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DEADLY BUSINESS

DEADLY BUSINESS NEWS

USA Latinos worst affected by deaths hike
Morocco Murder charge call after fire deaths
Britain Another six figure death fine for Corus
Britain Dead teen’s family calls for maximum sentence
Britain Family critical after man's death
Canada Resign call over ‘death’ rebates
Britain Six figure penalty after sub-contractor dies
Britain Council fined over gardener's death
Britain Jail terms needed to deter work killers
Britain TUC looks for manslaughter action

MORE NEWS • RESOURCES • CORPORATE CRIME LINKS

HAZARDS FEATURES

Why did they die? It was not just the ICL/Stockline factory that was ‘a ticking timebomb.’ A major inquiry into the blast that destroyed the Glasgow factory, killed nine and maimed dozens of others will hear evidence the system regulating workplace safety in the UK is in a serious state of disrepair. Hazards 100, November 2007

Beyond prison? Some of Britain’s biggest companies have seriously neglected their safety responsibilities, with deadly consequences. Hazards editor Rory O’Neill asks how bad it has to get before a top boss ends up behind bars.
Hazards 97, March 2007

Protection racket Britain has got one of the most unregulated economies in the industrial world. Tony Blair says so. But his government is still embarking on a dangerous deregulation exercise that could remove essential safety protections, says Hazards editor Rory O’Neill.
Hazards 91, August 2005

The case for jailing dangerous directors
If directors faced the prospect of a jail term or even the loss of their boardroom seats for poor safety performance, then safety might be a more pressing corporate concern. As it is, they don’t even lose their bonuses.
Hazards 90, May 2005

Could they care less? If directors faced the prospect of a jail term or even the loss of their boardroom seats for poor safety performance, then safety might be a more pressing corporate concern. As it is, they don’t even lose their bonuses. Hazards 90, May 2005

Draft Directors' Duties Bill
Unions TGWU and UCATT are promoting a Health and Safety (Directors' Duties) Bill. November 2004. [pdf]

Getting away with murder
Every week an average of five workers are killed at work. Almost all of these are the result of management failures, and all of them are avoidable. Frances O'Grady, TUC's deputy general secretary, says bosses guilty of safety crimes must face justice.
Hazards 87, July-September 2004 [pdf]

Sold out
The government says HSC's new safety blueprint is a "radical new strategy." Business loves its hands off, no hassle, no commitments language. But for you and me, the new strategy offers nothing new and abandons hard won protections.
Hazards 86, April-June 2004

Death sentences
Later this year the UK government says it will publish a draft corporate killing bill... Not a law, just another consultation.
Hazards 83, July-September 2003 [pdf]

Making employers accountable for workers' health and safety, a TUC guide for Workers' Memorial Day 2003
The global trade union movement has decided to make corporate accountability for workers' health and safety the theme for International Workers' Memorial Day on 28 April 2003. On the day when trade unionists around the world remember the people who have died because of their work, this TUC/Hazards guide calls for those responsible to be held to account.
Hazards 80, October-December 2002
background • poster • resources [all pdf format]

Deadly business
If you kill, maim or hurt someone, you can expect to go to jail. Except if you employ that someone. Unions worldwide say employers shouldn't be allowed to get away with this workplace assault - and have the workplace safety criminals in their sights. TUC's Owen Tudor reports.
Deadly business, Hazards 80, October-December 2002, pages 4-5 [pdf]

Criminal neglect
Average annual pay of Britain's top bosses. £1.5 million. Average fine for workplace safety offences, £12,194. Do the maths. Hazards argues that small fines alone are not an adequate deterrent for Britain's workplace safety criminals.

Hazards 81, Jan-Mar 2003 [pdf] • The writing's on the wall

RESOURCES

Guides to work killings law
The government and the Health and Safety Executive have each published guidance on the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which will come into force on 6 April 2008.
Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 webpage • HSE corporate manslaughter webpage

Guide to the workplace killing law
The Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) has published a guide to the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act which came into force on 6 April 2008.
CCA summary of the Act’s key provisions • Risks 351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008

Britain: Health and safety regulatory policy
The Centre for Corporate Accountability has produced an online guide to government and Health and Safety Commission policy on health and safety regulation. It says it is also very important to look at the government's wider regulatory policies as these are increasingly having an impact upon the policies that the HSC adopts in relation to safety.
CCA regulatory policy webpages

Corporate Accountability
Respect, dignity and the right to stay alive at work, Australia.
Victorian Trades Hall Council

Businessmen Behaving Badly
A quick look at what it costs to endanger, maim and kill in UK workplaces.

Global work death toll
About two million people are killed by their work every year. This latest global estimate comes from the International Labour Office (ILO) - and it says that's just a small part of the carnage at work, says Jukka Takala, Director of ILO's SafeWork programme. Hazards 81, January-March 2003

Targeting workplace criminals
Killing people at work - there should be a law against it. The Hazards campaign wants you to send a message to the government.

USMWF United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities supports those dealing with the repercussion of a workers' death through information provision, awareness raising and support. more

Weekly Toll Death in the workplaces, news and updates more

BRITAIN
Work manslaughter cases in full
The Centre for Corporate Accountability Up-to-date details of all convictions, acquittals and ongong work-related manslaughter trials involving the prosecution of companies, directors and business owners can be accessed on the CCA website. As of 20 January 2003, eight incidents have resulted in the conviction of four companies, seven directors, and two business owners
CCA manslaughter page

TUC Workers' Memorial Day 2003
TUC wants employers held accountable for two million work-related deaths worldwide a year
TUC news release, available from 1 November 2002

• More on Workers' Memorial Day 2003

DEADLY BUSINESS NEWS

USA: Latinos worst affected by deaths hike
Workplace fatalities have increased sharply for Latino and immigrant workers in the US, according to a shocking new report. The new edition of ‘Death on the job: The toll of neglect’, published by the US national union federation AFL-CIO, reports that 2006 fatal injuries among Latino workers increased by seven per cent, with 990 fatalities.
AFL-CIO news release • Risks 354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008

Morocco: Murder charge call after fire deaths
Moroccan police have arrested the owner and manager of a Casablanca mattress factory engulfed by a fire that killed at least 55 people. The global union federation for the garment sector, ITGLWF, had earlier called for murder charges to be brought against those responsible.
ITGLWF news release • ITUC news release • Risks 354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008

Britain: Another six figure death fine for Corus
An incident that saw a Corus worker crushed to death has cost the company £200,000 in fines and costs – the second time it had received a six figure fine related to a fatality in less than three months. It was also fined £125,000 in August last year after a worker suffered horrific, near fatal burns at its Scunthorpe plant.
HSE news release • More on recent Corus deaths and prosecutions • Risks 354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008

Britain: Dead teen’s family calls for maximum sentence
Lawyers acting for the family of Daniel Dennis, killed aged 17 after falling through a skylight, have called for company boss Roy Clarke to be given the maximum sentence available to the court. Clarke, the owner of North Eastern Roofing, admitted manslaughter in March after the family’s five year campaign for justice.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008

Britain: Family critical after man's death
The family of a man who died after a sugar factory explosion has said he would still be alive if more “care and attention” had been paid to equipment. Robert Howe, 52, was showered with hot coals when a boiler exploded at British Sugar’s Allscott factory.
Shropshire Star • BBC News Online • Risks 353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008

Canada: Resign call over ‘death’ rebates
A Canadian union body has called for a compensation board’s executives to resign after it was discovered some companies were receiving cash rebates for “good” safety performance when another arm of government had prosecuted them for safety offences involving workplace deaths. The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) and other groups say Steve Mahoney should be fired from his post as chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) in the province.
NUPGE news release • Risks 352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008

Britain: Six figure penalty after sub-contractor dies
Edeco Petroleum Services has been fined £200,000 after a sub-contractor was asphyxiated on a drilling job. The company was also ordered to pay costs of £47,400 at Hull Crown Court on charges relating to the death of Neil Millar, a 36-year-old sub-contractor.
Hull Daily Mail • Risks 352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008

Britain: Council fined over gardener's death
York Council has been fined £20,000 after the “entirely avoidable” death of gardener Frank Smith, 54, who crushed by a mower on an embankment. The council, which had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, was also ordered to pay £20,425 in prosecution costs, including the £9,332 cost of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation.
Yorkshire Post • Risks 352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008

Britain: Jail terms needed to deter work killers
There must be a root and branch review of health and safety on construction sites to tackle the persistently high death rate, construction union UCATT has said. The union warning came after provisional Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures revealed 69 construction workers were killed at work in 2007/8.
UCATT news release • HSE news release and fatality statistics • Risks 352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008

Britain: TUC looks for manslaughter action
The TUC has said the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act is a step in the right direction, but would have been more effective if it had provisions to see dangerous directors in the dock.
Ministry of Justice news release • TUC news release • Risks 351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008

Britain: Campaign wins manslaughter admission
The owner of a roofing company has admitted manslaughter following the death of a 17-year-old employee who fell through a store skylight. On the eve of a trial at Cardiff Crown Court, Roy Clark admitted the charge relating to the death of Daniel Dennis in April 2003.
South Wales Echo • BBC News Online • Risks 351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008

Britain: Aga fined for work injury
Luxury cooker manufacturer Aga has been fined £25,000 after an employee lost a thumb in an incident at its Coalbrookdale foundry. Anthony Bridgewater had been checking to see whether sand had clogged machinery when his hand hit a rotating blade, amputating his thumb and breaking his finger.
Shropshire Star • Risks 350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008

Britain: What difference will the killing law make?
The new corporate killing law, effective from 6 April, has received a mixed welcome, with some staying it will lead to greater corporate accountability and others suggesting while there may be some large firms facing charges it lets negligent bosses off the hook. Prosecutors will no longer have to prove that an individual acted as a ‘directing mind’ and was responsible for a death - they can charge a company instead.
Financial Times • BBC News Online • HSE and Ministry of Justice corporate manslaughter law webpages • TUC corporate accountability webpages • FACK • Risks 350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008

USA: Site workers rushed to an early grave
In the shadows of the cranes, steel and concrete upon which Las Vegas has pinned its addiction to growth, a body count has emerged. Nine construction workers have died in eight accidents since the end of 2006 at the towers that are redefining the Las Vegas skyline - workers describe construction sites that are crowded with equipment and people, combined with consistent - though often unstated - pressure to do everything at top speed, and nervously refer to the CityCenter site as “CityCemetery” or “CemeteryCenter.”
Las Vegas Sun and follow up article on the official enforcement failure • The Pump Handle • Risks 350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008

China: Nine jailed for coal mine deaths
Nine coal mine bosses have been sentenced to between two and six years in jail for a 2005 blast that killed 108 miners and injured 29 others in north China's Hebei Province. The gas blast was caused by the illegal operation of the mine, Li Yizhong, former director of the State Administration of Work Safety, had said.
China Daily • Risks 349
Hazards news, 29 March 2008

Britain: Dairy fined for finger-severing incident
A dairy firm has been fined £12,000 after a worker had parts of her fingers cut off at a Worcestershire factory. The incident happened in April 2006 at Robert Wiseman Dairies’ Droitwich plant.
Worcester News • BBC News Online • Risks 349
Hazards news, 29 March 2008

Britain: Waste firm fined for horrific injuries
A waste company has been fined £10,000 after a worker suffered serious injuries when he was run over by a workplace vehicle. FOCSA Services (UK) Ltd was also ordered to pay costs of £4,277 at Calderdale Magistrates' Court, after pleading guilty to a breach of safety law.
HSE news release and workplace transport webpages • Huddersfield Daily Examiner • Risks 349
Hazards news, 29 March 2008

Britain: Firm fined over two electrocution deaths
Maintenance firm Colas has been fined £90,000 six years after a safety breach that cost two workers their lives. Fred Cook, 38, and colleague John Crimmins, 33, were electrocuted when the mobile tower light they were pushing came into contact with a high voltage power line.
HSE news release • Newcastle Chronicle • Risks 349
Hazards news, 29 March 2008

Britain: Taylor Wimpey fined after teen site death
Construction giant Taylor Wimpey Developments Ltd has been fined £50,000 after Grant Meyrick, 18, a self-employed bricklayer and ‘modern apprentice’ attending Stoke-on-Trent College, was killed. The firm was also ordered to pay costs of £25,000 at Stoke Crown Court.
HSE news release and workplace transport webpages • Contract Journal. Building • Risks 348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008

Britain: Firm pays £3,000 after worker loses leg
A North Yorkshire firm has been fined £3,000 for safety offences that cost a worker his leg. The incident occurred at the Pauls Malt factory in Malton in August 2007, when process operator Paul Sellers fell through a machine guard, catching his leg in a rotating screw conveyor.
HSE news release • Scarborough Evening News • Risks 348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008

Britain: Shell hit with fine after ‘lucky’ escape
Oil giant Shell has been fined £266,681 for allowing toxic fluid and gas to leak from a pipe at one of its refineries in what the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) described as a ‘narrow escape’ which could have led to a major explosion. Twenty tonnes of the mixture escaped from the corroded pipe at the Stanlow petrochemical plant in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in 2003.
HSE news release • Ellesmere Port Pioneer • The Mirror • International Herald Tribune • Risks 348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008

Britain: JCB fined for two preventable deaths
Two companies forming part of the site plant manufacturer JCB have been fined after two employees, Darren Ellis and Paul McNamara, died in separate incidents while undertaking routine tasks. HSE brought the cases against JCB Earthmovers Ltd and JC Bamford Excavators Ltd before Stafford Crown Court.
HSE news release • Risks 348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008

Britain: Site giant Alfred McAlpine fined £250,000
Road builder Alfred McAlpine Capital Projects Ltd has been fined £250,000 following the death of a motorcyclist at a roadworks site. The firm, which had entered a guilty plea at an earlier hearing, was also ordered to pay £5,859 in costs.
HSE news release • Risks 348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008

Britain: Bus firm fined after worker crushed
Bus company First Capital East Limited (First) has been fined following the death of an employee when he was run over and crushed at a bus depot. First was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £95,000 at Croydon Crown Court, after pleading guilty to safety breaches.
HSE news release • Risks 348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008

Turkey: Dockyard strike against ‘work homicides’
Thousands of Turkish dockyard workers took strike action on 27 February in protest at a rash of workplace deaths in Tuzla’s dockyards. The strike, called by dockworkers in the DISK trade union, came after 18 deaths in eight months. Turkish Daily News • Atilim • Risks 345
Hazards news, 1 March 2008

China: Life sentences for mine officials
Three people have been sentenced to life in prison by a Chinese court for their roles in a mine explosion that killed 105 people last year. Twice as many people as permitted were working in the mine at the time of the blast, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Xinhau news report • Risks 345
Hazards news, 1 March 2008

Britain: Corus fined over worker's death
Steelmaker Corus has been fined £250,000 and told to pay costs of £43,000 after the death of a worker at its Trostre plant in Llanelli. Francis Coles, 42, known as Frank, died when he was struck on the neck by a guard plate in 2003.
BBC News Online • More on the Corus safety record • Risks 344
Hazards news, 23 February 2008

Canada: First conviction under work deaths law
A Quebec employer has become the first convicted under Canada’s workplace deaths law. Transpavé, a manufacturer of concrete blocks, pleaded guilty to criminal charges relating to the death of 23-year-old Steve L'Ecuyer in October 2005.
Risks 343
Hazards news, 16 February 2008

Britain: Family dismay at teen’s work death fines
Safety campaigners and the family of a teenage construction worker killed as a result of the negligence of three site firms have expressed dismay at the size of the penalties imposed by a court. Steven Burke, 17, died on 30 January 2004 just a fortnight after his bosses have been served with a warning notice because two safety harnesses were in such poor condition.
FACK news release • Channel M video clip • Risks 343
Hazards news, 16 February 2008

Britain: Six figure fine after scrapyard death
A Coventry scrapyard has been ordered to pay out over a quarter of a million pounds in fines and costs after a worker was killed by a reversing skip lorry. Easco (Midlands) Limited was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £55,000 costs at Coventry Crown Court on 5 February, after pleading guilty to a safety charge – Easco had previously had warnings about the practice at other sites.
Risks 342
Hazards news, 9 February 2008

Britain: Serial failures in work death probe
A probe into the horrific death at work of a Glasgow butcher was hampered by a series of failures by official agencies, a hearing has concluded. Thomas Bolesworth, 65, died after a pot of boiling stew fell on top of him, Glasgow Sheriff Court heard.
Scottish Courts report: Sheriff’s opinion • Risks 342
Hazards news, 9 February 2008

Australia: Union action call on death figures
Figures revealing Australia’s worsening workplace death toll highlight the need for urgent action, the country’s top union body ACTU has said. A report this week from the Australian Safety Compensation Council shows 162 people died in workplaces in the year July 2006 to June 2007, an increase from 157 the previous year.
Risks 341
Hazards news, 2 February 2008

Britain: Call for vigilance after site death no.50
Construction union UCATT has called for building bosses to prioritise safety on sites, following the death last week of a construction worker in Swansea – thought to be the 50th worker to die since April last year.
Risks 341
Hazards news, 2 February 2008

Britain: Safety criticism over firefighter deaths
An investigation into a blaze which led to the deaths of four firefighters has found officers were not given enough information before attending the scene, a breach of safety laws. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service with a legally-binding improvement notice after the warehouse fire in November 2007.
HSE news release • Risks 340
Hazards news, 26 January 2008

Britain: Risky company fined after explosion
Storeys Industrial Products, formerly known as Wardle Storeys, was fined £350,000 and ordered to pay £60,000 costs at Chelmsford Crown Court for safety offences. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution followed an explosion on 29 November 2005 at the firm’s Brantham Works, Brantham that left 55-year-old employee John Balls with serious burns.
Risks 339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008

Britain: Unlawful killing verdict quashed
An inquest verdict of unlawful killing on two men who died after gas leaked into the confined space where they were working has been overturned by the High Court. Richard Clarkson, 29, and Stuart Jordan, 50, who worked for serial offender Bodycote HIP Ltd at a Hereford metal refining plant, died in June 2004 after an argon leak.
BBC News Online • Risks 339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008

Britain: Action call on ‘corporate killing injustice’
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) and families of workers killed at work have told the country’s politicians about their “deep disappointment” with forthcoming corporate homicide legislation and the treatment of bereaved relatives.
Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) • Risks 339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008

South Korea: Warehouse inferno kills 40
Firefighters say 40 people are now believed to have died in a 7 January fire at a warehouse in South Korea. Hundreds of firefighters were involved in efforts to contain the blaze at Icheon, 80km (50 miles) south of Seoul. Press reports 57 people were in the building, a newly built cold storage facility, when the fire broke out.
The Standard • Xinhua • BBC News Online • Risks 338
Hazards news,12 January 2008

Britain: Director gets community service
A company director has been sentenced to 100 hours of work in the community after the death of construction worker Andrew Bridges, 25, who was crushed by a falling concrete slab. Norman Ellis, of Q Homes (Yorkshire) Ltd, must perform community service and pay £6,000 costs after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution.
HSE news release • Building • Risks 338
Hazards news,12 January 2008

Britain: Fine after guard is crushed to death
A South Yorkshire haulage firm has been fined £20,000 after safety breaches led to the death of a security guard on its premises more than two years ago. Insurers for E Pawson and Son Ltd are also expected to make a substantial compensation payout to the widow of nightwatchman John Cavill, aged 54, of Maltby, who was crushed to death when a heavy metal gate at the company's staff car park fell off its runners.
Sheffield Star
Hazards news, 22 December 2007

Britain: Child’s heartache over dad’s death
The heartbroken daughter of a casual labourer who fell to his death after his boss cut corners to save cash has said all she wants for Christmas is her father back. Iris Savage told Derby’s Evening Telegraph newspaper the death of her son, Nathan had left his seven-year-old daughter, Connie, devastated.
Evening Telegraph • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 22 December 2007

Italy: Steel deaths prompt strike and safety call
Thousands of metalworkers downed tools and took to the streets of Turin on 10 December to protest against work-related injuries, after four workers died in a fire at a steel mill. The tragedy, at a plant owned by German multinational ThyssenKrupp, caused an outcry in Italy, which has a fatality rate above the European Union average.
Yahoo Finance • IMF news release
Hazards news, 15 December 2007

China: Mine explosion kills 105
Chinese officials say 105 miners are now known to have died in an explosion in a coal mine in Shanxi province in northern China on 6 December. State media said the managers of the mine have been arrested for causing the tragedy by mining a coal seam that had not been authorised for production.
China government news release • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 15 December 2007

Britain: Boss jailed after death cover-up attempt
Company boss Steven Christopher Smith from north Wales has been jailed for two and a half years for manslaughter and perverting the course of justice after the death of employee Paul Christopher Alker, 33, in a workplace fall. Smith did not provide the right harnesses, but after Mr Alker plunged to his death, he went out and bought the safety equipment, put them on the roof, and blamed Mr Alker for not using it.
HSE news release • Daily Post
Hazards news, 8 December 2007

Britain: Fine for amusement park death
The former operators of an amusement park have been fined £95,000 and ordered to pay costs of £50,000 over the death of a maintenance worker. Pleasureland Ltd had pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety laws after the work fatality in the Southport park in 2004.
HSE news release • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 1 December 2007

Ukraine: A hundred feared dead in mine blast
At least 90 miners died in an 18 November blast at a mine in Ukraine, making it the worst mining accident in the nation's history, officials say. The explosion, caused by a build-up of methane gas, occurred more than 1,000m (3,280ft) below ground in the Zasiadko coalmine, in Donetsk, East Ukraine.
ITUC news release • BBC News Online and related photographs
Hazards news, 24 November 2007

Britain: Wimpey fined £300,000 over trench tragedy
George Wimpey (North East) Ltd has been fined £300,000 after a trench collapse in which Neil Dunstan, 41, employed by a sub-contractor was crushed to death. George Wimpey’s parent company, Taylor Wimpey – Britain’s largest house builder - had a revenue of £2,671.9 million in the first six months of 2007; its first half profits before tax were £140.9 million.
HSE news release • Taylor Wimpey Interim Results Statement 2007 • Northern Echo
Hazards news, 24 November 2007

UAE: Seven die in Dubai bridge collapse
A bridge under construction in Dubai has collapsed, killing seven workers and injuring 15, police have said. The bridge was being built in Dubai Marina, a new development in the United Arab Emirates city which is a regional business and tourism hub.
BBC News Online • Al Jazeera
Hazards news, 17 November 2007

Britain: Port fined over youngster's death
A port authority has been fined a total of £100,000 over the death of a boy aged six, crushed by a giant paper roll. Harry Palmer died when the unsecured reel of newsprint fell on him from a forklift at Tilbury Docks in Essex.
HSE news release • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 17 November 2007

Britain: Family hits out after death fine
The family of a man crushed to death in an industrial incident has expressed disappointment with the £30,000 fine levied on the company. Michael Joyce, 51, was killed after climbing inside a machine during his shift at the Freudenberg Technical Products plant in North Tyneside, on 15 October 2005.
News Guardian
Hazards news, 17 November 2007

USA: Families demand work deaths justice
Widows, parents, children and other family members of victims of workplace fatalities and occupational diseases in the USA are demanding a ‘Family Bill of Rights’. It outlines 10 simple rights that should be afforded those left behind when a worker dies on the job, including: Information on the role of official agencies in investigating the death; notifying family members of all meetings, hearings and other communication between investigators and the employer and allowing participation in such events; allowing family members the right to view all physical evidence gathered as part of the accident investigation, and ensuring that the evidence is secured from employer tampering; and involving family members in the investigation process, such as allowing them an opportunity to offer names of individuals who may have useful evidence for the investigators.
Family Bill of Rights news release [pdf] • The Family Bill of Rights can be downloaded from the USMWF and Defending Science [pdf] websites
Hazards news, 3 November 2007

Global: BP gets record fine and probation
The US Department of Justice has fined UK-based oil multinational BP a total of $373m (£182m), for breaking environmental and safety rules and committing fraud. The fines include $50m relating to the Texas refinery explosion in 2005 that killed 15 people and injured 180 more, with this penalty also including three years probation.
BP news release • EPA news release • The Pump Handle • More on BP’s safety record
Hazards news, 3 November 2007

Britain: Unions want more than guidance
Unions have welcomed new guidance from the Institute of Directors (IoD), but have said there should also be legal safety duties on directors. TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson welcomed thte guide, but said “we need a clear legal duty on directors” and Tony Woodley, Unite joint general secretary, said: “Government is right to say there is an obligation on employers but instead of that being moral and ethical, in other words voluntary, it should be compulsory and enshrined in law.”
Unite news release
Hazards news, 3 November 2007

Britain: Directors publish voluntary code
Company directors have published their own voluntary guidelines to good boardroom safety practice. The Institute of Directors (IoD) says the new guidance will remind directors it is their responsibility to lead on health and safety and establish policies and practices that make it an integral part of their culture and values.
HSE news release and new director leadership webpages
Hazards news, 3 November 2007

Britain: Directors must be made to be safe
Boardrooms must be compelled to take workplace health and safety seriously, a new union-backed report has concluded. ‘Bringing justice to the boardroom’, prepared for construction union UCATT by the Centre for Corporate Accountability, says there has been a “complete failure” of the voluntary approach to reducing injuries and fatalities in the workplace.
UCATT news release and full report • CCA news release and background materials
Hazards news, 3 November 2007

Britain: Another tragedy at deadly Corus plant
A 46-year-old contract worker has died in an incident at Corus's Port Talbot works. Robert Gillard was operating a tipper truck when the vehicle overturned; he was employed by international contractor Multiserv.
BBC News Online • More on Corus’ safety record
Hazards news, 10 November 2007

Britain: Widow ‘disgusted’ by inquest verdict
The widow of a worker killed by a falling platform at Wembley Stadium has said she is “disgusted” by a verdict of accidental death at his inquest. Carpenter Patrick O'Sullivan, 54, died after a platform landed on him from more than 300ft while he was working on the construction of the new Wembley Stadium in January 2004.
Harrow Times
Hazards news, 10 November 2007

Britain: Outrage at ‘paltry’ bakery death fines
Campaigners have denounced “paltry” fines totalling £33,500 imposed on two companies after the death of an agency worker. Father-of-four Graham Meldrum, 40, died after being hit by a faulty tail-lift on his truck at the former Allied Bakery plant in Maryhill, Glasgow.
STUC news release • FACK news release
Hazards news, 10 November 2007

USA: Beware of ‘good news’ on work injuries
Did incidents of workplace illness and injury in the US decline last year? The US national union federation AFL-CIO says the figures are misleading – they are flawed because they are based on employer reports and come as a consequence of a change in the reporting rules.
AFL-CIO Now Blog • The Pump Handle
Hazards news, 27 October 2007

China: Dozens die in shoe factory fire
A fire erupted at an unlicensed shoe factory in Fujian province, China, on 21 October, killing 37 people in the latest industrial tragedy to hit the world's fourth largest economy, officials and state media said. None of the 56 workers escaped unhurt; some of the survivors are in a critical condition.
China Daily • The Guardian • Special Salt Lake Tribune series on health and safety in China, by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Loretta Tofani
Hazards news, 27 October 2007

Britain: Call for Scottish action on work deaths
Campaign organisation Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) is to push for corporate safety crimes measures in Scotland that go beyond those in the UK-wide Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, due to take effect in April next year. It says the exclusion of explicit directors’ duties from this law was “a huge disappointment”.
FACK news release • FACK website
Hazards news, 27 October 2007

Canada: Dangerous bosses better off after fines
Unsafe employers in Ontario are making money by exploiting weaknesses in a system supposed to penalise those with bad health and safety records, union research has revealed. An Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) report criticises the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) ‘experience rating’ system that adjusts insurance premium rates based on an employer’s claims history.
OFL news release • The perils of experience rating: Exposed! [pdf]
Hazards news, 20 October 2007

Brazil: Union leader murdered after safety probe
A leading Brazilian construction union leader was followed and murdered after investigating poor safety standards on a site. Aparecido Galvão, known as ‘China’, was president of construction union CONTICOM and had previously received threats from contractors.
BWI statement
Hazards news, 20 October 2007

Britain: New guides to work killings law
The government and the Health and Safety Executive have each published guidance on the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, which will come into force on 6 April 2008.
Ministry of Justice news release and Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 webpage • HSE corporate manslaughter webpage
Hazards news, 20 October 2007

Britain: HSE warning after vehicle death
A major transport firm has received a six-figure fine after the death of Derek Howe, 56, a Wirral lorry driver. TNT Logistics UK Ltd was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £28,184.75 after pleading guilty at Manchester Crown Court to workplace safety offences.
HSE news release and revamped workplace transport webpages
Hazards news, 20 October 2007

Britain: Payouts only ease financial misery
Construction union UCATT has secured six figure payouts on behalf of the families of two workers killed at work, but says cash is no real recompense and can only ease the financial misery. In May 2002 the two steeplejacks, Paul Wakefield and Craig Whelan, were killed in a chimney fireball at the Metal Box plant in Bolton.
UCATT news release
Hazards news, 20 October 2007

Britain: Manslaughter charge over teen death
The father of a teenager who fell to his death within a week of starting work has welcomed a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute his employer for manslaughter and has thanked his union GMB for its backing.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 20 October 2007

USA: Five die in tunnel blaze
Five workers who died after becoming trapped by a tunnel fire at a hydroelectric power plant tried to fight the blaze, but the fire extinguishers were the wrong type, one of the widows has said. The workers died last week in an Xcel Energy plant in Georgetown, Colorado.
Chemical Safety Board news release • The Pump Handle
Hazards news, 13 October 2007

Britain: Director gets small fine after fall death
A company director has escaped with a small fine after admitting safety offences linked to the death of worker George Taylor, 29. RTAL Ltd was fined £25,000 with £5,000 costs and managing director Terry Green was fined £2,500 and costs of £500, at Basildon Crown Court.
HSE news release
Hazards news, 13 October 2007

Britain: Mum wants action not compensation
The daughter and girlfriend of a steeplejack killed by a fireball as he worked demolishing a 60-metre high chimney have received £335,000 compensation in a UCATT-backed case. Father-of-one Craig Whelan – whose mother, Linda, is a founder member of Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) - was just 23 when he died while working on the chimney at Carnaud Metal Box Plc's Bolton factory in May 2002.
FACK news release
Hazards news, 13 October 2007

Britain: Pizza chef stabbed to death
A murder investigation has been launched after a pizza chef was stabbed to death with his own kitchen knife in Clapham, south London. In the UK, murders while working are not included in workplace fatality figures, which also exclude deaths in road traffic accidents while working and work deaths investigated by other enforcement authorities, including the Civil Aviation Authority and the Marine Standards Agency.
This is local London • US NIOSH guidance on occupational violence
Hazards news, 6 October 2007

Britain: Firm fined £100,000 after site death
Civil engineering and piling firm Dawson-Wam has been fined £100,000 after an employee died dismantling a piling rig. John Walsh was killed in September 2002 when the auger drive unit of the rig flew off its stand and struck him.
Contract Journal
Hazards news, 6 October 2007

Britain: ICL inquiry welcomed by campaigners
Unions, safety experts and the ICL/Stockline families group have welcomed the news there will be a full public inquiry into the blast. STUC general secretary Grahame Smith said: “Clearly, we need to await the publication of the full remit of the inquiry but as the families have said to Peter Hain, they need to know why their loved ones died, why certain actions were not taken to properly assess the condition of the buried pipework, and did the Health and Safety Executive’s enforcement strategy and lack of resources prevent adequate inspection of this company and also many other small businesses where workers may be at risk.”
STUC news release • Universities of Strathclyde and Stirling expert group news release • Statement from the ICL/Stockline families
Hazards news, 6 October 2007

Britain: Factory blast inquiry will probe regulators
A public inquiry into the Stockline factory blast in Glasgow is to be set up jointly by the Scottish and UK governments, it has been announced. Secretary of state for work and pensions Peter Hain said the ICL/Stockline families group had “made it clear to me that they want to see the role that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) played in regulating these premises prior to the incident is fully investigated”, adding that “I fully support them on this point.”
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service news release • DWP news release • ICL/Stockline campaign website
Hazards news, 6 October 2007

Britain: Dangerous directors must be ‘personally liable’
Safety duties on company directors are the key to reducing serious injuries and fatalities in the workplace, the union Unite has said. Speaking at the Labour Party conference, Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke said: “We want to see included in the corporate manslaughter law a secondary duty on directors and senior managers, which means if they are directly responsible for corporate manslaughter they too can be held liable, and if necessary put behind bars.”
Unite news release • Hazard deadly business news and resources
Hazards news, 6 October 2007

Vietnam: Dozens killed in bridge collapse
A section of a bridge under construction in southern Vietnam collapsed on 26 September, killing dozens of workers. Casualty figures are uncertain, but some reports say up to 60 workers died and 150 were injured.
The Age • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 29 September 2007

India: Deadly neglect in a Bangalore factory
An Indian garment worker who fell ill at work and had to wait hours for permission to leave her workplace, died in hospital later that day, the global union representing workers in the sector has revealed. It says the tragedy bears a striking resemblance to a incident that occurred at the same factory just three months ago, in which a pregnant worker lost her baby after she gave birth unassisted outside the factory gates after being denied assistance when she went into labour during her shift.
ITGLWF news release
Hazards news, 29 September 2007

Britain: Small fines for workplace crimes
Large fines for safety offences remain the exception, as recent cases illustrate. Carole Ann Hible, trading as removal company 'Specialised Movers', received fines totalling £9,000 with £4,335 costs after the death of an employee, with Market Drayton Magistrates giving credit for her prompt guilty plea and dealt with the case themselves, rather than in Crown Court where higher penalties are available.
HSE news release
Hazards news, 29 September 2007

Britain: Six figure fine after “avoidable” death
A company has received a six figure fine after 20-year-old worker Joshua Beswick was killed in a “totally avoidable” incident at a building materials yard. Merseyside firm Grundy and Co Excavations Ltd was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £9,034 costs at Warrington Crown Court after pleading guilty to safety offences.
HSE news release
Hazards news, 29 September 2007

Britain: Call to treat site deaths as real crimes
Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) has called for the real possibility of jail terms for employers after serious safety crimes lead to a workplace death. The campaign group was commenting after a site foreman and building company director from A & A Building Services were fined a total of £20,000 on charges relating to the death of worker Alex Hayden, 28, who was crushed by a truck.
Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) news release and website • HSE news release • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 29 September 2007

Britain: Three more die offshore
Three more workers have died in offshore, but none of these fatalities will be included in the Health and Safety Executive’s occupational fatality figures. The men died after an incident on a gas rig standby vessel in the North Sea, Vroon Offshore Services, operators of the Viking Islay, said.
BBC News Online and follow up story
Hazards news, 29 September 2007

Britain: Wide support for ICL/Stockline inquiry
Unions and health and safety experts have backed a call by HSE union Prospect for a full inquiry into the ILC/Stockline disaster.
STUC news release • Statement from the authors of the ICL/Disaster report
Hazards news, 29 September 2007

Britain: HSE union calls for ICL disaster inquiry
The union representing staff in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has called for a public inquiry into the ICL/Stockline factory explosion in Glasgow in May 2004 that killed nine workers and seriously injured 40.
Prospect news release • BBC News Online • ICL/Stockline disaster website
Hazards news, 29 September 2007

Britain: Firms fined after worker's death
Two Wiltshire companies have been fined after admitting safety breaches which resulted in the death of a worker. TH White Installations of Devizes and RF Stratton and Company, owners of Manor Farm, Kingston Deverill, Wiltshire, were each fined £35,000 and £8,000 costs.
Bath Chronicle • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 22 September 2007

Britain: Hain vows to stop site deaths surge
An action plan to cut workplace deaths and improve health and safety standards has been agreed by representatives of the construction industry and the trade unions. Secretary of state for work and pensions Peter Hain convened the forum, which agreed measures including encouraging worker involvement, ensuring all projects include trades union and worker representatives and to take steps to drive out the informal economy in the sector.
DWP news release • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 22 September 2007

Britain: Campaign tells Hain to act on site deaths
Cabinet minister Peter Hain has called for government and industry to work together to reduce fatalities in the construction industry. However, the Construction Safety Campaign is to protest outside a 17 September construction safety forum called b Hain to make known its “disgust at the government's killer cuts agenda.”
DWP news release • Hazards health and safety enforcement news and resources
Hazards news, 15 September 2007

USA: Committee maps out deadly work causes
A top US government committee has called for a national commitment to stop occupational injuries and ill-health. US Representative George Miller, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee marked Labor Day, 3 September, with the launch of a new interactive online map that enables people to learn about many of the workplace fatalities that have occurred in their own communities this year.
US House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Labor news release. Interactive map of work fatalities Hazards news, 8 September 2007

USA: Mine tragedy was ‘an unnatural disaster’
The coal mine collapse last month that killed six miners and three more workers involved in a rescue attempt was ‘an unnatural disaster’, a US commentator has said. The Mountain Eagle’s Tom Bethell, in a 29 August editorial, said: “Robert Murray, a mine owner obviously in need of clinical help, insisted from day one that the August 6 cave-in at his Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah was a natural disaster, triggered by an earthquake that no one could have anticipated.”
The Pump Handle • Federal Register, volume 68, page 53041, 9 September 2003 [pdf] • AFL-CIO Now update on Senate hearings into the Crandall mine disaster
Hazards news, 8 September 2007

Britain: HSE warns HGV operators after injury fine
Heavy goods vehicles operators risk a fine if they don’t take safety seriously, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said. The warning came after Tow Law-based WE & I Wright Limited was prosecuted and fined £4,000 with £2,500 costs following an investigation into a serious injury sustained by an employee who was crushed between reversing heavy goods vehicles.
HSE news release and workplace transport webpages
Hazards news, 8 September 2007

Britain: Developers fined over dumper truck death
A construction company has been ordered to pay £43,715 in fines and costs after one of its employees died on a Salisbury building site in 2003. Castleway Developments Ltd admitted at Salisbury Crown Court to failing to ensure the safety of its employees, after 62-year-old George Rogers was killed when he was catapulted from a dumper truck, which then ran over his body.
Salisbury Journal
Hazards news, 8 September 2007

Britain: Rail firm admits Grayrigg crash blame
The faulty points that caused a fatal crash in Cumbria should have been inspected five days earlier, a rail industry report has revealed. An 84-year-old woman was killed and 22 people injured when the London to Glasgow Virgin Pendolino plunged off the track at Grayrigg in February.
Network Rail news release and report summary [pdf]
Hazards news, 8 September 2007

Britain: Mother in legal action over inquiry delay
A grieving mother is taking legal action against Scotland’s Lord Advocate over delays in mounting an inquiry into her partner's death two years ago. Karen Thomson, 46, has been fighting for more than two years to learn the facts surrounding the death of her partner of eight years, Graham Meldrum.
The Herald
Hazards news, 8 September 2007

Britain: Blast report slams ICL and official oversight
The disaster at a Glasgow plastics factory was caused by years of neglect by the company that ran it and by the government safety watchdog meant to regulate it, according to a research report. Eight experts from four universities have condemned ICL Plastics and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to prevent the gas explosion on 11 May 2004, which killed nine workers.
Universities of Strathclyde and Stirling news release and ICL/Stockline disaster website
Hazards news, 8 September 2007

China: ‘Comfort money’ after 181 miners die
The families of 181 miners presumed dead after two pits were flooded on 17 August have each received 2,000 yuan (£132) in “comfort money” from local officials. A team of officials paid 2,000 yuan to each bereaved family plus an additional 200 yuan (£13) to each individual family member.
Hong Kong Standard • China Labour Bulletin
Hazards news, 1 September 2007

Britain: Dangerous demolition firms warned on risks
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned demolition companies they must investigate risks prior to starting work or they could invite tragedy and an appearance before the courts. The HSE statement came after Central Demolition Limited of Bonnybridge, Scotland, was fined £50,000 after pleading guilty to safety offences relating to an incident in which employee Gideon Irvine, 44, died.
HSE news release
Hazards news, 1 September 2007

Britain: Corporate code is ‘a criminals’ charter’
Moves to slash red tape could weaken the Health and Safety Executive's authority to inspect premises and tackle careless employers, ministers have been warned. A draft Code of Practice for Regulators, which will apply to the Health and Safety Commission and Executive and will have the force of law, needs significant changes to avoid being a ‘Charter for corporate criminals,’ the Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) has told the Cabinet Office’s Better Regulation Executive.
CCA news release • A Code of Practice for Regulators – A Consultation, Cabinet Office: draft code [pdf] and Better Regulation Executive webpages
Hazards news, 1 September 2007

Britain: Call for tougher laws after fatal blast
Demands for tougher laws to enable company directors to be prosecuted following fatal accidents resurfaced in the aftermath of the ICL/Stockline trial. Trade unions and families of workers killed said the penalties were insufficient and called for a public inquiry.
STUC news release • FACK news release
Hazards news, 1 September 2007

Britain: ICL fined £400,000 over factory explosion
Two companies have been fined a total of £400,000 over the explosion that destroyed the Stockline factory in Glasgow and killed nine workers and injured 40 others. ICL Plastics and ICL Tech had pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety legislation, admitting four offences that led to the explosion at their factory on 11 May 2004.
Hazards ICL/Stockline disaster webpages
Hazards news, 1 September 2007

USA: Cintas faces record fine after dryer death
US official safety watchdog OSHA has proposed fining work uniform supplier Cintas Corp. $2.78 million (£1.4m) after a worker in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was trapped in an operating industrial dryer and died of trauma and heat injuries. Eleazar Torres Gomez, 46, was killed in March when he fell into the dryer while clearing a jam of wet laundry on a conveyor that carries laundry from the washer into the dryer.
OSHA news release • UNITE HERE news release and Uniform justice! campaign
Hazards news, 25 August 2007

Saudi Arabia: Migrant domestics killed by employers
The killing of two Indonesian domestic workers by their employers in Saudi Arabia highlights the Saudi government’s ongoing failure to hold employers accountable for serious abuses, campaign group Human Rights Watch has said. The brutal beatings by these employers also left two other Indonesian domestic workers critically injured.
Human Rights Watch news release
Hazards news, 25 August 2007

Mexico: Strike at deathtrap copper pit
Deep drifts of powdery rock dust blocking exit routes, exposed wiring and missing machine covers and fire extinguishers are some of the sights that greet visitors to Mexico's largest copper mine. About 3,000 miners at the Cananea copper pit, who laid down their tools on 30 July in a strike partly over safety conditions, accuse mine owner Grupo Mexico of not investing in maintenance despite sky-high copper prices.
International Herald Tribune
Hazards news, 25 August 2007

Britain: Campaign pushes for crane deaths justice
An official safety investigation into a crane collapse which killed two almost a year ago should report soon so bereaved families can pursue justice, campaigners have said.
BCDAG news release • Ceremonies to remember Michael Alexa and Jonathan Cloke will be held at the crane collapse site on Thessaly Rd on the first anniversary of the tragedy, 26 September, from 7.30am-8am and 5.30pm–6pm
Hazards news, 25 August 2007

Britain: Stockline firms admit safety charges
The operators of a Glasgow plastics factory where nine people died in an explosion three years ago have pleaded guilty to health and safety charges. ICL Tech Ltd and ICL Plastics admitted four charges at the High Court in Glasgow last week.
STUC news release • FACK news release • UNITE news release • BBC News Online on the guilty plea and the families’ statement
Hazards news, 25 August 2007

Britain: Site deaths head for six-year high
Deaths on construction sites this year could top last year’s five year high, new figures suggest. Construction union UCATT said so far this year 29 site deaths have been reported - at the current rate, moving into the more dangerous winter months, the final death count risks topping last year's figure of 77.
UCATT news release • Contract Journal
Hazards news, 25 August 2007

USA: Latest disaster exposes lax mine safety
Former US mine safety officials believe the work methods used at a Utah mine where six miners have been trapped underground for over a week were so dangerous that they question why federal regulators approved them. The prospects for six coal miners, trapped underground since the 6 August cave-in, look increasingly slim.
Salt Lake City Tribune and story update • The Militant
More on the union safety effect
Hazards news, 18 August 2007

Somalia: IFJ condemns ‘savage’ killing of journalists
The International Federation of Journalist (IFJ) has demanded urgent international action to confront the targeting and killing of journalists in Somalia following a brutal double attack in which one media chief was shot dead and another killed only hours later in a car bombing while returning from the funeral of the first victim.
IFJ news release
Hazards news, 18 August 2007

China: Many workers dead after bridge collapse
Dozens of people were killed and dozens injured when a bridge collapsed this week while under construction in the town of Fenghuang, in China's Hunan province. There were 123 workers on the bridge removing scaffolding at the time of the incident, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
Xinhua • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 18 August 2007

USA: Boss used homeless to remove asbestos
A US contractor who hired homeless men to remove asbestos without proper protective gear has been sentenced to 21 months in prison. John Edward Callahan, 56, had pleaded guilty earlier this year to a Clean Air Act violation – but because he doesn’t have the resources was not fined or required to pay for medical monitoring and treatment of the men he'd exposed to asbestos.
Roanoke Times
Hazards news, 11 August 2007

USA: Two jailed after fatal site plunge
A Brooklyn judge has sentenced the two owners of a construction company to the maximum penalty of six months in prison for causing the death of a worker who was not equipped with a safety harness when he fell from a scaffold. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had cited the firm as recently as March 2007 for defective scaffolding at another New York work site - and that the defendants have ignored the $34,000 (£17,000) fine.
NY Daily News
Hazards news, 11 August 2007

Britain: Cameraman's death was 'unlawful'
A coroner has recorded a verdict of unlawful killing on a television cameraman killed in Iraq. Paul Douglas, 48, was killed when a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint near the centre of Baghdad on 29 May 2006.
BBC News Online
Hazards news, 11 August 2007

Britain: Make the punishment fit the crime
Safety professionals’ organisation IOSH has said last week’s £121.5 million fine for British Airways for illegally fixing fuel surcharges provides a stark contrast to the fines handed out by the courts for health and safety offences. The combined fines total for all safety convictions secured by HSE in 2005/06 was less than a fifth the fine incurred by BA for the single breach of financial rules.
IOSH news release
Hazards news, 11 August 2007

Britain: Frozen food firm’s double injury fine
A major frozen food firm in Wales with a turnover of £23m has been ordered to pay £33,000 in fines and costs after two forklift truck drivers were badly injured in separate incidents. Wrexham-based Pann Krisp said it had “learned lessons” after it admitted two breaches of safety rules relating to the July 2005 injuries.
HSE new release • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 11 August 2007

Britain: Cost-cutting accident boss jailed
A “cunning” businessman whose cost-cutting and “callous” disregard for safety led to a near fatal accident involving one of his workers has been jailed for six months and ordered to pay £90,000 compensation to the victim. Shah Nawaz Pola had denied being responsible for a Bradford building site where Slovakian worker Dusan Dudi suffered what were thought to be non-survivable injuries when he was struck by a concrete lintel.
Yorkshire Post • Telegraph and Argus
Hazards news, 11 August 2007

Britain: Campaigners push for crane safety
Safety campaigners are calling for sweeping new measures to address the problems that have led to a spate of crane tragedies. The Battersea Crane Disaster Action Group (BCDAG) joined key industry figures at a 9 August Construction Confederation/Strategic Forum crane “summit” in central London, where it launched its own crane safety manifesto.
BCDAG news release and Crane Safety Manifesto • FACK news release
Hazards news, 11 August 2007

Britain: Unite calls for more honest offshore statistics
Health and safety statistics for the offshore oil and gas sector from all sources should be combined and released “in a more open, honest fashion” as the current system is obscuring most fatalities, offshore union Unite has said. The union say HSE statistics show just two fatalities in the sector in 2006/07, but the 11 deaths reported to other UK agencies go unmentioned.
Unite news release • HSE news release • Offshore safety statistics bulletin 2006/07
Hazards news, 11 August 2007