29 May 2004

Britain
TUC launches search for new bank holiday
The TUC has launched a national search for a new bank holiday as it reveals figures showing that people in Britain get fewer public holidays than any other country in the European Union, even when you include all the new EU member states.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Britain
Thumbs up to changes in teenage working law
TUC has welcomed a government decision to simplify the law on teenage working. TUC and children's charity NSPCC have worked together to press for the move.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Britain
Union safety concerns over mock attack
Firefighters in Dundee have boycotted an anti-terrorist exercise after unions advised them not to take part in the mock chemical attack.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Global
Union to meet Foreign Office about piracy threats
UK ships officers' union NUMAST is set to meet Foreign Office staff as concern grows over the threat posed by piracy and armed attacks on merchant shipping.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Europe
UK government "jeopardising plane cabin security"
International transport union federation ITF says the British government risks sabotaging a European Union plan that is close to setting new standards for airplane cabin safety and security.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Britain
Usdaw starts planning for xmas hols
Shopworkers who fear they will be forced to work on Christmas Day are urging their MPs to show support for the next stage in a campaign to ban big shops opening on this special day.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Britain
Stress consultation could bypass safety reps
A three month consultation campaign on proposals to reduce work-related stress has been launched by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) - but may end up bypassing thousands of safety reps, warns the TUC.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Britain
Stop making us sick, says TUC
TUC is telling employers that the best way to reduce the number of days sick leave is to stop making us sick through bad jobs and overwork. It adds that firms should introduce effective back to work schemes.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

*Britain
Get back to work, says minister
The government has published its ideas on vocational rehabilitation. A Department for Work and Pensions discussion paper "aims to help people overcome health or disability-related barriers they may face in returning to work."
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Britain
Scots NHS attacks running at two an hour
An average of two National Health Service staff are violently or verbally attacked in Scotland every hour of the day, according to new research. It found almost one in 10 hospital, ambulance and health centre workers were subjected to abuse last year, with nurses and midwives experiencing the greatest number of violent attacks.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Britain
Report criticises drift towards "self-regulation"
Britain's new occupational health and safety strategy is jeopardising workers' health by leaving health and safety enforcement to employers, warns a new report.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Britain
Pressure grows for inquiry into blast watchdog
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is investigating with the police and the procurator fiscal the disaster which claimed the lives of nine people at ICL Plastics plc in Glasgow, is facing demands that its role be investigated in a public inquiry.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Britain
Britain's asbestos disease disaster
Britain is in the grip of a national disaster. A lung-destroying epidemic of asbestos disease is killing thousands, and the mortality rate is climbing every year. By 2050 almost 185,000 will have died in agony and that's a best-case scenario.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Britain
London to vote for a smoking ban
London could be voting its way towards a ban on smoking in public places - and may drag the rest of the country with it. The two leading candidates in London's mayoral elections, Labour's Ken Livingstone and Conservative opponent Steve Norris, have both backed a smoking ban, with Mr Livingstone quoted as saying it could deliver "extraordinary health benefits."
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Australia
Support for NSW work deaths law
The state government in New South Wales (NSW) is under pressure to jail killer bosses in the wake of a Legislative Council committee recommendation that corporate manslaughter should be written into the Crimes Act. The cross party committee also wants to give courts the power to make delinquent employers face up to bereaved family members.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

*Australia
BHP under attack for deadly mine safety record
An official inquiry is investigating multinational mining giant BHP Billiton after a series of deaths and injuries to iron ore workers.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Global
Double hull retreat is "a kick in the teeth for seafarers"
International transport union federation ITF has strongly condemned the "extraordinary U-turn" by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) which scuppered a previous decision, championed by the UK, to make double hulls compulsory for bulk carrying cargo ships built after 2007. Global transport union federation ITF says it is a clear case of profits before safety.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Iraq
Union protests over targeting of media
The International Federation of Journalist has called on all sides in the Iraq conflict to stop targeting journalists, following the killing of a media staff member south of Baghdad during clashes between US troops and Shiite militia.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

Ireland
Smoking ban is working, says minister
Ireland's pioneering ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants seems to be helping some addicts to kick the habit, Ireland's health minister has said.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

USA
Ergo fixes alone can't make bad jobs good
Despite an ever increasing array or ergonomic gizmos, musculoskeletal disorders have increased nearly tenfold among office workers in the past five years, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Risks 158, 29 May 2004

22 May 2004

Britain
Latest round to the unions in working time fight
Unions have won a major victory in the ongoing fight for an end to the UK opt-out clause from Europe's 48 hour working week ceiling. The European Commission this week warned it was considering proposals to abolish Britain's opt-out.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Deadly site dangers prove case for killing law
A National Audit Office (NAO) report showing building workers are three times more likely to suffer a serious workplace injury and that the industry accounted for over 30 per cent of all workplace deaths in 2002-03, has led to renewed union calls for laws on corporate killing and directors' responsibilities.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Protective equipment "must be free"
General union GMB is reminding workers that their employers must pay up for any necessary workplace personal protective equipment.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Stressed out lecturers demand action
Universities and colleges must tackle causes of academic stress, says further education union NATFHE.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Casinos gamble with Scots workers' health
Scotland's casino workers are being made to gamble with their health according to GMB union research.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Unions can protect migrant workers
The first step to avoiding exploitation for migrant workers is the trade union movement, a top union official has said.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Government failing on gangmasters
The government has failed to respond "sufficiently urgently" to illegal activities by gangmasters, a parliamentary committee has concluded.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Questions raised about Glasgow blast tragedy
An investigation by a leading Scottish newspaper has raised serious concerns about the safety regime in place prior to the deadly 11 May explosion at a Glasgow plastics factory. The Sunday Herald says "a shadow also hangs over the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which is supposed to ensure that industry doesn't endanger employees' lives."
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Tories talk out safety penalties bill
The TUC has condemned the Conservatives for talking out a bill calling for stiffer workplace safety penalties.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
GP hanged herself through stress
A family doctor hanged herself because of stress at work, an inquest has heard. Bury coroners' court was told Dr Dawn Harris, 38, who worked at the Lever Chambers practice in Bolton, became "angry, very distressed and quite hurt" by problems at the busy medical practice.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Unions watch Tesco sick day plan
Shopworkers' union Usdaw is keeping a wary eye on a pilot scheme by supermarket chain Tesco aimed at cutting sick days. The company is considering plans where workers would get extra holiday or benefits if they did not take days off and of only giving sick pay if people are off for more than three days and provide a doctor's note.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Passive smoking at work "kills hundreds"
Secondhand tobacco smoke at work kills hundreds of Britons each year - including almost one hospitality industry worker a week, a study says.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Britain
Nine apprentices die on government backed schemes
In the last 20 months, nine apprentice workers - all under the age of 23 - have been killed on the work placement component of government funded courses, the Centre for Corporate Accountability has revealed.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Australia
Federal government axes safety body
Unions have reacted angrily to an Australia federal government move to replace the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC) with a trimmed-down "ministerial advisory group." The move will see the end of Australia's only tripartite national health and safety policy and research coordinating body.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Australia
Safety must be central to union organisation
Workplace health and safety must be integrated into trades union organising activities, Australia's top union body ACTU has said.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

Global
International Olympics Committee ducks responsibility
The International Olympics Committee (IOC) is flouting its responsibility to millions of people by ignoring the exploitation of workers producing sportswear marketed around the Athens Olympic Games, say campaigners.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

USA
Bush launders dirty campaign money
Major contributors to the Bush campaign are earning favours from the Bush administration - and guaranteeing workers remain exposed to deadly hazards as a result. New allegations say official safety rules and procedures regarding toxic solvents have under Bush favoured Cintas, owned by a top Republican donor.
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

USA
More wriggle room for dangerous employers
US Republicans are seeking employer-friendly changes to workplace health and safety enforcement. If four proposed bills become law, the enforcement agencies would be discouraged from taking action because they would be more likely to face a legal costs bill, even where the enforcement actions was "substantially justified."
Risks 157, 22 May 2004

15 May 2004

Britain
Unions mourn blast victims and call for answers
Nine workers are known to have been killed and 40 injured, many seriously, in a devastating 11 May plastics factory blast in Glasgow. Early indications are that an industrial oven exploded at Stockline Plastics in the Maryhill area of the city.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
HSC needs "less self-congratulation and more enforcement"
General union GMB is demanding a radical overhaul of the way health and safety regulations are enforced, and says the UK watchdog should stop telling us how good it is and should actually do some real enforcing.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
TUC warning on dangerous talk
The TUC is warning that the new style safety-speak from the government and the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) is a dangerous development.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
A firm without safety reps is not a safe place to work
Employers sensible enough to realise the business benefits that a team of active, highly trained union safety reps can bring to their company are likely to have the safest workplaces in the UK, says the TUC.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
Long hours undeniably unhealthy for drivers
Retail union Usdaw is warning transport companies not to "bury their heads in the sand" as the introduction of new regulations on maximum working hours draw closer.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
GMB acts to defuse asbestos "ticking timebomb"
With the duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises coming into force on 21 May, general union GMB says it is concerned that not enough employers and duty holders are taking the issue seriously.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
ASLEF steps up campaign on criminal injuries
Train drivers' union ASLEF is campaigning against Home Office proposals to bar train drivers involved in suicides and trespass incidents from claiming from the Criminal Injury Compensation Scheme.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
Unfairly sacked sick worker wins tribunal
A Tube train driver was unfairly dismissed while on the sick, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
Homeworkers "exploited" by firms
The UK government must implement international labour standards if the exploitation of Britain's one million homeworkers is to be halted. Made at home, a report from TUC, Oxfam and the National Group on Homeworking (NGH), says homeworkers frequently work for pennies with few employment rights, forced overtime and no health and safety checks.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
Ignorant bosses place pregnant workers at risk
More than two-thirds of pregnant workers are exposed to danger in the workplace because employers ignore a legal duty to carry out risk assessments, an Usdaw survey has revealed.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
Families win asbestos court appeals
Two families of workers killed by asbestos cancer have won significant compensation victories.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
Smoking ban in pubs and restaurants moves closer
Britain's pubs and restaurants have failed to persuade ministers to approve a voluntary code for smoke-free areas in bars, signalling a move by the government towards an outright ban on smoking in public places.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Britain
Six figure fine after rubber machine accident then death
Sovereign Rubber Ltd of Stockport has been fined a total of £175,000 plus £20,000 costs after incidents in a three week period when a worker was injured then another killed on the same machine.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Australia
Hurting unions bigger priority than hurt workers
Australia's construction union CFMEU has said it is "appalled" at a federal government decision to allocate $105 million (£41.4m) of taxpayers' dollars to attacking construction unions while allocating only $21 million (£8.3m) to addressing safety in the industry.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

Canada
Worker wins posthumous safety dispute
A conductor with Canadian company CN rail killed in a train wreck last year has posthumously won a safety dispute with the rail giant. More than a year before he died at work, Ken Lequesne was disciplined by CN rail after refusing to work in unsafe conditions.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

New Zealand
Unions need right to challenge drug tests
Union leader Andrew Little says employees should watch out for employers trying to adopt random drug testing on a point of principle when they should be limited to "safety sensitive" jobs. The EPMU national secretary said: "The question of what is safety sensitive seems to have been left by the court to management's prerogative."
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

USA
Gotham police act on delivery slayings
The high murder rates among food delivery workers has prompted New York police department to launch prevention measures.
Risks 156, 15 May 2004

8 May 2004

Britain
TUC defends the independent rail regulator
TUC is warning that Britain's railways could face a safety disaster if rail safety regulation is moved from the independent Health and Safety Commission and Executive (HSC/E).
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

Britain
£200,000 payout for bullied teacher
A deputy headteacher and NASUWT member has received an out-of-court settlement of £200,000 after she was bullied by governors.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

Britain
Bringing company reports into the 21st century
Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt has announced a consultation on draft regulations intended to ensure companies provide better information on their financial, social, environmental and safety performance.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

Britain
The brutal reality of a death at work
Maureen O'Sullivan's father, Patrick, died on the Wembley Stadium construction site on 15 January 2004. Maureen told a 600-strong 28 April Workers' Memorial Day rally and work stoppage at the site: "How many fathers, sons, brothers must be maimed or killed before governments say enough is enough?"
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

Britain
Fear drives Chinese back to cockle beds
The government claims it is clamping down on illegal and deadly gangmasters, but the main losers seem to be the exploited migrants themselves.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

Britain
New concerns over passive smoking
New evidence has highlighted the risks to workers and the public resulting from passive smoking. An Evening Standard investigation discovered that some drinkers in London pubs absorbed nicotine and other harmful chemicals equivalent to smoking one cigarette every three hours.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

Britain
Spying software watches you work
Spyware has infected almost all companies polled for a survey about web-using habits at work - although most employees are not aware that Big Brother is watching them.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

Britain
Centre for Corporate Accountability
Papers from the Centre for Corporate Accountability's 29 April conference on corporate safety crimes are now available online.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

Britain
Migrants get TUC advice on rights at work
To help migrant workers from the expanded European Union understand their rights at work under UK employment law, the TUC has produced a simple advice leaflet that the Home Office has agreed to send out with every new migrant's registration certificate.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

USA
Database links diseases to hazards
Three docs have compiled an extensive database recording the links between hazardous exposures and approximately 200 different diseases. The "Protecting our health" database is the latest in a long line of tools that can be very useful for workplace safety reps researching possible links between substances and health problems at work.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004 • Protecting our health database Also see the Hazards Detective online resources and Hazards tools for safety reps webpage.

Australia
Smoky clubs a lethal cocktail for bar staff
Five bar staff are killed by passive smoking each month in New South Wales (NSW) pubs, clubs and casinos, a new report commissioned by the Cancer Council and endorsed by unions has claimed.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

China
Workplace deaths up, accidents down
The death toll in workplace accidents throughout China is rising so far this year though accidents dropped slightly," Chinese government officials say.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

European Union/USA
Plan to test chemicals irks US
A European plan to make chemical manufacturers test their products for safety before selling them has the US chemical industry and government up in arms.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

Israel/Palestine
Israeli forces block Palestinian union safety activity
The international trade union movement has protested about the harassment of officials from the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) who were attempting to commemorate those killed through work.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

New Zealand
Unions train 6,000 safety reps
Six thousand trade union health and safety reps have been trained in just one year in a bid to drive down New Zealand's alarming toll of workplace death and injury.
Risks 155, 8 May 2004

1 May 2004

Britain
No justice yet for dead and dying workers
The TUC has expressed concern at government stalling on the promised corporate killing law. TUC's Frances O'Grady called on ministers to bring to justice those employers who, through negligence and a callous attitude to health and safety, put the lives of their workers and members of the public at risk.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Britain
Over 3,500 deaths; not one jail term
Leaders of construction unions TGWU and UCATT have called for an end to the "outrage" of workplace deaths - and for prison terms for dangerous negligent employers. They say "hearing the clunk of the cell doors behind the first jailed director will result in immediate changes to safety practices on sites."
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Britain
Preventing driving deaths at work
TUC is demanding action on one of Britain's most hazardous jobs - driving for a living. It says every year over 1,000 workers are killed in work-related road accidents and 7,500 suffer serious injury.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Britain
Call centre "Big Brother" health warning
Call centre workers are suffering anxiety and depression as a result of "Big Brother" type monitoring of telephone calls and emails. Call centre union UNISON found more than 70 per cent of respondents to its survey suffered from related anxiety, 17 per cent from depression and 52 per cent of call centre staff stated that they had considered resigning.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Britain
Usdaw's got the measure of retail violence
Retail union Usdaw is taking action against shop violence and it to undertake one of the biggest surveys ever into the scale of violence, threats and abuse suffered by UK shopworkers.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Britain
Union diary saves knife attack busman
A union diary stopped a knife blow aimed at the heart of a Glasgow bus driver. TGWU member Robert Jamieson, 40, said: "I'd be dead if I hadn't been carrying my diary. It took the force of the attack."
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Britain
Safety rules OK say bosses, workers and the public
The public and employers give their "overwhelming support" to the existing health and safety standards and laws governing British workplaces, a survey has found. The MORI survey published by safety watchdog HSE found three out of four employers say safety requirements benefit their companies, with more than four out of five positive about the role played by HSE.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Britain
Firms agree Potters Bar liability
Network Rail and the rail maintenance company Jarvis have accepted legal responsibility for claims brought over the Potters Bar rail crash. In a joint announcement the two firms said accepting liability would provide "comfort and assistance" to victims of the May 2002 crash.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Britain
Major companies, major accidents, minor penalties
Companies with annual turnover running to hundreds of millions are continuing to face relatively trivial fines for serious safety offences.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

USA
Forcing poorly workers in to work is sick
Encouraging workers to leave their sick beds and struggle in to work is a costly mistake, according to a study. Workers who come in sick can cost their employers more through "presenteeism" that through absenteeism, say researchers from Cornell University in the USA.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Britain
Late arriving driver hours law welcomed
The TUC and the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) have welcomed the long awaited government announcement of how the Road Transport (Working Time) Directive will be put into practice in the UK.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Brazil
New offensive against asbestos
Mining, production, sales and use of asbestos should be banned, the Brazilian Ministry of Labour and Employment has confirmed.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Europe
European Union work accidents update
Serious and fatal accidents at work have decreased steadily in the European Union but there is still one work accident every five seconds, according to new official figures. And Sweden (+13 per cent), the United Kingdom (+10 per cent), Spain (+6 per cent) and Ireland (+5 per cent) all bucked the downward trend in serious accidents.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Global
Print workers take global safety action
In an unprecedented, coordinated set of in-plant mass actions, workers employed at print multinational Quebecor World Inc in 13 countries have demanded safer jobs. The day of action came on 28 April, the internationally observed Workers' Memorial Day. Workers in Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, France, Britain, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, and Finland were involved.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Global
Work kills more than wars
One death every fifteen seconds. Six thousand a day. Work kills more people than wars, says a new briefing from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

Taiwan
Unions want a role in injury probes
Union organisations in Taiwan are urging official safety bodies to allow unions to participate in the investigation of occupational injuries, saying people who work in the field are most familiar with the work environment.
Risks 154, 1 May 2004

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