drivers’ hours
Drivers’ union TGWU is telling haulage bosses it will continue
its push for improved regulation on working hours behind the wheel.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
China:
Help call for hundreds poisoned by cadmium
A campaign in support of at least 300 workers poisoned by cadmium
at a battery factory in China is calling for international support.
Campaigners, whose protest against the company has been running
for over a year, say the Hong Kong and Singapore-based Gold Peak
Industrial Holdings Ltd (GP) has ruined the health of hundreds
of workers and want the firm to be inundated with letters of complaint.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Global:
James Hardie sees profits surge
A multinational asbestos giant that failed last year in its bid
to evade much of its compensation liability has seen its profits
soar. James Hardie Industries agreed in December 2004 to a £0.62bn
compensation deal after an unprecedented global campaign by unions
and asbestos disease victims’ organisations.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
Tube drivers steer clear of yobs
Train drivers’ union ASLEF has agreed to suspend a threatened
safety strike on the District Line for a week following agreement
with London Underground Ltd (LUL) that where stations are without
staff they will be closed. Discussions are underway to release
union safety reps to evaluate measures to improve safety and minimise
vandalism in response to an upturn in attacks on trains.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
Safety measures feature in Labour’s plans
The new Labour government’s legislative plans for the next
parliament include a corporate killing bill, a law tackling the
perception of a compensation culture, a reform of incapacity benefit,
and a smoking ban.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
“Cavalier” asbestos firm escapes justice
A Bradford building firm accused of a “cavalier” attitude
to the deadly risks of asbestos has evaded prosecution by going
into liquidation. A-One Insulation Ltd had been due to appear
in court this week to face eight charges of breaching asbestos
regulations, including failure to ensure the health and safety
of its employees.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
Asbestos epidemic hits people of working age
The perception that deadly asbestos cancers only affect people
in old age is being challenged by recent tragedies. In the latest
case, civil engineer John Kay, 40, has been given just months
to live after being diagnosed with the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
New safety strategy for paper and board sector
A new safety strategy for the paper and board industry has been
agreed by unions, employers and the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE). In addition to a clampdown on work-related accidents and
ill-health, the firms are also expected to have formal safety
management systems, rehabilitation schemes and occupational health
services for their employees.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
Bad jobs are stressing out millions
Excessive stress at work is causing an epidemic of depression
and anxiety, costing the British economy about £100bn a
year in lost output, according to a new report from mental health
charity Mind.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Finland:
Overwork and stress causes excess girth
Overworked and stressed employees are more likely to put on weight,
researchers have found. The study by the University of Helsinki’s
Department of Public Health found there were clear risk groups
for weight gain, with those suffering from work-related fatigue
and those working a lot of overtime at a particularly high risk.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
Landlord loses heart attack damages claim
Pub landlord Edward Harding has lost his Court of Appeal fight
for compensation after claiming he suffered a heart attack from
the stress of working long hours at a Greater Manchester pub.
He had claimed that the stress of working 70 hours a week behind
the bar in an area of high crime meant he was entitled to compensation
from his employer, The Pub Estate Company.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
NHS launches anti-stress campaign
NHS bosses have launched a national campaign to help combat stress
in the workplace. Steve Barnett, director of NHS Employers, said
the campaign will help health service employers to target signs
of stress in their employees and to take steps to reduce them.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
Britain:
Steel firm pays £3,300 for a finger
A Sittingbourne steel company has been fined £3,300 after
a worker lost a finger in a machine that had been faulty for six
years. Milton Pipes Ltd pleaded guilty at Sittingbourne Magistrates'
Court, Kent to breaches of health and safety legislation.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005
|
LATEST
NEWS |
USA:
Work demands up, hours up, deaths up
Increased workloads, workforce cutbacks and faster production
rates have become major safety and health issues for US workers,
national union federation AFL-CIO has warned.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Britain:
Edinburgh theatres face safety strike
Backstage union BECTU is balloting members in the King's and Festival
theatres over job cuts it says will undermine health and safety.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Thailand:
Labour groups demand work safety law
Thai workers' right activists have taken to the streets of Bangkok
demanding strict new occupational health and safety laws.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Britain:
RMT calls for top level probe into Centra safety
Transport union RMT has reported Centra Buses to the authorities,
after discovering “serious breaches” of safety rules
in a company effort to get round a strike.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
New
Zealand: Company doc censured for denying health problem
A doctor involved in an employer “partnership programme”
that assesses New Zealand occupational disease victims for compensation
has been found guilty of professional misconduct for refusing
to accept a hospital diagnosis of a “classic” work-related
disease.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Global:
Time to act on fatigue at sea
A union has called for urgent action to tackle the “appalling”
fatigue risk facing staff on commercial ships.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Europe: Victory for common sense on 48 hour work week
Unions have welcomed a European Parliament vote to scrap an opt-out
rule limiting the working week in the EU to an average of 48 hours.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Britain:
CBI out of touch on sick leave
Claims by bosses’ organisation CBI that public sector sick
leave is undermining services have been dismissed as ill-informed
by unions and other bodies. Infact, Britain had one of the lowest
levels of both long- and short-term sickness absence anywhere
in Europe and studies show UK public sector workers take less
sick leave than private sector workers.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Ireland:
Enforcement threat as deaths increase
An Irish love affair with US-style voluntary health and safety
programmes may be turning sour after the country reported a big
upturn in work fatalities. With workplace deaths up 40 per cent
in the first 4 months of 2005, the leader of Ireland's Health
and Safety Authority (HSA) has expressed his “deep concern”
and has implored the country's most egregious safety offenders
to “face up to the safety issues.”
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Britain:
Lord Hunt is safety minister number 8
Health and safety has a new minister. Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
succeeds Jane Kennedy and becomes Labour’s eighth safety
minister in nine years, based in DWP, headed by David Blunkett,
the new secretary of state for work and pensions.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Britain:
How could this death be “accidental”?
The death at work of David Lord, aged 36 - killed performing a
task for which he had received no training on a job for which
there was no risk assessment during a process the Health and Safety
Executive said could not be justified - was “accidental
death” according to an inquest.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Australia:
Jail beckons for killer bosses
Killer bosses in the Australian state of New South Wales will
face jail under a workplace deaths bill introduced in the state
parliament. Unions, who have campaigned for these measures for
years, gave industrial relations minister John Della Bosca a cautious
thumbs-up after the legislation was unveiled.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Britain:
Companies fined over tank deaths
Two firms have been fined a total of £125,000 after two
welders died as they tried to dismantle a ballast tank. Charles
Buckenham, 52, and his stepfather Brian Dove, 55, were overcome
by fumes in the tank at Lowestoft in 2003.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Britain:
Safety fine for dangerous director
A London council has used health and safety legislation to prosecute
the boss of a now defunct company after an employee lost two fingers
while operating an electric saw.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Global:
Wood dust is a lung cancer risk
Exposure to wood dust increases the chances of developing not
only nasal cancer but also lung cancer, US research suggests.
The investigators found that the risk of lung cancer was three
times higher for subjects involved in wood dust-related occupations
and industries.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Britain:
Scottish emergency workers get protection
A law protect emergency workers from assaults has taken effect
in Scotland. The Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act makes it a specific
offence to assault, obstruct or hinder someone providing an emergency
service.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Britain:
Trust fined over killing of nurse
An NHS trust has been fined £28,000 after a psychiatric
nurse was beaten to death by a schizophrenic patient. Mamade Eshan
Chattun, 34, was killed by Jason Cann at Tooting's Springfield
Hospital in June 2003.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
Britain:
Doctors warn of smoke ban “inequality”
The government’s planned smoking ban in England will leave
lower paid workers at a disproportionately high risk of passive
smoking related disease, a new report has warned. Dr Vivienne
Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics, said: “While
the professional classes work in smoke-free offices, low-paid,
casual and service workers work in smoky environments, risking
lung cancer to make a living.”
Risks 206, 14 May 2005
|
Hazards News, 7 May 2005
|
Hazards, 7 May 2005
Europe:
Unions “optimistic” on European working hours rules
Europe’s trade unions are “quietly confident”
that MEPs will back demands to scrap Britain’s controversial
opt-out from EU rules on working time.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Britain:
Site accident payouts break £8m barrier
Construction union UCATT last year secured a record £8.7
million in workplace injury and disease payouts. It was the first
time the total had broken the £8 million and was up from
the £7.9 million won in the previous year.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Britain:
Scotland’s smoking ban must be enforced
The Scottish Executive must provide the funds for enforcement
of a planned law to restrict smoking in workplaces and public
spaces, UNISONScotland has said.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Britain:
Cabin crew call on airlines to clear the air
Cabin crew union TGWU has called on the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) to end the airline industry’s silence about contaminated
aircraft air. The union is calling on the HSE to require British
registered aircraft are fitted with “bleed air filtration
systems” so that crews and passengers can be protected from
contaminated air.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Britain:
CWU backs community asbestos campaign
CWU health and safety department is backing a community asbestos
campaign in a bid to stop a deadly airborne risk to workers and
the public. Following a recent meeting between “Save Spodden
Valley” community campaigners and local CWU reps from the
Rochdale area the union has thrown its weight behind the campaign
to halt the development of a former Turner and Newell asbestos
textile factory site.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Britain:
Asbestos cancer kills 32-year-old
A man thought to be one of the youngest person in the UK to contract
asbestos-related cancer has died. Barry Welch, a 32-year-old father
of three from Leicester who has never worked with asbestos, was
diagnosed with mesothelioma last year – thought to be caused
by childhood exposure to the fibre on his stepfather’s overalls.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Britain:
Palace widow gets asbestos payout
The widow of a man who died after exposure to asbestos at Buckingham
Palace has been awarded nearly £180,000 in compensation
by the High Court. Mary Costello's husband John died aged 58 in
September 2001 of mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Britain:
Rail work deaths hit 14 year high
Deaths and injuries on the railways increased last year because
a big jump in fatalities among track workers and November's high-speed
crash at Ufton Nervet in Berkshire. Nine railway staff died at
work in 2004, the highest number since 1991, and reported assaults
on rail staff increased by 6 per cent.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Britain:
No compensation for work-related suicide
The wife of a worker who killed himself because he couldn’t
bear the health effects of a workplace accident has failed in
a bid to get compensation for his death. Thomas Corr was aged
31 when he severed most of his right ear at the Luton IBC car
factory while working on the production line, an injury which
lead to stress and depression and his eventual suicide.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005 •
Hazards “worked
to death” webpages
Global:
Offshore death rate still too high
More than 100 people were killed worldwide in oil and gas production
last year. An International Association of Oil and Gas Producers
(OGP) analysis of just under 2.3 billion work hours of data worldwide
is said to show the continuation of an improving trend - but suggests
greater improvements are essential, particularly in transporting
people safely.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Global:
Safe from plough to plate
A new trade union education manual, published by the International
Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco
and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF), aims to tackle the workplace
and community risks of hazardous agricultural practices. The new
resource, published with the support of the ILO and its Bureau
for Workers' Activities (ACTRAV), includes an educators’
guide, pointers for grassroots action and workplace reps and factsheets
covering all the key hazards.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Australia:
Bosses add insult to fatal injuries
The top employers’ organisation in Australia chose Workers’
Memorial Day – the international day of action for those
killed at work - to call for occupational health and safety laws
to be dumped. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI)
chief executive Peter Hendy went on television on 28 April to
call for the overhaul of occupational health and safety laws as
thousands of Australians gathered to remember colleagues, family
and friends who have been killed at work.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Australia:
Tights squeeze for flight attendants
Pinching and ill-fitting tights are causing grief for Australian
long-haul flight attendants, raising concerns they pose a health
and safety risk. Issues raised by a union survey of pantyhose
related problems include thermal discomfort and the dropping of
the gusset causing heat rash and thrush.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Barbados:
Unions welcome new safety bill
Unions in Barbados have welcomed a new safety bill. Orlando (Gabby)
Scott, assistant general secretary of the Barbados Workers’
Union (BWU), stressed that the planned law must go beyond protection
of physical health, but should also protect mental and social
well-being.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Global:
Experts back global asbestos ban
An international conference of top experts on workplace lung diseases
has backed calls for a global asbestos ban. The tenth International
Conference on Occupational Respiratory Diseases (ICORD) held in
April in Beijing, agreed a recommendation promoted by global union
federations and other bodies that all parties should pursue a
global ban and reduction in the use of asbestos.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Nicaragua:
Support call for poisoned farmworkers
Thousands of Nicaraguan rural workers have been camping in front
of the National Assembly for over two months to demand justice
for the victims of an acutely toxic pesticide. Global farmworkers’
union federation IUF, which is calling for international support
for the affected workers, says Nemagon, a derivative of the notorious
reproductive hazard DBCP, was extensively and indiscriminately
applied on banana plantations for many decades, including the
years following its 1979 ban in the country of manufacture, the
United States.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
Japan:
Union blames rail firm “humiliation” for tragedy
Union members in Japan have placed the blame for last week’s
massive train crash that claimed 106 lives squarely on the railway
company, saying under pressure workers face humiliating penalties
for slight delays. “The accident is a result of JR West's
corporate stance of prioritising operations and high-pressure
management that uses terror to force employees to follow orders,”
said Osamu Yomono, vice-president of the Japan Confederation of
Railway Workers' Unions.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
USA:
Safety racketeers may soon have reason to fear
The jailing this week in the US of a former coal mine operator
for safety offences has come as top politicians and safety campaigners
increase the pressure for stricter penalties on hazardous employers.
A federal judge sentenced Robert Ratliff Sr., 52, to 60 days in
prison and a year’s probation for safety violations that
led to an explosion in 2003, killing a miner and injuring two
others.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005
|
Hazards
news, 23 April 2005 |
Hazards news, 23 April 2005
 Global:
Millions get organised for 28 April
It’s official - Workers’ Memorial Day, the 28 April
health and safety event when unions worldwide “remember
the dead, and fight for the living,” will be the biggest
ever. Early reports suggest there will be more than 10,000 union
events in over 100 countries involving over 5 million workers,
with new reports still flooding in by the hour.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
USA:
Sometimes bad just isn’t bad enough
When the US business lobby told President George W Bush it didn’t
want an enforceable ergonomic law, the brand spanking new regulation
was gone in a flash, replaced by a smattering of guidance and
voluntary deals. But even this is proving unpalatable for the
National Coalition on Ergonomics, the US business coalition that
led the anti-regulation drive, which is now petitioning US official
safety watchdog OSHA to weaken even these guidelines.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
Fire crews face peril of yobbery with violence
Firefighters are on the receiving end of a growing number of violent
attacks, according to research released this week by the Fire
Brigades Union. It shows there are 40 attacks on UK fire crews
every week and the problem is getting worse.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Mexico:
Armed journalists are not the solution to violence
Encouraging journalists to carry guns would only make life more
dangerous for reporters who are being targeted by criminals in
Mexico, the global journalists’ union IFJ has warned. Mexico’s
Secretary of Public Security for the state of Tamaulipas, Luis
Gutiérrez Flores, had said that following recent attacks,
reporters in the increasingly lawless border region of northern
Mexico should seek permission to carry weapons if they feel threatened.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
Union safety campaign launched in Scotland
A union campaign for workplace health and safety in Scotland has
been launched at the STUC’s annual congress.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Malaysia:
Government gives in to paraquat pushers
A multinational pesticide producer has succeeded in getting the
Malaysian government to reconsider a ban on the pesticide paraquat.
Faced with concerted lobbying by the Swiss-based agrochemical
firm Syngenta, the government announced it would reconsider its
2002 decision to ban the acutely toxic herbicide, causing consternation
among unions and environmental organisations.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
Government refuses to bend on low letter boxes
The government has rejected calls from postal union CWU to enact
European building regulations outlawing low level letter boxes.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Global:
NUMAST warning on hours at sea
UK ship officers’ union NUMAST has expressed concern at
new figures suggesting half of all ships fail to comply with international
rules to curb seafarer working hours. The statement came after
an inspection campaign found widespread deficiencies in seafarers’
living and working conditions, breaching the International Labour
Organisation’s convention on seafarers’ working hours
and staffing levels on ships.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
NUT condemns “perverse” inquest verdict
Teaching union NUT has condemned as “perverse” an
unlawful killing verdict into the death of a teenager on an outdoor
activities holiday, adding it smacked of an “increasing
blame culture.”
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Honduras/USA:
Farmworkers sue over pesticide poisoning
More than 600 Honduran banana pickers are suing some of the world's
biggest fruit growers and chemical manufacturers, claiming they
distributed and used a US-banned pesticide in Central America
that was known to cause sterility.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
Man is killed, firm is guilty, fine is £3,000
Safety fines imposed after workplace deaths, sometimes reduced
or unpaid because the responsible companies have gone bust, are
drawing questions about their adequacy as an effective deterrent.
London firm Deco Marble and Granite Limited was fined £3,000
at Southwark Crown Court after John Martin Dunleavy, 37, was killed
on 26 September 2003, crushed by marble slabs.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Australia:
Employers back jail for reckless bosses
Nine out of ten employers in the Australian state of New South
Wales (NSW) back the jailing of bosses who “deliberately
and recklessly put their employees’ lives at risk,”
according to a NSW Chamber of Commerce survey.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
Firm fined £20,000 after son finds dad dead
Newark engineering firm Leadmaster has been fined £20,000
after a worker was crushed to death by a steel grid in an incident
it “would have been simple and cheap to prevent”.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Australia:
Cut-price silica masks are a slap in the face
Tunnel workers employed by a multinational construction giant
being told to shave their beards to save the boss money. The instruction
came after the contractor on the Chatswood rail link in Australia,
Thiess Hochtief, introduced 10 cent (4 pence) paper masks for
underground workers exposed to deadly silica dust, which can cause
lung scarring and cancer.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
Guilty firm fined £10,000 for cheese factory death
A firm that failed to provide the necessary information, training,
instruction and supervision to a worker who was subsequently killed
at work has received a £10,000 fine. Dumfries firm Homer
Burgess Ltd was fined £10,000 at Stranraer Sheriff Court
this week following the death of 39-year-old William Johnstone
at a Stranraer factory in March last year.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
Glasgow hit by another deadly factory blast
A second deadly factory blast has hit Glasgow, just 11 months
after the Stockline explosion claimed nine lives. Archie Simpson,
54, died from injuries sustained in the 15 April blast at the
James G Carrick factory in Springburn.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
STUC welcomes corporate homicide proposals
The creation of a panel involving union, legal and government
experts to develop proposals on a corporate homicide law for Scotland
has been welcomed by the STUC.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
Are you just one illness away from the sack?
Recent tribunal cases suggest a blot-free employment record might
stand for nothing in some British workplaces, as employers choose
to treat illness as a disciplinary issue.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005
Britain:
Pregnant women and risk assessment
A new TUC online guide provides a detailed and practical workers’
resource on pregnancy and risk assessments. TUC says safety representatives
must ensure employers fulfil their legal obligations and protect
both pregnant women and those who return to work while breast-feeding.
Risks 203, 23 April 2005 •
TUC
pregnancy and risk assessment briefing
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards news, 16 April 2005
Britain:
Accidents must be a real early warning system
The TUC wants the official rules on the reporting of work accidents,
diseases and dangerous occurrences clarified, enforced and turned
into an effective early warning system.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
USA:
Workplace safety tops voters concerns
Workplace health and safety is the top political concern of US
voters, new research has found. The Wall St Journal-NBC News poll
found the most important issue Americans think Congress should
be involved in is “rules in the workplace that deal with
health and safety issues,” identified by 84 per cent of
those polled.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
Britain:
Train drivers struggle to keep their shorts on
Thousands of rail passengers could face delays because a rail
company has angered its drivers by banning the wearing of shorts,
on the grounds that they look unprofessional. Drivers working
for the train company One say their elderly suburban trains have
poorly ventilated cabs which become unbearably sweaty in spring
and summer.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
China:
Tin smelting poisons 31 members of a family
Thirty-one members of a family have been poisoned, leaving one
man dead, in a tin smelting accident in Hebei Province, China.
The family members suffered from arsenic poisoning when one of
them poured water over slag left over from the smelting process.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
USA:
Major site’s safety record too good to be true
The “immaculate” safety record of a massive San Francisco
construction project has been challenged after evidence of an
accidents and occupational disease cover-up came to light. Reports
suggest the excellent health and safety record on the new Bay
Bridge construction project has more to do with bullying, bribes
and other “behavioural safety” initiatives than good
practice.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
Britain:
£50,000 fine after horror death
The boss of as scrap metal yard has been fined £50,000 after
one of his employees was sliced in half.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
New
Zealand: Company fined for worker’s stress
A marine engineering firm has become the first in New Zealand
to receive a safety conviction for work-related stress. Nalder
and Biddle admitted the charge and was fined $8,000 (£3,060),
and ordered to pay reparation of $1,300 (£497) to the employee.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
Britain:
Police probe latest Corus fatality
A 52-year-old man has been killed in an incident at a Corus plant
in south Wales, the latest in a sequence of tragedies at the firm.
Father-of-two Hywel Thomas, who was from the Pontarddulais area,
died on 8 April at the Corus-owned Aluminised Products Plant plant
in the town.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
Global:
IFBWW urges site unions to organise for safety
Over 100 construction unions on five continents are to organise
for safety on 28 April. The Workers’ Memorial Day activity
comes in response to a call from the global building and wood
unions’ federation IFBWW, which is coordinating activities
worldwide under the banner “Strong unions = safe jobs.”
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
Britain:
Bankrupt firm escapes large death fine
A construction firm has escaped a heavy fine over the death of
a Grimsby worker because it had already gone bust. TSL Hygienics
Ltd was fined an “unusually low” £5,000 by Judge
Richard Hawkins QC because it has gone into liquidation since
the fatality on 3 September 2001.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
USA:
Water-damaged buildings tied to workers' asthma
A water-damaged workplace may lead to a dramatic increase in the
rate of asthma and other breathing problems in employees, and
could be a substantial source of sick days, new research suggests.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
Britain:
More ex-rail staff die of asbestos cancer
A former British Rail employee died of cancer caused by asbestos,
an inquest has heard. The report came the same week a widow who
emigrated to Australia more than 40 years ago won substantial
damages from British Rail following the death of her husband from
exposure to asbestos.
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
Bangladesh:
Factory collapse tantamount “to murder”
Thirty people are known to have died and hundreds are believed
to be trapped in the debris of a nine-storey garment factory in
Bangladesh that collapsed on 11 April after what was believed
to be a boiler explosion. Neil Kearney, general secretary of global
textile unions’ federation ITGLWF, said: “It is difficult
to consider this as anything less than the murder of the workers
involved.”
Risks 202, 16 April 2005
|
EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 9 April 2005
Britain:
Fire union exposes cover up of "dangerously high" risks
Official research showing firefighters are facing "dangerously
high" levels of heat exhaustion and suggesting many more
firefighters are needed to cope with the strains of the job has
been buried by civil servants, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has
warned.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
USA:
Steel yourself for Bloody Pocket Syndrome
Steelworker have coined a name for a new phenomenon in the USA's
lean-and-mean workplaces - "Bloody Pocket Syndrome."
USWA health and safety director Mike Wright says occurs when a
worker with, for example, a cut on their hand will out of fear
of retribution hide it and wait until after their shift to go
to the hospital.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Britain:
Bar staff given choice between fines and threats
Bar staff serving customers who are drunk could be hit with an
£80 fixed penalty notice, under new rules introduced by
the government. Bar workers' union TGWU is concerned, however,
that the introduction of on-the-spot fines will place bar workers
in a dangerous quandary.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Australia:
Union says stimulant abuse rife among truckies
Major Australian retailers have been accused of forcing long distance
truck drivers into stimulants abuse in order to meet tight deadlines.
Coles Myer and Woolworths are to be asked to give evidence before
the New South Wales Stay Safe Committee inquiry into road safety
following claims by the Transport Workers Union (TWU).
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Britain:
Rail strike threat wins safety concessions
Rail union ASLEF has called off a safety strike by train drivers.
The union said talks with Network Rail reached a settlement in
a dispute over safety systems. Thousands of train drivers had
agreed to take action by refusing to pass through areas with a
new communications system, which the union says has been unreliable.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Britain:
Construction blitz reveals widespread lawbreaking
Construction sites remain havens for safety lawbreakers despite
firms being pre-warned of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
enforcement "blitz". HSE construction inspectors issued
214 enforcement notices across Great Britain during a March 2005
enforcement campaign which had received heavy advance publicity.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Denmark:
New report on chemical sensitivity
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has released a report
on multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). The abstract to the report
says: "It is concluded that MCS - a new health disorder which
has been described during the last 20 years - is a real condition."
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Britain:
Welcome for new gangmaster watchdog
The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) has welcomed the 1 April
2005 launch of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Global:
Norwegian building giant backs worldwide union rights
A global deal with a Norwegian construction giant will guarantee
workers' health, safety and employment rights on all its projects
worldwide. The latest global framework agreement is between the
firm, Veidekke, and global construction union federation IFBWW
and Norwegian unions.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
New
Zealand: Computer use linked to blood clots
People who sit for hours in front of a computer may be at risk
of developing blood clots in their legs, a study suggests. The
condition has been associated with long-haul air travel, where
it has been dubbed "economy class syndrome", but a paper
published in the New Zealand Medical Journal suggests sitting
still for long periods at a computer could also cause deep vein
thrombosis (DVT).
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Global:
Job pressure is breaking hearts
The longer hours, faster pace, and insecurity typical of many
new jobs is taking a toll on workers' hearts, according to a growing
body of occupational health research. And researchers say the
damage is cumulative and will become more apparent and costly
over time.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
USA:
Industry is setting low standards on chemical risks
Standards for chemical exposures worldwide are heavily influenced
by those originating in the US - which is bad news for workers,
because new research shows those standards are heavily influenced
by industry.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Global:
Are you ready for Workers' Memorial Day, 28 April?
Are you ready for Workers' Memorial Day, the 28 April health and
safety event when unions worldwide "remember the dead, and
fight for the living"? Unions in well over 100 countries
have already announced activities on the day.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Britain:
Safety reps' rights - the law online
The legal rights of union safety representatives are spelled out
in the 'Brown Book' - the one-stop source for the regulations,
code of practice and guidance on safety representatives. The TUC
has produced a version of this essential reference guide for training
purposes, available online for the first time.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Angola:
Health workers fighting Marburg virus "need protection"
Health workers in the Angolan capital, Luanda, are complaining
of not having enough protective clothing to combat the deadly
Marburg virus. They say there is a serious shortfall of goggles,
face masks and headgear.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
Australia:
Cash and commitment cuts work toll
Proper backing for workplace safety enforcement has achieved a
massive reduction in workplace deaths and disease in the Australian
state of New South Wales (NSW).
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
USA:
Strain injuries flourish in lawless workplaces
US business doesn't like regulation, any regulation, but health
and safety laws are seen as a particularly irritation. That was
why the first legislative act in the first presidential term of
the supremely business-friendly George W Bush was to axe the brand
new ergonomics standard, a measure introduced by his predecessor
to check the USA's strain injuries epidemic - with the result
that strain injuries stubbornly remain the number one workplace
injury.
Risks 201, 9 April 2005
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 2 April 2005
Britain:
Manslaughter bill raises question of guilt
After eight years of delays, the government's publication of a
draft manslaughter bill has been welcomed by campaigners and industry
bodies, although the decision to target companies but not their
directors has caused some consternation.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Also see comments from: Amicus,
TGWU, UCATT, Prospect, UNISON, GMB, CCA , IOSH and George Monbiot
(The Guardian)
USA:
$15 million payout for popcorn lung
A US jury has awarded a $15 million (£8m) settlement to
a former Jasper Popcorn Co. plant maintenance worker and his wife
in their lawsuit against the makers of a butter flavouring used
at the plant. It follows a $20 million payout to another worker
from the plant a year ago. (
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Britain:
Shell guilty over gas leak deaths
Oil giant Shell has admitted three safety charges over the deaths
of two workers in the North Sea two years ago. Sean McCue and
Keith Moncrieff died on the Brent Bravo platform after being overcome
by gas while working on pipes in a leg of the installation.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
USA:
Union blames subcontracting as BP blast kills 15
A Texas City BP refinery explosion has killed 15 workers and injured
100 others, several critically. Allan Jamail, an official with
Pipefitters Union Local 211 in Houston, said the root cause of
the problem was the increasing use of non-union workers who "aren't
as well-trained" and did not have the job security to raise
safety concerns with managers.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Britain:
Small fry face jail, big cheeses let off
Some bosses will serve jail time for serious safety offences -
but it continues to be those running small firms that face a custodial
sentence rather than their generally better resourced and better
renumerated blue chip equivalents, none of whom have ever faced
imprisonment for workplace safety offences.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
China:
Occupational diseases "rampant" admits minister
Black lung disease has claimed 140,000 lives in the Chinese mainland
since the occupational disease reporting system was founded in
1950s, a top government minister has said. Vice-health minister
Jiang Zuojun said a total of 580,000 black lung cases - a crippling
condition caused by inhalation of coal dust - have been reported
in China so far, and there are 440,000 people suffering from black
lung disease at present.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Britain:
You've nothing to fear, safety chief tells firms
Bill Callaghan, chair of the Health and Safety Commission, says
he wants to eradicate what he sees as the "unreasonable"
fear of official HSE health and safety inspectors among businesses.
He said there are 3.7m businesses in the UK and just 1,500 HSE
inspectors.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Britain:
Dismay at delay to Scots corporate killing law
Campaigners have expressed concern at the shock announcement that
the Scottish Executive consultation on corporate killing has been
delayed. Cathy Jamieson, the justice minister, came under fire
from unions and safety campaigners after dropping the commitment
to publish a consultation paper on introducing into Scottish law
an offence of corporate culpable homicide.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Asia:
TUC gets assurance on tsunami "asbestos aid"
The UK government has committed itself to help ensure that asbestos
is not used in materials used in reconstruction work in South
East Asia following the Boxing Day tsunami.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Britain:
TGWU membership pays off
The Transport and General Workers' Union secured over £72
million in accident and injury compensation last year for individual
members. It says this takes the total compensation settlements
won since the union was founded to over £1.65 billion.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Britain:
Union project body maps the route to glory
A trade union college has won a prestigious national health and
safety award. The Association of Colleges (AoC) "College
Champion" health and safety award for 2005 went to the Trade
Union Studies Centre at Lewisham College, which took top honours
for its collaborative "body mapping" project with construction
union UCATT.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Australia:
Safety inspectors given power to arrest bosses
Official health and safety inspectors in the Australian state
of Victoria have been given unprecedented powers to enter workplaces
and arrest employers who breach health and safety rules. Under
the latest change to the law, WorkCover inspectors can apply to
the courts for warrants allowing them to seize and arrest employers.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Britain:
Insurers want insurance from work disease cost
Britain's biggest insurers are in talks with the government over
plans to establish a state-backed fund to pick up the bill for
claims from the next generation of industrial diseases.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Britain:
Waste companies fined £140,000 for fatal failures
Two waste management companies have been fined a total of £140,000
at the Old Bailey after their failure to take basic safety measures
led to the death of a worker.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Britain:
Trusts should prosecute violent patients, say unions
More than a quarter of staff were abused or harassed by patients
in the last year, according to the annual report of the Healthcare
Commission.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
Britain:
Public wants smokefree laws
Health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) says there is
massive public support for a smokefree law in Britain. Its call
for a ban on smoking in workplaces and other public places came
on the first anniversary of Ireland's smoking ban, which has been
judged a "resounding triumph".
Risks 200, 2 April 2005
|
EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news, 19 March 2005
Britain:
Insurers in "shameless" appeal in asbestos case
Aviva and Zurich Insurance are to appeal against a legal decision
which found insurance firms are liable to pay compensation for
pleural plaques caused by exposure to asbestos. Colin Ettinger,
the president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, called
the legal challenge "nothing but a shameless and greedy attempt
by insurers to save yet more money at the expense of injured people."
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
USA:
Wal-Mart seeks 16 hour "sweatshops on wheels"
Public safety advocates and transport unions have called on the
US government to defeat a proposed law being pushed by Wal-Mart
and other retail and short-haul truckers that would extend truckers'
workdays to 16 hours.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
Worker safety advisers continue to be thin on the ground
The Health and Safety Commission has announced the 11 award winners
from the second round of the Workers' Safety Adviser (WSA) Challenge
Fund, The WSA projects cover 707 small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs); official estimates say there are 3.8 million small businesses
in the UK, so the WSA scheme is reaching less than 0.02 per cent
of the total.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
TGWU drives transport working time watch
Transport union TGWU has launched a "working time watch"
to make sure new rules on driving hours for commercial drivers
are properly implemented by employers and give workers sufficient
protection.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
Enforced "binge working" is creating a nation of workaholics
Overwork is forcing workers into unhealthy lifestyles as they
attempt to reconcile long working hours and family responsibilities.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Australia:
Union prosecutes unsafe banks
Unions in Australia are taking their own enforcement action to
make sure bank employers take urgent safety action. In the latest
action, bosses at top Australian bank ANZ was fined Aus$175,000
(£72,000) this month after the Finance Sector Union proved
ANZ had failed to provide a safe workplace.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
Unions launch probe into aircraft air
Pilots' union BALPA is calling for a major investigation into
the risks posed by contaminated air in aircraft.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
China:
Gem workers face deadly dust diseases
Chronic occupational illness and injury has become a common phenomenon
in the prosperous cities of southern China, according to a campaign
group. Since 2000, many cases have surfaced in several Hong Kong-financed
jewellery factories in Guangdong Province, says China Labour Bulletin
(CLB).
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
BP unions help turn around safety performance
For the first time in its history the BP complex at Grangemouth,
Scotland, has achieved 10 million worker hours with up to 3,000
employees working a full calendar year without a single day away
from work as a result of injuries.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Australia:
Racetrack union refuses deadly track hurdles
Melbourne's jumping season fell at the first hurdle when Sandown
racecourse workers scratched the steeplechase from the card on
safety grounds. Australian Workers' Union (AWU) members slapped
a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) on heavy, outdated steeples
that have led to cuts, bruises and back injuries.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
Physios warn "hurried women" to slow down
Thousands of women battling to cope with greater working hours
on top of a hectic home life could be risking poor physical and
mental health, according to a new report from physios' union CSP.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
HSE given more teeth and larger role
New and higher penalties are to be introduced for workplace safety
crimes and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is going to have
a greatly expanded inspection empire absorbing four other agencies,
the government has said.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Mauritius:
"Too much task kill the workers" say protesters
The suspected overwork death of a Chinese migrant labourer at
a Mauritian textile firm has sparked major protests. An estimated
300 Chinese migrant workers employed by Compagnie Mauricienne
du Textile (CMT) took to the streets of the Mauritian capital
Port Louis, waving a banner that read "too much task kill
the workers."
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
HSE forced to be a public safety enforcer
The Health and Safety Commission has been forced to undertake
a radical overhaul of a policy that restricted HSE's role in enforcing
health and safety law in relation to public safety issues. TUC
said it "regrets" the change which it says will divert
resources away from workplace enforcement.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
Carpenter's life priced at £7,500 by court
London construction company Circleworth Ltd has been fined £7,500
after a site worker died in a fall.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
Asbestos sheets killed joiner
A Newbury joiner died after years of prolonged contact with sheets
of asbestos which he would cut "like planks of wood,"
an inquest has been told. Melvin Raymond, 63, worked with the
asbestos sheets without protective gear.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
Britain:
Train drivers back Workers' Memorial Day, 28 April
The leader of train drivers' union ASLEF is backing the Construction
Safety Campaign's Workers' Memorial Day event in London.
Risks 199, 19 March 2005
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 12 March 2005
Britain:
Directors' duties bill dies of apathy
A union-backed bill that would have placed explicit duties on
company directors for health and safety in their companies and
that was debated in the House of Commons last week has failed
after too few MPs turned up to give it any chance of progressing.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Britain:
Ban smoking now but help staff stub it out
The TUC is calling on bosses not to wait until a smoking ban forces
them to banish tobacco, but to act today. It wants companies not
to stigmatise smokers, but to help them by running smoking cessation
classes or offering free or subsidised nicotine replacement therapies.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
USA:
Pig plant watchdog has few teeth and a blind eye
Every day, 30,500 hogs enter a sprawling complex of metal buildings
in Bladen County, North Carolina, at the heart of the US pork
belt. The job of killing, cutting and packaging is performed by
6,000 people at the Smithfield Packing Co. plant, the world's
largest pork slaughterhouse, vigorously anti-union and described
by some as a workplace where people toil until their bodies give
out and they either quit or get fired.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Britain:
TUC's two step on women and work hazards
The TUC wants to know what's happening on women's health and safety
in the workplace and has devised a two step plan.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Canada:
Wal-Mart hushes up worker injuries
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is to pay fines in Canada
totalling Can$500,000 (£215,700) for multiple health and
safety violations. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., part of the viciously
anti-union global chain, pleaded guilty to 25 charges of failing
to notify the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) within
three days of learning of injuries to its workers.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Britain:
ASLEF call for massive investment in rail safety
Train drivers' union ASLEF is calling for a massive investment
in rail safety. Acting general secretary Keith Norman said he
wants to see technology used to allow drivers to "see"
obstructions on the line through cab computer screens.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
USA:
Guide to safety, work schedules, shiftwork and long hours
US government safety research body NIOSH has published an online
guide to the health and safety problems related to demanding work
schedules, shiftwork and long working hours. Issues covered include
overtime and extended work shifts, road related risks in overtired
workers and shift patterns. There's also a useful links section,
although one enormous omission is union-related resources - particularly
remiss given the message on many bumper stickers in the US: "Unions:
the folks that brought you the weekend." Worldwide, struggles
for a shorter working week were central to the formation and development
of unions.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005 •
NIOSH
work schedules and safety webpages
Britain:
HSE not as free with information as hoped
Britain's official health and safety watchdog has refused one
in seven (14 per cent) of the applications it has received for
information since a new freedom of information act took effect
on 1 January. The Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) says
that in the two months after the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
rules were introduced there has only been full disclosure in a
third of cases (34 per cent).
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Australia:
New on-the-spot fines for minor safety breaches
The safety agency covering the Australian Capital Territory (ACT),
the region including capital city Canberra and the home to the
federal government, has announced new spot fines for minor safety
breaches that may have otherwise gone to court.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Britain:
Leaked report suggests new UK hours opt-out challenge
Britain's opt-out from Europe's 48-hour working week ceiling could
be once again under threat. A leaked report suggests the European
Commission is going to press the UK to come into line with European
law.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Britain:
Better risk management equals lower costs
Improved risk management in the workplace is helping to contain
employers' liability insurance costs for many businesses, according
to an Association of British Insurers (ABI) survey of its member
companies. ABI says the total bill paid by UK insurers for all
personal injury claims in 2003 was £8.5 billion.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Global:
"No to liberalisation, yes to safety," say rail workers
A 1,000-strong rally of railway activists voiced its opposition
to attempts to liberalise European railway passenger services,
as part of the ITF's sixth annual International Railway Action
Day on 7 March.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Britain:
Factory produces over 100 asbestos claims
Hundreds of former employees of a south Wales factory are taking
legal action after developing asbestos-related illnesses. More
than 100 people who worked at the Dunlop Semtex factory in Brynmawr
have been awarded compensation, with payouts ranging from £5,000
to £36,000.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Britain:
Plight of asbestos cancer victims "ignored"
People suffering from a cancer caused by asbestos exposure are
being neglected, campaigners say. The British Lung Foundation
(BLF), which is calling for more research and improved access
to compensation, says the asbestos cancer mesothelioma kills 1,800
people a year - more than cervical cancer - but there is no cure
and treatment only relieves the symptoms.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Britain:
Six figure payout for life-ruining fall
Teesside dad Robert Cowley, who suffered years of agony and depression
after falling from a work ladder, has won a six-figure settlement
for his injuries after refusing an original offer of just £18,000.
His employer Irvine Whitlock originally offered a compensation
payment of £18,000, although this was increased to £125,000
in January, with a final, higher but undisclosed settlement reached
last month.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Britain:
Worker loses finger, wins £45,000
A Sheffield man has been paid £45,000 compensation by his
High Speed and Carbide Ltd after an accident at work chopped his
index finger from his dominant left hand.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
Britain:
Tobacco funded group "talks nonsense" on passive smoking
Tobacco industry front group FOREST is "blowing a dense cloud
of poisonous smoke" over the issue of passive smoking, says
health campaign group ASH. FOREST, which receives almost all its
funding from tobacco companies, this week held a press conference
to "challenge the Chief Medical Officer" to prove that
secondhand smoke is a danger to health.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005
|
| LATEST
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 5 March 2005
China:
Mine safety push reaches ministerial level
China's government has elevated to ministry level the body charged
with the task of improving the country's appalling mine safety
record and has tapped a senior official to run it. The new agency
will have more clout, at least on paper, than the State Administration
of Work Safety, the agency it replaces.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
Hopping mad union members attack "kangaroo courts"
Trade union members donned convict outfits this week and chained
themselves together outside Tower Hamlets town hall after council
bosses put two union safety activists before "kangaroo courts".
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Japan:
Unions target unpaid overtime
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) has made the elimination
of unpaid overtime a key pillar in its spring wage negotiations.
The issue of unpaid overtime has risen to prominence because there
has been a rise in work-related accidents and deaths linked to
long working hours.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
UCATT calls for action as the killing goes on
Members of the construction union UCATT have marched down Whitehall
carrying a coffin representing the 300 site workers who have died
since a government-convened construction safety summit in 2001.
Targets for a reduction in site fatalities set at this summit
will not be met, said UCATT.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
New law could deliver safety and justice for workers
Families of workers and members of the public killed or injured
in a work-related incident have called on the government to back
a "directors' duties" safety law. The plea came in a
letter to minister for work Jane Kennedy and to all MPs to urge
them to support the union-backed Health and Safety (Directors'
Duties) Bill at its second reading in the House of Commons on
Friday 4 March.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
Scaffolding firm fined £30,000 following death of worker
A London scaffolding firm is facing a fines and costs bill of
£42,000 after a worker died and another was seriously injured
on a poorly planned job. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
prosecuted Crowe Fabrications Ltd, before the Old Bailey, London,
following an investigation into a fatal incident on 12 July 2002.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
USA/Australia:
Hardie's compensation dealings span continents
Australian asbestos exporter James Hardie is lobbying the US Congress
for cut-price "no fault" legislation in a bid to limit
its US compensation liabilities. The building products company
has hired Washington influence peddling firm Shea and Gardner
to push its powerful Republican contacts to back legislation establishing
a capped $140 billion (£73bn) scheme to eliminate asbestos
lawsuits.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
Multiplex sniper threat on London sites
Work has continued as usual on the Wembley Stadium construction
site despite reports of death threats against crane operators.
Reports in the Australian press say snipers have threatened to
open fire on building sites across the world if Australian company
Multiplex fails to hand over £20 million.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
Nurse gets £144,000 latex allergy payout
A nurse at Bolton Royal Hospital has received £144,000 in
compensation after her allergy to latex gloves went untreated
for years. Despite the allergy developing over nearly 10 years
and regular visits to Bolton Royal Hospital's occupational health
service, at no time did Bernadette Chouchene's employer provide
her with alternative gloves.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
Asbestos dust kills daughter
A widower whose wife died of asbestos disease caused by her exposure
as a little girl has received a £107,500 compensation payout.
When Sylvie Tapley was a child she used to sit on her father's
knee when he returned from the asbestos factory where he worked.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
Government orders another nanotech review
Demands for action on the potential health risks of nanotechnology
have been met with another government review. Science minister
Lord Sainsbury said this would ensure current regulations that
safeguard the environment and people's health remained robust.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
Panic buttons pressed as solution to NHS violence
NHS staff who work on their own in the community are to receive
high-tech protection from violent attacks. Staff in England will
be able to use the Identicom device, which looks like a normal
ID card holder but is fitted with the latest mobile technology.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
Work smoking ban would save thousands of lives a year
Passive smoking kills more than 11,000 a year in the UK - many
more than previously thought, a study has found. The British Medical
Journal study also gives a figure for people dying from second-hand
smoke exposure in the workplace, putting the total at over 600
a year.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
Cancer patients failed by "ignorant" employers
Cancer patients are unnecessarily losing out in the workplace
as a result of a "culture of ignorance" among employers,
a report by charity Cancer Bacup has said.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Britain:
Asbestos public meeting, Rochdale, 16 March 2005
A public meeting on asbestos is to be held in Rochdale on 16 March.
The event, co-organised by the Greater Manchester Hazards Centre
(GMHC) and the Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group
(GMAVSG), will highlight the toxic history of the Turner Brothers
asbestos plant, which killed generations of workers in the town
and which still presents a dangerous environmental threat.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
Australia:
Compensation body profits should benefit workers
The body providing workers' compensation payouts in the Australian
state of Victoria has made a massive profit this year - and this
money should be ploughed back into improving working conditions,
say unions. Trades Hall secretary Leigh Hubbard said the news
"proved that an injured workers' compensation system that
delivers access to common law and decent permanent injury benefits
and provides employers with the second lowest premiums in Australia
can be sustainable."
Risks 197, 5 March 2005
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news, 26 February 2005
Global:
International RSI Awareness Day, 28 February 2005
International RSI Day, the last day of February each year - the
28th or 29th, depending on the year - is when unions and campaigners
highlight the work hazards that cause strain injuries, undertake
workplace activities on strains prevention and press for preventive
action by employers and governments.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005 • International
RSI Awareness Day, 28 February 2005
Britain:
TUC reveals Britain's unpaid overtime scandal
Teachers and lecturers on average do longer hours of unpaid overtime
than any other occupation, according to the TUC's unpaid overtime
league table. The latest figures, based on Labour Force Survey
statistics and published ahead of TUC's 25 February "Work
Your Proper Hours Day," show how the £23 billion of
unpaid overtime worked in the UK last year breaks down between
different occupational groups.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
Global:
All aboard for rail safety
Train drivers' union ASLEF is calling on the travelling public
to sign up to its rail safety charter. The union will be pressing
for support for the charter on the 7 March International Rail
Safety Day, an initiative of the International Transport Workers'
Federation (ITF).
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
Australia:
Tired truckies serve up big McWalkout
Sixty Australian truck drivers delivering burgers to fast food
giant McDonalds have walked out after their employer refused to
discuss anti-fatigue measures.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
Britain:
Builder jailed for assaulting HSE inspector
Local builder Eric Dawson has been given a four month custodial
sentence following an attack on a Health and Safety Executive
(HSE) inspector.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
USA:
Jeep is driving workers to desperation
Shotgun-wielding Myles Meyers killed a fellow Jeep employee at
the company's Toledo North plant and wounded two others before
turning the weapon on himself on 27 January. Lean production expert
Manuel Yang, an instructor at University of Toledo, said that
"workers suffocate under such intensified labour conditions,
and understandably crack up under the stress, go mad, or take
their guns to work, as it happened with Myles Meyers."
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
Britain:
Lack of HSE conviction on director safety crimes
Only 11 company directors have ever been convicted of manslaughter
following a work-related death, according to new research. The
Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) said only five of these
directors were sentenced to imprisonment, another five received
a suspended sentence and one was given a community service order.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
Denmark:
Slowing down and stopping reduces computer strains
Giving workers the freedom to take regular breaks and to have
control over the speed of their work is the remedy to computer-related
strain injuries, a study has found.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
Brazil:
Feeling the strain of Nestlé's "silent massacre"
The Nestlé plant in Araras, near Sao Paolo, is the biggest
Nestlé plant in Brazil and the fourth largest Nestlé
plant in the world, and is blighted by a strain injuries epidemic.
'Silent massacre - the invisible illness at Nestlé Araras',
a new report from the Latin America office of the global foodworkers'
union federation IUF, says the company has "intensified pace
of work, with no compensatory increase in work breaks, has not
surprisingly led to an increase in the number of workers suffering
from repetitive strain injuries (RSI)," and has fired workers
diagnosed with the condition.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
Britain:
Privatising nuclear clean-up risks public safety
Plans to privatise the £48 billion clean-up of UK nuclear
sites could put public safety at risk, according to official memos.
Two expert bodies that advise government ministers - the Nuclear
Safety Advisory Committee (NuSAC) and the Health and Safety Commission
(HSC) - are worried that competition will harm safety.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
USA:
Metalworking fluids linked to breast cancer risk
Women with jobs that involve metalworking fluids may have a higher
risk of developing breast cancer, a preliminary study suggests.
The new study looked at women who spent at least three years working
at one of three large car manufacturing plants in the US.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
USA:
New guide to occupational disease early warnings
The US government's safety research body NIOSH has published an
online guide to early warning systems for occupational diseases.
It says an Occupational Sentinel Health Event (SHE[O]) can fall
into two groups: those diseases or conditions that, by their inherent
nature, are occupationally related, eg. the pneumoconioses (dust
related lung diseases); and conditions such as lung cancer, leukaemia,
peripheral neuropathy and ornithosis, which may or may not be
occupationally related.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
Global:
New ITGLWF resources on dust and fire hazards
The global union federation for garment, textiles and leather
workers' unions worldwide has produced new health and safety guidance
on dust and fire risks in the sector.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
Global:
Take control over repetitive strain injuries
Canada's largest union, CUPE, is calling on members to "exercise
control at work", in a bid to stem an epidemic of repetitive
strain injuries (RSIs).
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
USA:
It's an asbestos disease crisis, stupid
The US government is trying to redfine America's asbestos disease
crisis as a litigation crisis, a top US commentator has charged.
Paul Brodeur, a staff writer at the New Yorker for many years,
says: "Suffice it to say that Bush's attempt to convince
us that this public health crisis should be viewed as a litigation
crisis is a cruel hoax."
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
USA:
Senate passes ban on genetic discrimination
The US Senate has unanimously approved legislation to bar health
insurers and employers from discriminating against people with
a genetic predisposition to disease. The bill, which still needs
to be approved by the House of Representatives before it can become
law, would ban employers from making hiring or firing decisions
based on genetic information.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
Britain:
Workers to get bird flu protection
Drugs to protect London's key workers from bird flu have been
bought to keep vital services running in the event of an outbreak.
Police officers, transport workers and firefighters will be among
those offered the anti-viral injections. London mayor Ken Livingstone
said he had been in close contact with the government over the
purchase, which could be part of a national roll out.
Risks 196, 26 February 2005
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news 195, 19 February 2005
Britain:
Hundreds of safety whistleblowers sacked every year
Hundreds of workers are being fired every year for objecting to
unsafe working conditions, and the law that is meant to protect
them is failing to stop negligent bosses from showing them the door.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Britain:
Dangerous directors continue to evade the law
New research shows 620 people have been killed in the workplace
in the last two years but guilty directors are still evading responsibility.
In the last two years not one director has faced a jail sentence
or disqualification following a health and safety conviction.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
USA:
Wal-Mart sweetheart deal on child labour violations
Wal-mart - the world's largest company and the USA's largest employer
- not only used child labour to do highly hazardous work in its
US stores, it struck a sweetheart deal giving the company fifteen
days advance notice before any investigation of future violations
of federal child labour laws.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Britain:
TUC calls employers to account on 28 April
TUC is urging a record number of union and safety campaigners
to get involved in Workers' Memorial Day 2005. The theme of the
28 April event this year is "employer accountability."
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
USA:
Deadly policies kill thousands each year
Tens of thousands of workers are dying each year in US workplaces,
but the Bush government persists in weakening safety controls,
unions say. In 2003, more than 4.3 million US workers were injured
and 5,559 workers were killed due to job hazards; another 60,000
died due to occupational disease.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Britain:
Prospect sows the seeds of safety
An apple a day is supposed to keep the doctor away, but scientific
and specialists' union Prospect has added a banana and an orange
to the recipe in a bid to improve workplace health and safety.
Three new fruity health and safety posters from the union stress
the importance of workplace health and safety inspections and
health and safety representatives.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Britain:
Asbestos ruling supports pleural plaques payouts
A move by insurers to stop paying out to people diagnosed with
a condition showing asbestos exposure has failed. A High Court
judge ruled thousands of people with pleural plaques - scarring
on the lung lining - were still entitled to compensation.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Sweden:
Study finds work stress can give women diabetes
Women who experience stress and a lack of control over their work
could be at great risk of diabetes, according to Swedish research.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Britain:
Protecting health information and protecting health at work
A new workplace health information code protects personal health
information but shouldn't stop safety reps doing their live-saving
job, according to a new guide.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Europe:
How workers stand to benefit from new chemicals policy
A new guide from Europe's trade union safety think-tank, TUTB,
says European workers stand to benefit enormously from reform
of chemicals safety rules.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Britain:
Minister outlines GP role in rehab
Tomorrow's doctors can play a key role in offering sick and disabled
workers a better future, work and pensions secretary Alan Johnson
has said. He said: "For many people a job can be an important
step on the road to recovery and rehabilitation."
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
China:
Over 200 die in coal mine explosion
The death toll from China's worst mining
disaster in more than 15 years is over 200, with latest estimates
putting the toll at 210 dead. Authorities in the colliery near
the city of Fuxin, in China's north-east, have few hopes that
five other miners still missing are alive.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Russia:
Siberian coal mine explosion kills 21
An explosion that ripped through a mine in the coal-rich Kuzbass
region of Siberia has killed at least 21 workers. Press reports
say it the latest accident to occur in an industry plagued by
dilapidated mines, aging equipment and safety violations.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Britain:
Farmyards are not playgrounds, warns HSE
An eight-strong partnership of key players in the agricultural
industry is taking on the deadly dangers farms can pose to children.
In the ten years from 1993 to 2003, 45 children were killed on
farms and HSE received reports of nearly 400 serious injuries
to children, with many more incidents going unreported.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Sri
Lanka/Australia: MP seeks to stop asbestos tsunami "aid"
An Australian politician has appealed to the country's federal
government to intervene and stop the use of asbestos products
in Sri Lanka's tsunami rebuilding programme.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Britain:
British Sugar fined £400,000 after death
British Sugar has been fined £400,000 for breaching health
and safety rules two years after the death of a woman who was
hit by a mechanical shovel. Lorraine Waspe, 40, from Great Finborough,
near Stowmarket, died at the British Sugar processing plant in
Bury St Edmunds, on 14 February 2003.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
Spain:
Basque accident rates "unacceptable" say unions
Basque unions have protested outside the region's Bilbao government
offices in protest at the "scarce priority" it gives
to workplace health and safety. Around 100 trade union representatives
took part in the demonstration last week during a meeting of management
and solicitors from the Work Security Institute General Council.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news , 12 February 2005
Ireland:
Work deaths shock leads to enforcement rethink
Ireland's safety authorities are to increase health and safety
enforcement after reporting a shock increase this year in workplace
deaths. The move comes less than a year after the high profile
launch of pilot US-style "voluntary protection programmes",
an approach which has been criticised by unions in the US and
elsewhere as a dangerous alternative to health and safety enforcement.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Britain:
TUC says no "free passes" on enforcement
TUC has reiterated its concern that a government plan to reel
in red tape must not result in it going soft on workplace safety.
A new TUC briefing, 'Reducing administrative burdens: effective
inspection and enforcement' is critical of the business lobby
for overplaying potential burdens while downplaying the benefits
of regulation, with asbestos and working time regulations given
as clear examples.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Europe:
EC drops "disastrous" safety enforcement plan
A controversial plan that could have stopped national enforcement
agencies enforcing safety laws for some foreign companies based
on their turf is to be revised by the European Commission. The
move follows criticism of what TUC described as a "disastrous"
proposal in the draft 'Directive on Services in the Internal market'
which would have meant the UK safety authorities would not be
allowed to inspect, investigate, impose enforcement notices or
lay criminal charges against any non-permanent, non-UK European
company or individual for any breaches of health and safety law.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Britain:
Migrants face forced labour in the UK
Migrant workers in the UK, including those with the right to work
here, are subject to such levels of exploitation and control that
they meet the international legal definition of "forced labour,"
according to an independent report published by the TUC. 'Forced
labour and migration to the UK' reveals abuse, including very
long hours, pay below the minimum wage and dangerous working conditions.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
South
Africa: Official investigation into manganese poisoning
An official investigation is to be launched into reports that
workers at a Samancor Manganese plant in South Africa are suffering
and dying from manganese poisoning.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Britain:
Union welcomes 10 year ban for shop harasser
Retail union Usdaw has welcomed an Anti Social Behaviour Order
(ASBO) banning a Newcastle man from verbally intimidating shop
staff for 10 years.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Global:
Alarm at piracy deaths increase
There has been a sharp increase in the number of seafarers falling
victim to piracy and armed attacks on merchant ships. The International
Maritime Bureau's (IMB) annual piracy report for 2004 reports
that pirates preying on shipping were more violent than ever last
year and murdered a total of 30 crew members, compared with 21
in 2003.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Britain:
Honda staff blast sickness policy
Workers at the Honda factory in Swindon have protested about a
policy to send home employees who can only perform restricted
duties. Their union Amicus says many of the workers' GPs will
not sign them off as unfit for work, which means they receive
no sick pay and are subject to the firm's disciplinary process
for unauthorised absence.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Global:
Smoke-free laws "save lives"
There is powerful evidence that an outright ban on public smoking
would save lives, doctors' leaders from across the world say.
A report by the British Medical Association's Tobacco Control
Resource Centre describes the success of anti-smoking laws in
other countries.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Britain:
Wolves strike threat over sick pay cuts
City council staff in Wolverhampton may strike over proposals
to dock their sick pay for the first three days they are off work.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
USA:
Shipyard workers face manganese poisoning tests
As many as 10,000 current and retired shipyard welders who repaired
submarines and other navy vessels may have been affected by welding
fume poisoning, a Pearl Harbor trade union has warned
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Britain:
Government fleshes out incapacity scheme
The government has spelled out the radical back to work help it
says will be extended to people who have been on incapacity benefit
(IB) for up to three years. Work and pensions secretary Alan Johnson
said the successful Pathways to Work pilots, which include more
frequent mandatory interviews and which have previously focused
solely on new claimants, will be extended to those who have been
on the benefit for a long period of time.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
USA:
Union guide to no smoking law policies
In the US, states including California, Connecticut, Delaware,
Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island have passed laws
that ban smoking in all indoor workplaces, including private offices,
taxis, restaurants and bars. Massachusetts AFL-CIO, the union
federation covering the state, has drafted a union guide to bargaining
over the new Massachusetts Smoke-Free Worksites Law.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Britain:
It is unsafe to employ racists, tribunal rules
A bus driver was lawfully sacked when he was dismissed for being
a member of the far-right British National Party, an employment
tribunal has ruled. It found his employer was justified in firing
Arthur Redfearn on health and safety grounds.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Britain:
Companies fined £95,000 following crypt death
The death of a 22-year-old Romanian construction worker on a central
London construction site has resulted in fines for the companies
responsible for his death. Three defendants received penalties
totalling £95,000, plus costs of £60,000, at Southwark
Crown Court, London.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
USA:
Bush wipes out worker safety training
President Bush's fiscal year 2006 budget proposal has called for
the complete elimination of the Occupational Health and Safety
Agency's (OSHA) worker training programme. The $10.2 million (£5.5m)
budget line, which finances hands-on training for workers about
their rights and the hazards they face, survived both the Reagan
and Bush Snr administrations.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Britain:
Boss faces jail for assault on HSE inspector
A company director faces jail after he was found guilty of repeatedly
punching a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector. Self-employed
Eric Dawson, 59, became angry when Martin Smith visited his site
in Hartlepool in 2003 to tell him some scaffolding was unsafe.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
Global:
Union welcomes containership safety move
Ship officers' union NUMAST has welcomed UK government moves to
press for reductions in accidents to seafarers and dock workers
when undertaking lashing work on containerships. A paper submitted
by the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency to the ship owners'
organisation IMO (International Maritime Organisation) warns that
the safety of personnel is being ignored in the design and layout
of lashing equipment.
Risks 194, 12 February 2005
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news, 5 February 2005
Britain:
New "healthcheck" for the printing industry
Print union Amicus-GPM has received government backing for a new
internet-based "healthcheck" for printing companies.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Britain:
Cautious welcome for incapacity benefit proposals
The TUC has given a cautious welcome to the government's "sensible"
incapacity benefit proposals, announced this week in the Department
of Work and Pensions' five year plan.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Britain:
New scheme will provide firms free advice
A ground-breaking £20 million pilot scheme will give free
health and safety advice to smaller businesses, the government
has announced. From 2006 Workplace Help Direct will give small
and medium size enterprises (SMEs) free expert advice for the
first time as well as offering support on preventing work-related
ill health and getting people back to work.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Britain:
Work illness hits half UK staff
More than the half workforce believe they suffer ill health due
to work, a study suggests. More than 8 in 10 people felt unable
to cope with the demands placed upon them to the point that it
harmed their health at least some of the time.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Britain:
Businesses alerted to bogus mailshots
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging businesses across
Britain to turn in a firm calling itself the "Health and
Safety Registration Enforcement Division". HSE has received
complaints from businesses who have received requests for payment
of £199 for registration if "compliant" or £249
if "non-compliant."
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Britain:
HSC's enforcement talk is "misleading" says CCA
Official Health and Safety Commission documents spelling out when
it will take enforcement action under-play the range of circumstances
in which the safety watchdog should intervene. In a letter to
HSC, the Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) says HSC documents
are "misleading and needs amending."
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Europe:
Workplace passive smoking risks confirmed
A study has confirmed that passive smoking is a cancer and lung
disease risk, with the problem possibly worse in those exposed
at work.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Japan:
Mondays cause bad blood pressure
The stress of returning to work on a Monday morning can trigger
a dangerous increase in blood pressure, according to a study in
Japan. Volunteers who stayed asleep did not experience an increase,
which suggests work-related stress is most likely to blame.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Britain:
Two firefighters die in tower block blaze
Two firefighters have died trying to rescue a woman from a blaze.
Michael Millar, 26, and Jeff Wornham, 28, died in the tower block
fire in Stevenage.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
USA:
New US carcinogens list
Viruses and x-rays are noteworthy additions to the official US
list of known or suspected cancer-causing agents. The list, issued
every two years by the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP), also
adds chemicals used in textile dyes, paints and inks.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Australia:
Killer companies attack safety laws
Australian mineworkers' union CFMEU has warned of a significant
industrial backlash in the nation's coal mining industry as two
of the biggest coal producers in Australia, Xstrata and Centennial
Coal - both convicted safety criminals - attempt to overturn criminal
provisions in occupational health and safety laws.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Canada:
Unions launch work cancer campaign
Unions in Canada are demanding that action is taken to tackle
to escalating toll of work-related cancers. The Canadian Labour
Congress (CLC) says its new national campaign will help workers
learn about exposure to cancer-causing materials on the job and
spells out how to build a campaign to make their workplace and
their communities safer.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Global:
Hardie's world of asbestos victims
James Hardie Industries is under pressure to extend its $1.5 billion
(£0.62bn) Australian compensation deal to thousands of asbestos
victims in Asia and the Pacific.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Global:
Unions agree global pact with Rhodia
A global pact between unions and French specialty chemicals producer
Rhodia will underpin safety and employment conditions in the company's
operations worldwide.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
South
Africa: Union blames contractors for Sasol explosions
A South African union has placed the blame for a second explosion
in a week and the sixth in six months squarely on the chemical
firm Sasol's practice of using contract maintenance workers supplied
by labour brokers.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005
Ukraine:
Chernobyl hunger strike in third week
A group of 11 workers who took part in the clean up of the 1986
Chernobyl nuclear accident have been on hunger strike for over
two weeks, demanding higher compensation for the radiation damage
to their health.
Risks 192, 29 January 2005
Britain:
MPs debate directors' safety duties
Labour MP Stephen Hepburn has continued his campaign for tougher
laws to prevent workplace death and injury by placing the issue
centrestage in a House of Commons debate. He urged health and
safety minister Jane Kennedy to listen to calls for legally binding
health and safety duties on company directors.
Risks 192, 29 January 2005 •
Hazards
deadly business webpages
Canada:
Workers face fines for minor safety offences
Workers in Ontario found violating provincial health and safety
rules will be slapped with tickets of up to $300 (£129),
the government of the Canadian province has announced.
Risks 192, 29 January 2005
Global:
International trade agreements can hurt you
The US-based Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network (MHSSN)
has released two reports on the failure of the US-Canada-Mexico
NAFTA free trade treaty to protect Mexican workers' health and
safety, and on what is needed to ensure international trade and
investment treaties include protection of working conditions.
Another report from the group describes its safety work in Central
America.
Risks 192, 29 January 2005
Britain:
Firing on health grounds an expensive mistake
Employers who fire workers on health grounds are being hit by
large penalties at employment tribunals.
Risks 192, 29 January 2005
USA:
Safety henhouses overstaffed with foxes
A man with no safety experience but who does have a record as
a lobbyist for now banned "health" products and for
the Republican Party has been given the top US workplace safety
job by President Bush.
Risks 192, 29 January 2005
Britain:
Widower loses damages for wife's asbestos death
A former shipyard worker whose wife died from an asbestos cancer
has been stripped of his £82,000 compensation payout. James
Maguire's wife Teresa, 67, contracted mesothelioma through secondary
exposure to asbestos dust on his work clothes.
Risks 192, 29 January 2005 •
Hazards
asbestos webpages
USA:
Car crashes on the way home linked to excessive shifts
Grossly excessive work shifts could leave workers at twice the
risk of a car crash, US government-backed research has shown.
It found first year doctors in training who work shifts of longer
than 24 hours are more than twice as likely to have a car crash
leaving the hospital and five times as likely to have a "near
miss" incident on the road as medical interns who work shorter
shifts.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
Spain:
Unions win new controls over subcontractors
A six year union campaign in Spain has won a law to control construction
industry subcontracting. Spanish building union FECOMA spearheaded
the six-year drive, which included two general strikes in the
industry.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
Britain:
Amicus says anti-union equals anti-safety
The union Amicus has called for the government to act against
companies using anti-union tactics and intimidation. It warns
that companies are using heavy-handed techniques to deny workers
a right to the safety and employment protection provided by a
union.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
USA:
BP fined over S1.4m for safety violations
UK multinational BP has been hit by fines of $1.42m (£763,000)
for safety violations on its Prudhoe Bay oilfield in Alaska. In
January 2002, BP has been fined a then record £1 million
for safety breaches at its Grangemouth plant in the UK.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005 •
Hazards guide to BP's
recent safety record
Britain:
RMT fury at use of anti-union laws in safety dispute
Rail union RMT has reacted with fury to the use of anti-union
laws by rail operator Midland Mainline to block industrial action
in a dispute over the safe operation of multiple-unit trains.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
USA:
Beryllium health scandal hits home
US government safety watchdog OSHA, long criticised for downplaying
the dangers of the highly dangerous metal beryllium, has discovered
that several of its own employees have been affected by exposure
to the deadly metal.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
Global:
Bad jobs make for bad health
Poor mental and physical health have an "immensely strong
relationship" to poor job satisfaction, a new study has concluded.
It concludes: "The relationships are particularly impressive
for aspects of mental health, specifically burnout, lowered self-esteem,
anxiety, and depression, where it can now be confirmed that dissatisfaction
at work can be hazardous to an employee's mental health and wellbeing."
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
South
Korea: Migrants face dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs
Foreign workers in South Korea are being employed in the most
dangerous jobs and are facing an increasing risk of ill-health
and injury as a result. Concern was heightened as the labour ministry
launched a probe into reports that eight female Thai workers had
been severely affected by exposure to toxic chemicals at a sweatshop,
with some hospitalised.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
Britain:
Worker gets £50,000 for lost thumb
A Sheffield steelworker has been awarded £50,000 compensation
after his thumb was sliced off in a razor-blade making machine.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
Britain:
Hairdresser killed by asbestos in old driers
A former hairdresser died as a result of years of exposure to
asbestos in old hood-style hair-driers. Janet Watson, 59, contracted
the asbestos cancer mesothelioma through exposure to dust produced
as asbestos linings in the equipment crumbled with time.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
Egypt:
Workers fight employer and asbestos disease
Ninety employees, many suffering from debilitating asbestos disease,
have been laid off by Aura-Misr, an Egyptian asbestos company.
The sick workers say a month's supply of basic medicine, that
allows them to continue breathing properly, costs about 70 per
cent of a worker's salary.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
Europe:
Commission treads cautious chemicals path
The European Commission says it is attempting to find a "balanced
solution" to address the controversy raging about its chemical
safety proposals. The European Commission proposal for REACH -
Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals - is currently
under examination by the European Parliament (EP).
Risks 191, 22 January 2005
EARLIER
STORIES
|
|
 |
|
|
