|
|
 |
|
|
| LATEST
NEWS
|
Hazards news, 24 December 2004
Global:
Working conditions and labour rights around the world
'Behind the label: Working conditions and labour rights in export
processing zones', a new report from global union federation ICFTU,
looks at the impact of these deregulated industrial zones on workers'
rights.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
Britain:
Sick pay runs out for blast injured workers
Workers from the Stockline factory in Glasgow are facing an anxious
Christmas after their sick pay entitlement ran out, seven months
after surviving an explosion which killed nine colleagues.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
Australia:
Campaigners secure James Hardie asbestos agreement
Unions and campaigners in Australia have signed a deal with former
asbestos products manufacturer James Hardie for what is believed
to be the largest personal injury settlement in Australia's history.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
Britain:
More delays for workplace death law
Plans to make it easier to prosecute companies following fatal
accidents have suffered a further setback, with the Home Office
now admitting draft legislation might not be published until shortly
before next spring's expected general election.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
Canada:
Unions say don't toy with workers' rights
Canadians support the right of working people to earn a decent
wage and work in conditions that are safe, healthy and free from
discrimination, says Canada's national union federation CLC -
but adds that not all retailers seem to think the same way.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
Britain:
Bosses say they want to help the sick back to work
Most employers say they take measures to help sick workers reintegrate
to the workplace, according to a new report published by DWP.
Almost all employers interviewed allowed employees to return to
work on reduced hours to ease their return, gradually building
up the number of hours worked over time.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
France:
Revulsion at gruesome nurse murders
The macabre double murder of a nurse and auxiliary nurse at a
mental hospital in Pau in the French Pyrenees last weekend has
caused a wave of revulsion throughout France and provoked questions
about the under-funding of psychiatric medicine. Repeated calls
for improved security on psychiatric units have been ignored,
according to health unions.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
Britain:
Fines for "serious" and fatal failures
Two companies have been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling
£100,000 in the Central Criminal Court, London after pleading
guilty to what were described as "serious failures"
to comply with safety duties, leading to a worker's death.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
Japan:
Five workers may have bird flu virus
Five workers in Japan may have been infected with the bird flu
virus after an outbreak among chickens in February, but government
officials says there is no risk they will develop symptoms and
no chance of more infections.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
Britain:
Scotland pushes forward with smoking ban
A new Bill aims to improve Scotland's health record by banning
smoking in enclosed public places in order to protect people from
the effects of second hand smoke, said Scottish health minister
Andy Kerr.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
Global:
Media death toll hits a record 120
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has confirmed
that 2004 has turned into the worst year on record for the killing
of journalists and media staff as two new violent deaths were
recorded this week in Africa and Asia, bringing the death toll
to 120 in the year so far.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
South
Africa: NUM excluded from mine deaths probe
Leaders from South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
say they have been excluded from the investigation into the deaths
of seven miners at a mine in Brits. The mineworkers were killed
in an underground accident at the Hernic Ferrochrome mine.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
USA:
Race and class discrimination rife in workplace safety
African-Americans with work-related back injuries have less money
spent on their medical care, are granted less time off and receive
less compensation for their injuries than Caucasians, according
to a Saint Louis University study. Those of lower socioeconomic
status also received less costly medical care and smaller financial
settlements for their injuries than those who were more educated
and had higher incomes, although the discrepancy was nowhere near
as marked.
Risks 188, 24 December 2004
|
| EARLIER
NEWS
|
Hazards news, 18 December 2004
Global:
Union blueprint for worldwide safe work
Unions from across the globe have created a blueprint for workplace
health and safety. Union leaders attending the congress of the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in Japan
agreed a 26-point action programme for a "21st century approach
to occupational health and safety for trade unions".
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain:
TUC search for the modern day Scrooge The TUC has launched
a campaign to find the modern Ebenezer Scrooge, Christmas' meanest
boss. It wants to track down modern day employers who couldn't
give a Dickens for working conditions.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
USA:
Workers pay for failing compensation system
The US workers' compensation system is dramatically failing occupational
disease victims. New research shows the employer insurance based
system, which is supposed to cover income and medicals costs of
workers suffering work-related injuries or ill-health, is instead
shifting the costs onto employees and their families.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain:
Posties deliver Christmas letter box message
Poorly designed letter boxes are giving long-suffering postmen
and women bad backs, says postal union CWU.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Global:
US turns up heat in Hardie scandal
The powerful US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has joined
the growing pack of watchdogs in the hunt to bring actions against
James Hardie Industries and its executives and directors.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain:
Amicus speaks up for asbestos victims
Amicus has condemned insurers who it says are attempting to shirk
their responsibility to compensate up to 75 per cent of asbestos
claims. The union says insurers are this week challenging in the
High Court the right of workers to claim compensation for pleural
plaques, a calcification of the lungs that can be caused by exposure
to asbestos.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Europe:
Health at work is an equality issue
Cutting health risks and tackling stress at work are equality
issues, a European conference of service sector unions has heard.
Delegates to the UNI-Europa women's Conference in Brussels heard
a gender specific approach to health and safety at work is needed
to avoid "gender specific distortions in occupational health
and safety."
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain:
Scaffolding collapse sparks anger
Workers at a Nottinghamshire power station staged a walk out last
week after a colleague was badly injured when scaffolding collapsed.
Union officials said the scaffolding at Cottam power station near
Retford was installed by Portuguese workers and added they were
concerned the workers had not been trained up to UK standards.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Australia:
New law ups safety penalties and reps' rights
The Australian state of Victoria has introduced a new safety law
that creates the new offence of "exposing a person to risk
of serious injury or death" with a possible jail term of
up to five years. Another provision gives union occupational health
and safety representatives the right to make surprise inspections
of even non-unionised work sites.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain:
Code warning for employers on health information
Employers could be breaking the law if they fail to respect workers'
privacy on health issues. New guidance on obtaining and handling
information about workers' health published by the Information
Commissioner's Office puts strict limits on the health information
that can be obtained and says in most instances alcohol, drug
and genetic testing are an unwarranted intrusion.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain:
Putting the dead in deadlines
Setting tight work deadlines can raise the risk of a heart attack
six-fold, researchers have found. The Karolinska Institute team
found high demands, competition and conflict in the workplace
were linked to heart attack risk.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Global:
Men warned of laptop health risk
Experts are urging males to keep their laptops off their laps
because they could damage their fertility. Laptops, which reach
high internal operating temperatures, can heat up the scrotum,
which could affect the quality and quantity of men's sperm, say
the researchers, writing in the journal Human Reproduction.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain:
Hospital knife attacker gets life
A murderer has been jailed for life for two knife attacks committed
at a hospital while he was out on licence from prison. Lord Drummond
Young, sentencing the man for attempted murde, said: "Any
assault in hospital premises, whether on patients or staff, must
attract a very severe sentence."
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain:
MPs call for more site inspection and enforcement
An MPs' committee has said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
should do more to reduce the "unacceptable" toll of
construction site injuries. The Commons public accounts committee
called for higher penalties and for HSE to change its inspection
regime to include more unannounced visits - to investigate whether
these reveal more serious breaches of health and safety than notified
visits.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain:
Action call on workplace deaths
A £20,000 fine after the death of a 20-year-old worker in
a forklift truck accident has led to calls for tougher penalties.
The HSE prosecution of EW Pepper Ltd related to the death of Hungarian
employee Ezther Nagy who died after her forklift truck overturned.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain:
Plans to tackle bird flu outbreak
The UK is drawing up plans to deal with a possible outbreak of
bird flu. The Department of Health has confirmed proposals under
consideration include providing anti-viral drugs to key health
workers and emergency services.
Risks 187, 18 December 2004
Britain: Safety reps communicating
for themselves
BT safety reps in the north west have taken a great leap for union
kind. NW BT unions' health and safety coordinators' committee
has boldly gone into cyberspace. Its new website - www.unionsafety.co.uk
- brings together news and resources that would be useful to safety
reps whatever their industry. The CWU and Connect collaboration
is a great example of how unions at a local level can use technology
to create better, more effective networks. It includes details
of latest national and local union safety business and will even
provide email updates.
NW BT union health
and safety
|
|
EARLIER NEWS
|
Hazards news, 11 December 2004.
Britain:
February 25 is 'work your proper hours' day in 2005
Here's one for your diary. Friday, February 25 is the day in 2005
when the TUC estimates that people who do unpaid overtime will
stop working for free and start to get paid.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
USA:
Trench warfare is killing workers
Dozens of labourers die in the United States every year while
working in trenches on construction sites, most unvisited under
a threadbare system of official safety inspection. Industry experts
say the reason for the carnage is simple: too many employers,
especially owners of small construction companies, ignore safety
rules.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Britain:
"Ear-splitting" music is deafening bar and club workers
The UK's 568,000 bar, pub and club workers are being subjected
to music so loud that they could lose or permanently damage their
hearing, according to a report published by deaf people's advocacy
charity RNID and the TUC.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Finland:
Older workers helped to stay on the job
Finland, facing the possibility of an ageing workforce and labour
shortages, has taken action to ensure older workers maintain their
"work ability". Under a pilot scheme devised by the
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH), some workers
in the town of Tervasaari have since 2000 been given extra training,
moved to more appropriate jobs and treated as the wise elders
of the company.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004 •
FIOH
ageing and work webpages
Britain:
Latex allergy nurse gets £1/3 million payout
Nurse Alison Dugmore, who developed potentially life-threatening
occupational asthma caused by latex exposure, is to finally receive
compensation totalling £1/3 million.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Global:
Benzene limit leaves workers at risk
Exposure to levels of benzene below that allowable in UK workplaces
may pose a health risk, suggests new research. The study has shown
that workers who inhaled less than one part per million (1ppm)
had fewer white blood cells than those who were not exposed.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Britain:
Haulage boss jailed after fatal crash
A haulage boss who taught truckers how to cheat vehicle logs so
they could travel "as far and as fast as they wanted"
was given a seven year jail term this week after three men died
when one of his drivers fell asleep at the wheel. Drivers at Keymark
Services - where Melvyn Spree was director - regularly falsified
records so that it would appear that they were complying with
the law when they were actually working grossly excessive hours.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Britain:
Tube workers ballot for action to head off dangerous hours
The biggest union on London Underground (LUL) is to ballot more
than 330 signallers and line controllers for strike action. The
move comes after six months of negotiations failed to resolve
a four year dispute over a pay deal the company wants to link
to job cuts, longer shifts and fewer breaks.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
USA:
Lead exposure link to cataracts
Accumulated lead exposure may increase the risk of developing
a cataract, research suggests. The study is published in the Journal
of the American Medical Association "suggests that reduction
of lead exposure could help decrease the global burden of cataract."
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Britain:
Workers can't be victims of the war on red tape
A government plan to reel in red tape must not remove safety protections,
campaigners have warned. They were responding after Gordon Brown
announced "the regulatory focus should be on advice not inspection."
Risks
186, 11 December 2004
Australia:
Workers die in official bid to rub out unions
A scathing official report into mine safety in West Australia
has exposed the human cost of a drive by Australia's federal government
to reduce union power by introducing individual contracts as an
alternative to collective bargaining. The five month Ritter Inquiry,
prompted by a spate of workplace deaths, found mining multinational
BHP Billiton's aggressive use of individual contracts had compromised
workplace safety.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Britain:
Chancellor announces new work rehab measures
The government is to introduce a range of measures which could
help sick workers remain in their jobs or that could assist workers
on incapacity benefit back into work.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Britain:
Government backs GP-based work health advisers
The government has announced a new scheme to place employment
advisers in GPs surgeries.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Britain:
Record sickness among demoralised civil servants
Stress and anxiety is causing record numbers of civil servants
at the Department for Work and Pensions to go sick, a National
Audit Office report has found. The highest rates of sickness were
among staff who had the lowest paid, most stressful or repetitive
jobs, often working in call centres, on benefit office counters
or recording data; the lowest rates were among the top executives.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Britain:
New bill hopes to make safety a boardroom priority
Senior Labour backbenchers and former ministers are backing a
private member's bill which would see company directors held to
account for negligent health and safety practices that cause injuries
or fatalities.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Europe:
Promoting better jobs for workers with disabilities
The European Agency for Health and Safety at Work has produced
a factsheet on the workplace safety of people with disabilities.
It looks at a key area concerning the employment of workers with
disabilities - how to ensure safety and health, while avoiding
discrimination.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Britain:
Language barriers mean new dangers at work
Concern that migrant workers could be missing out on crucial health
and safety training because their employers are not providing
safety material in any language other than English has prompted
the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the TUC to publish a
new safety guide translated into 19 different languages.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Britain:
TUC believes in a xmas party sanity clause
As the office party season approaches the TUC has joined forces
with accident prevention group RoSPA to wish for a safe Christmas.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
Global:
Cabin crew want recognition of safety role
Airline cabin crews worldwide are calling for a standard certificate
that gives proper recognition of the vital safety and security
skills their jobs demand. On 7 December the international trade
union federation ITF launched the latest phase of its campaign
for recognition, respect and proof of ability.
Risks 186, 11 December 2004
|
| EARLIER
NEWS
|
Hazards news, 4 December 2004.
Global:
Clouds of injustice hang over Bhopal
The failure of the Indian government and Union Carbide to tackle
the after-effects of the Bhopal disaster has left a legacy of
pollution and inadequate medical care for survivors, according
to an Amnesty International report.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Britain:
Put directors in the dock over workplace casualties
Unions TGWU and UCATT are promoting a private member's bill that
would hold individual directors to account for workplace casualties.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004 •
How the Health and Safety (Directors' Duties) Bill would look
[pdf]
Europe:
Unions call for action on paint solvent hazards
Construction unions from across Europe have called for urgent
action to protect workers from brain damage and other hazards
from solvent based paints. A conference organised by the Danish
Painters' Union brought together top expert and representatives
of trade unions from 10 European countries, the Nordic Federation
of Building and Wood Workers (NFBWW) and the European Federation
of Building and Wood Workers (EFBWW).
Risks 185, 4 December 2004 •
"Solvents do your brains in" [pdf]
Britain:
Mapping out solutions to workplace slips and trips
Retail union Usdaw is urging its safety reps to use risk maps
to tackle the problem of workplace slips and trips, which account
for a third of all reported major injuries.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004 •
Risk mapping for slips and trips guide [pdf]
China:
Global bid to improve deadly mines
A global deal aimed at improving the health and safety of China's
mining industry was signed this week in Beijing. The agreement,
which involves global union federation ICEM, comes in the week
that China suffered its worst coal mine disaster in recent history,
with 166 confirmed dead.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Britain:
STUC dismay as Stockline injured face xmas hardship
The decision by Stockline to end enhanced sick pay to those injured
in the Maryhill explosion in May has dismayed unions.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Canada:
Safe needles laws spread further
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Canada is applauding
a commitment from the provincial government in Manitoba to convert
from conventional to safety-engineered medical sharps devices.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Britain:
Call for global accountability for UK firms
British companies whose serious negligence causes deaths abroad
will not be brought to account under the provisions of a draft
manslaughter bill due to be published this month.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Canada:
Work environment linked to rheumatism job loss
A change in working conditions may help adults with rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) stay in work, preliminary research suggests. The
survey of nearly 600 adults with the condition found that certain
work-related factors, such as whether workers received ergonomic
adjustments to their workstations or had a difficult commute to
work, affected their ability to stay on the job.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Britain:
Back to work is working says minister
Twice as many people on incapacity benefit return to work when
they have access to the government's pilot "Pathways to Work"
schemes, according to a new report.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
USA:
Job exposure to pesticide linked to lung cancer
Workers exposed to the pesticide chlorpyrifos may have an elevated
risk of lung cancer, according to a report from US government
researchers.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Britain:
Staff monitoring is on the increase
Office workers could face an explosion in workplace monitoring,
scrutiny and micro-management, according to a new report. Supply
chain technology developed for monitoring goods is now being applied
to individuals instead of products, warns research from the London
School of Economics (LSE).
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Australia:
"Abominable" banker earns union wrath
Commonwealth Bank CEO David Murray has launched a blistering attack
on New South Wales' health and safety regime, describing proposed
jail sentences as "absolutely abominable." He added
that the existing system that allows successful prosecutors to
recoup costs in safety cases was "corrupt," charges
that attracted strong condemnation from unions.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Britain:
Zoo fined after worker is killed by elephant
The mother of a zoo worker who died after he was struck by an
elephant said she was "very pleased" after his employer
was fined £25,000.
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Canada:
Women's work worse than records show
Injury statistics do not provide a complete picture of the occupational
hazards experienced by women in the workplace, according to a
report in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
• Institute
for Work and Health newsletter
• PM Smith and CA Mustard. Examining the associations
between physical work demands and work injury rates between men
and women in Ontario, 1990-2000, Occupational and Environmental
Medicine, volume 61, pages 750-756, 2004 [abstract]
• Hazards webpages
on women's work
Risks 185, 4 December 2004
Earlier
stories
|
|
 |
|
|
