31 July 2004

Britain
HSC hands-off safety plan in total disarray
Union concerns about the government's hands-off, business-friendly workplace safety plans have been vindicated after all the key points of the new Health and Safety Commission safety strategy were rubbished by a top all-party committee.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

Britain
Unions say the government must act now
Unions say the government must act now to put Britain's faltering safety system back on track, and improve safety enforcement and introduce new rights for union safety reps.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

Britain
TUC calls for action as work deaths rise
Rising numbers of workplace deaths are a clear indication that more resources must be put into safety enforcement, says TUC.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

Britain
Laws must be revamped for nanotech risks
The TUC is backing a call in a government-commissioned report for the regulation of the booming nanotechnology industry, particularly in the area of workers' safety.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

Britain
Boss jailed over apprentice death
Managing director Alan Mark has been jailed for 12 months after 21-year-old apprentice Ben Pickham was killed in a boatyard explosion.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

Britain
Deaths law delayed because of ministers' court fears
Plans to introduce a corporate manslaughter law have been repeatedly delayed because government ministers fear they could be held personally liable for deaths.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

Britain
Unions hail workers' rights boost
Unions say they have won a "significant shift" in Labour policy on workers' rights and holidays.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

Britain
Government's top doc presses for work smoking ban
The government's Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, has published powerful new evidence on the case for smokefree workplaces. He says creating smokefree workplaces in the UK would bring a net benefit to society of between £2.3 and £2.7 billion a year and would be good for business.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

Australia
First test of work death law
The tragic death of a union member will provide an early test of Australia's first industrial manslaughter law.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

China/Hong Kong
Protest over battery factory poisonings
A group of 40 labour and human rights protesters have been involved in scuffles with security guards after storming the Hong Kong headquarters of GP Batteries. The groups joined forces to press Gold Peak Industries - the owner of GP Batteries - to pay medical fees and other compensation to workers they say were poisoned by cadmium at two factories.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

Greece
Workers in peril at Athens sites
The human cost of the breakneck race to complete Athen's Olympic facilities continues to rise. Greek Olympic Committee President Lampis Nikolaou admitted to BBC Radio's Fact the Facts programme that the death toll among the multinational workforce in Athens was far greater than in any other city to have recently hosted the games.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

South Africa
Sick worker challenges compensation law
An occupational disease compensation case in South Africa is seeking to establish that companies must do more than the legal minimum under safety law to protect their staff from ill-health.
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

USA
Surge in asbestos deaths
The use of asbestos may be declining in the United States, but asbestos related deaths are on the rise and will continue to rise for at least the next decade, according to a new study from the US government's Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Risks 167, 31 July 2004

24 July 2004

Britain
Quickie lunches are dangerous, says TUC
Workers' health and productivity is being jeopardised as lunch breaks get squeezed so they are now the shortest ever.
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

Britain
Law needs to recognise cost of bullying
Law Lords have quashed a ruling which increased compensation for people forced out of their jobs by bullying. UNISON said the Lords "have missed an opportunity to make the law on unfair dismissal a lot fairer."
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

Britain
Hours breakthrough for tug workers
Tug workers will have safer hours with more humane rest periods under an agreement struck by transport union TGWU.
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

Britain
Carnaud Metal Box guilty of another death
The widow of a man electrocuted at a Nottinghamshire metal working plant has won an admission from his employer that it was responsible for his death - but only after an inquest, a safety trial and a civil compensation case. In another case, the company was last month fined £17,000 for safety offences related to the deaths of two workers in a fireball.
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

Britain
More to benefit from vibration payouts
More people harmed by vibration exposure at work will be eligible for government compensation payouts under new rules. The changes mean workers experiencing severe sensorineural symptoms - altered sensations in the fingers such as tingling or numbness - will now be able to claim.
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

Britain
Corporate manslaughter law slips again
The government now says the long overdue corporate manslaughter law, a manifesto promise since 1997, will not appear until late this year. Speaking in a 14 July House of Commons debate on construction safety, minister for work Jane Kennedy MP said: "the aim is to have that published towards the end of this year ­ perhaps the back end of autumn."
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

Britain
Workplace killers - best laws briefing
The lacklustre UK government proposals on corporate manslaughter - which do not include measures to bring about jail terms for dangerous employers - can now be compared to better laws elsewhere. The Centre for Corporate Accountability has prepared a web briefing laws already in operation in Canada and in Australia's capital territory.
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

Australia
Unions pursue asbestos firm worldwide
A company that skipped Australia for the Netherlands in a suspected bid to evade tens of thousands of asbestos compensation claims is the target of a global union campaign. Australian national union federation ACTU has rejected a proposal by the board of the James Hardie company for a statutory scheme that would limit the rights of asbestos disease victims.
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

China
Major work fatalities keep rising
Industrial and road accidents killed about 64,000 people in China in the first half of this year while its mining industry remained the world's most dangerous, officials says. The government's efforts to stem runaway mining deaths, including mine closures and a clampdown on illegal mines, have so far failed to make the dramatic inroads hoped for.
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

India/USA
Court orders release of Bhopal payments
India's Supreme Court has ordered the government to distribute millions in compensation still due to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

Ukraine
Gas blast kills 31 coalminers
At least 31 coalminers have been killed in a 20 July explosion in a shaft in Ukraine. The government declared a three-day period of mourning as rescuers sought five men believed to be trapped deep underground in a dangerous fog of smoke, methane gas and fire.
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

USA
Insurers fear silica claims explosion
US insurers could be facing a deluge of compensation claims from workplace victims of silica-related disease. They say at least 30,000 people nationwide have filed such claims - many of them in the past two years.
Risks 166, 24 July 2004

18 July 2004

Britain
TUC "grave reservations" about rail safety switch
The TUC has warned that rail safety could suffer after the government said it is to switch rail safety regulation from the independent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to the Office of the Rail Regulator, which also has responsibility for "competitiveness" on the railways.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

Britain
Safety cutbacks as HSE bosses pocket thousands
Some board members at the Health and Safety Executive have pocketed five figure pay rises while slashing This week HSC chair Bill Callaghan said that in 2003/4 HSE had "achieved savings valued at £12.7m for the year, equivalent to 6 per cent of total administrative costs."
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

Europe
EC must speed up working time reforms
Europe's trade unions are urging the European Commission to act now to ensure workers get the protection they are supposed to receive from the 1993 Working Time Directive. Top European trade union body ETUC says it is disappointed the EC has failed to ensure workers get their working time safety rights and says it "regrets" the intransigence of Europe's employers.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

Britain
Chancellor kills off civil servants
The July decision by Chancellor Gordon Brown to axe 100,000 civil service jobs and to clampdown on sick leave for those left behind could have deadly consequences.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

Britain
Safety standards "not sufficient" as three die
Three men drowned in a slurry tank this week because not enough had been done to make the job safe.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

Britain
Government has a "moral duty" to ban smoking
Doctors' organisation BMA says the government has a "moral duty" to ban smoking in public places.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

Britain
HSC says Euro plan could hurt safety enforcement
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has echoed TUC, union and safety campaigners' concern that a proposed Euro law could undermine safety enforcement continent-wide.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

Global
Dads' work linked to brain tumours in their kids
Children fathered by men who have been exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) at work have a greatly increased chance of developing brain tumours, researchers have found.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

Europe
Safety of workers with disabilities
Health and safety should not be used as an excuse for not employing or not continuing to employ disabled people, says the European Agency.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

DR Congo
Fatal collapse of illegal uranium mine
Part of a uranium mine has collapsed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least nine people. The Shinkolobwe mine was officially closed earlier this year but people still mine there for cobalt, used in mobile phones.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

Global
Aid workers face burnout and violence
US government agencies are only just beginning to address the mental health problems confronting aid workers who have faced stress, violence and burnout in Kosovo, Iraq, Afganistan and other global hotspots.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

USA
Safety alliance angers steel unions
The US steelworkers' union USWA has expressed astonishment that government safety watchdog OSHA and several steel industry trade associations have formed an "alliance" on safety without any union involvement.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

USA/Ireland
US exports contentious safety programme
A highly contentious US alternative to safety enforcement based on voluntary safety agreements with companies has been exported to Ireland.
Risks 165, 17 July 2004

11 July 2004

Britain
Keep railway safety with HSE, warns TUC
The TUC has written to the Secretary of State for Transport warning that Britain's railways could face a safety disaster if the government's rail review, due out next week, moves rail safety regulation from the independent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR).
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain
Gangmaster law a "victory for union action"
A new law requiring the licensing and registration of all gangmasters will turn the screw on the unscrupulous gangmasters who exploit workers with sometimes deadly results.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain
Deadly work stress effects revealed
Stress and insecurity at work can make you sick or even kill you - and is more the lower you are down the pecking order, the more likely it is to get you.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain
Amicus bullying pilot takes off
Amicus is to call on employers at Heathrow and Gatwick to combat the growing problem of bullying and harassment within the airline industry.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain
Masterclasses aim to stop long hours
The TUC has welcomed a series of government "masterclasses" advising firms how to address Britain's long hours culture.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain
Stress-related sickness up
A majority of employers have noticed an increase in stress-related absence during the past twelve months, according to new research. Unions say this shows employees are feeling obliged to push themselves too hard.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain
Jarvis fined £400,000 for rail repair blunder
The troubled engineering firm Jarvis has been fined £400,000 for a rail repair blunder, described by a judge as breaking basic rules known to every child with a train set. The fine came less than a week after Jarvis admitted breaching health and safety laws in a case where an eight-year-old girl was electrocuted on a railway line.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain
Chinese cocklers injured in crash
Seventeen people - including 15 Chinese cockle pickers - have been taken to hospital after a minibus was involved in an early morning crash with a lorry on 7 July. Two are seriously hurt.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain
Fine after worker baked to death
A laundry company has been fined £325,000 after one of its employees baked to death in a giant washing machine. Paul Clegg became trapped after he entered the machine to clear a blockage - even though there was an escape hatch that could have saved his life.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain
Hospital fined for causing nurse's asthma
A hospital trust has been fined £3,000 after a nurse developed asthma caused by a common hospital chemical, glutaraldehyde.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Britain
TUC workplace asthma guide
TUC's latest online health and safety factsheet is on occupational asthma.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Australia
Nurse wins six figure latex rubber cheque
An Australian nurse who developed a life-threatening allergy to the latex gloves she had to wear at work has been awarded more than $428,000 (£167,000) compensation.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Australia
Stars act up for safety
Top stars are taking part in a union poster campaign to improve safety in the Australian entertainment industry.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Canada
Rail firm buries work accident cases
Canadian union CAW says national rail firm CN is using "punitive harassment tactics in response to accidents and injuries." Workers who report incidents are "surrounded" by managers and "watched" afterwards, the union says.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

Sweden
Strike wins better safety deal
A three week strike by electricians on Swedish construction sites has resulted in an agreement that allows for official labour inspectors to be drafted in to arbitrate on "work environment" disputes.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

USA
Failure to give urine means you're out
Thousands of workers with "Shy Bladder Syndrome" are facing the sack because they can't produce a urine sample on demand for workplace drugs tests.
Risks 164, 11 July 2004

3 July 2004

Britain
Roving reps scheme "limited" but welcome, says TUC
Union schemes will dominate the first round of Worker Safety Adviser (WSA) Challenge Fund projects. TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson welcomed the recognition of the positive union role, but warned: "This initiative is very limited and we still need changes to the safety reps' regulations to ensure that we have roving safety reps and better rights to extend the benefits of the union safety effect nationwide."
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Get serious on hours, TUC tells ministers
As the government launches a working hours consultation, the TUC has said it should end its "indefensible" support for the long hours culture that is hurting workers and the economy.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Amicus calls for Quebec style bullying law
A new law on "psychological harassment at work" in the Canadian province of Quebec shows regulating bullying is possible, says UK union Amicus.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Union calls for more respect for shopworkers
The escalating level of violence and abuse suffered by UK shopworkers is ruining lives, says retail union Usdaw. The alert comes ahead of an Usdaw-organised Respect for Shopworkers Week, to run from 5 to 11 July.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
UCATT call to cut building site deaths
Tougher legislation is needed to prevent deaths on Scotland's construction sites, according the building union UCATT. Scottish death rates in construction remain much higher than in the rest of the UK and UCATT wants tougher laws to curb rogue employers.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
TUC view vindicated in drug tests report
A report of the Independent Inquiry into Drug Testing at Work has concluded drug tests are a gross infringement on personal liberty, could have only a "limited impact on safety and performance" and that testing is a "costly and divisive" way of managing employees, and is an "inappropriate use of managerial power".
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
BA crew face drug and alcohol tests
British Airways is to test its 47,000 staff for drugs and alcohol, under a contentious new policy. It believes it is the first airline in Europe to introduce its own on-the-spot tests, in a policy which follows a four-year wrangle with unions.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Working-while-sober sackings upheld
Six Tube workers who were sacked after empty beer cans were found in a mess room have lost their unfair dismissal case. The sackings under a "zero tolerance" policy were upheld despite tests finding none of the workers were positive for drugs or alcohol.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Factory blast workers to receive final wages
Injured employees of ICL Plastics, whose factory was destroyed in the Maryhill explosion that claimed nine lives, will cease to have their normal wages paid after next week.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Anger at plan to scrap rail safety watchdog
Relatives of those who died in some of Britain's worst train crashes have criticised the government over its plans to scrap the independent regulator in charge of rail safety. The government proposal has already been condemned by the TUC.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
HSE public safety policy is "unlawful"
The Health and Safety Executive's new policy on public safety - which stops HSE inspectors enforcing public safety duties upon employers in certain circumstances - is "unlawful," according to a legal opinion obtained by the Centre for Corporate Accountability.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Passive smoke risk "even greater"
The risks of passive smoking could be twice as bad as previously thought, the British Medical Journal has reported. Researchers from London's St George's and Royal Free hospitals found passive smoking increased the risk of coronary heart disease by 50-60 per cent, and said earlier studies had concentrated on domestic exposures and had not taken proper account of exposure at work and other places.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Labour's prescription for a smoking ban
Labour is considering introducing a ban on smoking in public places if they win the next election, a report suggests.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Three charged over cockler deaths
Three people have been charged over the deaths of 21 Chinese cocklers in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire Police have said.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Britain
Honda sued by "stressed" employee
Car giant Honda is being sued for loss of earnings by an ex-employee who says she was sick for a year as a result of stress at work.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Global
Everything you need to know about asbestos
The latest issue of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health is available online and is on the theme of asbestos. IJOEH provides essential background material for the fight for a global asbestos ban.
IJOEH, volume 10, Number 2, April-June 2004

Europe
Revamped Euro resource on union safety
TUTB - the health and safety research wing of the European Trade Union Confederation - has launched a new look website. The completely revised site includes latest news, events, publications and policy briefings on asbestos, chemicals, sustainable development, women's health and safety and other issues.
TUTB website

Australia
Unions want to get it right
Union organisations in the Australian state of Victoria have launched a campaign for sweeping new workplace health and safety rights. Victorian Trades Hall Council's "Getting it right" campaign aims to press the state government to honour its commitment to revise health and safety laws.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Australia
Workplace cybersnoopers may need a permit
Some Australian employers may soon have to seek permission from the Privacy Commission before spying on workers, testing them for drugs or monitoring their use of email or the internet.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

Europe
Bosses and unions get certified on safety
Europe's construction union federation EFBWW, representing over 80 unions and federations across the continent, and building employers' body FIEC have signed a new "Building in safety" campaign charter.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

South Africa
Clampdown on silicosis menace
South Africa's department of labour hopes to eliminate silicosis in the workplace by 2030. Labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana announced the plan, spelled out in a National Programme for the Elimination of Silicosis.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

USA
Ergo improvements pay off
An experiment at a San Francisco garment factory has shown factories can achieve productivity gains by improving working conditions - sometimes as much as 20 per cent, health experts say. The results so aroused the curiosity of US government health researchers that they are embarking on a larger trial.
Risks 163, 3 July 2004

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