HOME  •  ARTICLES  •  RESOURCES  •  NEWS  •  LINKS  •  SUBSCRIBE  •  ABOUT HAZARDS

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

Sold out
The government has billed HSC's new safety blueprint as 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, warns Hazards editor Rory O'Neill.
Hazards 86, April-June 2004

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

Enforcement news updates

---

Britain: Boards must gave safety priority
Companies have been told they have to take safety seriously at board level, or there could be consequences. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) chair Judith Hackitt reminded board members and senior business directors to put effective health and safety performance high on their agendas.
HSE news release, leadership conference news release and leadership webpages • Judith Hackitt podcast • Risks 354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008

Britain: Safety’s not first for many bosses
Many employers put other business concerns ahead of worker safety, a major employee survey has found. When asked to rank their boss’s business priorities, 31 per cent felt that keeping customers and clients happy was their boss’s top concern.
IOSH news release • Risks 354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008

Britain: Dog attack man gets nine months
A dangerous dog owner has been jailed after his two dogs savaged a Sheffield postal worker. Post union CWU has welcomed the nine month jail term handed down to Jamal Richards at Sheffield Crown Court, following the savage mauling of postie Paul Coleman.
CWU news release • 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: Protest at HSE’s bad move
Unions in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have warned its planned HQ move from London to Bootle will lead to a haemorrhage of experienced staff. Over 100 PCS members working at HSE’s London HQ joined Workers’ Memorial Day protesters outside the building.
PCS news release • Contract Journal • Risks 354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008

Britain: Not much naming, less shaming
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) commitment to name and shame dangerous firms is failing because of the watchdog’s “simply extraordinary” failure to publicise most convictions. A Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) analysis found in 2007 HSE issued news releases after only 33 per cent of safety convictions, just 167 cases out of 502; of the 84 convictions that involved a death, HSE only issued a news release following 45 cases, or 54 per cent of the total.
CCA news release • Risks 353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008

Britain: Action call on ‘toothless’ HSE
Unions have said the government must respond positively to the House of Commons work and pensions committee’s call for an increase in Health and Safety Executive (HSE) funding and enforcement activity. Bud Hudspith, Unite’s national health and safety officer, said: “A toothless Health and Safety Executive has been starved of resources and the power to penalise those who disregard the safety of workers and the public.”
Unite news release • UCATT news release • UNISON on the report and directors’ duties • Risks 353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008

Britain: Ministers urged to heed report findings
The TUC and the unions representing Health and Safety Executive (HSE) staff have urged the government to act on the recommendations of the House of Commons select committee on work and pensions.
TUC news release • Prospect news release • PCS news release • Risks 353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008

Britain: MPs warn safety is under-funded
There is “widespread concern that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is inadequately funded,” undermining its ability to carry out its work, MPs have warned ministers. The Commons Work and Pensions Committee report called for more “front line” health and safety inspectors, more frequent site visits, bigger fines and more prosecutions, all measures running counter to HSE’s practice over recent years.
The role of the Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive in regulating workplace health and safety, House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee, 21 April 2008 • Risks 353
Hazards news, 26 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

USA: Unions urge action on serial offenders
US unions have called on politicians to take urgent action to ensure greater safety oversight of companies with a history of serious safety violations. Eric Frumin, health and safety coordinator for the Change to Win partnership, told the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety earlier this month: “Employers bear the primary responsibility for protecting workers, but too often, companies would rather squeeze out extra profit than save employees' lives.” Teamsters news release and In harm’s way report • Change to Win news release • Risks 351
Hazards news, 12 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: HSE absorbs HSC
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) merged on 1 April. The new combined body will be called the Health and Safety Executive.
DWP news release • HSE merger statement • Risks 350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008

Britain: New regulating rules for safety watchdogs
Revised standards for health and safety enforcers have been released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in response to a new government code covering official regulatory activity. The Regulators’ Compliance Code, which from 6 April applies to all regulatory agencies including HSE and local authority workplace safety inspectors, “is a statutory code of practice intended to encourage regulators to achieve their objectives in a way that minimises the burdens on business,” says HSE in an online briefing.
HSE short guide on its role and the Regulators’ Compliance Code • Usdaw news release • Local authority enforced sectors • Risks 350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008

Britain: Death fines below 0.2 per cent of turnover
Most large companies convicted of safety offences involving a workplace death are fined at less than a 700th of their annual turnover, a new study has found. If individuals earning an average annual income of £24,769 were sentenced at this level, they would be fined just £35.
CCA news release, including link to the full report, The relationship between the levels of fines imposed upon companies convicted of health and safety offences resulting from deaths, and the turnover and gross profits of these companies, CCA, March 2008 • Risks 348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008

Britain: Molten zinc burns lead to fine
Hereford Galvanizers Ltd was fined £13,000 and ordered to pay costs of £6,564 after pleading guilty at Hereford Magistrates Court to safety offences. The prosecution followed a June 2006 incident where an employee helping with galvanising operations was splashed with 450-degree molten zinc when the hooks suspending two steel joists, each weighing approximately 1,165kg (over 1 tonne), gave way causing the joists to plunge back into the dip bath.
HSE news release • Risks 347
Hazards news, 15 March 2008

Britain: Suspend the board after work deaths
Sanctions including far-reaching improvement orders, substantial fines, court-ordered publicity and in the worst of cases, suspension of all or part of the board of directors, should all be at the court's disposal when sentencing for corporate manslaughter or homicide, under the new law to take effect next month. Ray Hurst, president of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) said: “We’re keen that those organisations found guilty of this grave offence are required to make the fundamental changes needed to improve their leadership, systems and cultures.”
IOSH news release • Risks 346
Hazards news, 8 March 2008

Britain: HSE gets a funding standstill
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors’ union Prospect has expressed relief at a government decision to not impose “further deep cuts on HSE's resources.” Prospect negotiator Mike Macdonald said: “Given the increasing pressures on occupational health and safety, our members believe that a 20 per cent increase in funding is needed to improve Britain's health and safety record to an acceptable standard.”
Prospect news release
Hazards news, 8 March 2008

Britain: Confused policy leads to fines mess
The government is “schizophrenic” on workplace health and safety enforcement, setting improvement targets and talking tough in the aftermath of major accidents but then espousing deregulation and less enforcement by a pared back Health and Safety Executive (HSE), according to a new report.
Health and Safety Bulletin • Risks 345
Hazards news, 1 March 2008

Britain: Death trap sites need enforcement
News that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) this month closed 10 out of 11 construction sites visited in Aberdeen during an enforcement blitz has come as no surprise to construction union UCATT. UCATT said while it welcomed the HSE’s decision to target construction sites in a series of February blitzes, it believes that “it is only a sticking plaster” that will not ensure construction bosses take safety seriously all the time.
UCATT news release • Risks 344
Hazards news, 23 February 2008

USA: What to do when the watchdog won’t watch?
A series of devastating workplace disasters have focused attention on US safety watchdog OSHA – which appears to have been neither watching nor acting. For the second time in two months, America has witnessed a catastrophic industrial explosion involving multiple fatalities – and in both cases the watchdog had been previously urged introduce rules after earlier similar tragedies.
The Pump Handle • Risks 343
Hazards news, 16 February 2008

Britain: Safety breaches shut 10 out of 11 sites
Safety inspectors visited 11 building sites in Aberdeen - and closed down all but one of them due to “bad and dangerous” working practices. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) made random unannounced spot checks on refurbishment sites as part of a national blitz.
Risks 343
Hazards news, 16 February 2008

Britain: Oil platform closed due to safety problems
An unsafe North Sea oil platform has been closed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), according to reports. Trade magazine Upstream says the Maersk Janice platform must remain shut down until a catalogue of serious safety failures has been fixed; offshore unions said workers who criticised safety standards on the platform have been ‘NRB’d’ – not required back.
Risks 343
Hazards news, 16 February 2008

Britain: Firm fined for forklift folly
A Carlisle joinery firm has been fined after an employee was lifted eight feet into the air on a forklift truck to fit a company sign, just as a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector made a call. Dick Thompson and Co (Cumbria) Ltd was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £834.39 costs at Carlisle Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to a safety offence.
Risks 342
Hazards news, 9 February 2008

Britain: Peg bonuses to worker safety success
Britain's biggest companies are being urged to radically alter the way they pay their directors by linking their bonuses to non-financial measures such as environmental protection and the safety of employees. The Guardian reported this week that the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, which represents public sector pension funds with £85bn of assets, has already urged its members to oppose pay policies at oil companies BP and Shell because they do not include any references to the safety of employees.
Risks 342
Hazards news, 9 February 2008

USA: Watchdog neglects to fine danger mines
US federal regulators have allowed mine operators to avoid fines for thousands of health and safety citations, despite a federal law that requires monetary penalties for such violations, government officials have confirmed. A report in the Charleston Gazette says over the last six years, the Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration did not assess civil penalties for about 4,000 violations, according to preliminary MSHA data.
Risks 341
Hazards news, 2 February 2008

China: Official crackdown on work deaths
Dozens of Chinese officials are to be prosecuted or punished over fatal accidents in the workplace. Works minister Wang Wei announced that prosecutors would consider cases against 78 managers and officials, and said 105 had already been disciplined.
Risks 340
Hazards news, 26 January 2008

Britain: Weakened HSE has ‘dumbed down’ role
A “serious weakening” of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and a “dumbing down” of its strategy is leaving workers without adequate protection and at risk of deadly diseases, MPs have been told. In its submission to the Work and Pensions Select Committee inquiry into the operations and work of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and HSE, the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) questioned the watchdog’s strategy and called for more emphasis on prevention and enforcement.
IOM news release and full submission to the Work and Pensions Select Committee inquiry into the operations and work of HSE/HSC [pdf] • Risks 340
Hazards news, 26 January 2008

Britain: TUC calls for more from HSE
Rigorous enforcement of safety laws by a properly resourced safety watchdog must be a top priority, TUC has told MPs. The call comes in a TUC written submission to parliament’s Work and Pensions Select Committee hearing on the work of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Health and Safety Commission (HSC).
TUC evidence to Work and Pensions Select Committee on the HSE/C • Hazards enforcement webpages • Risks 339
Hazards news, 19 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: Hats off for safety sanity clause
Workplace campaigners have delivered a seasonal message to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) wishing the watchdog a merry Christmas and a well resourced new year. Santa hat clad revellers assembled last week outside HSE’s London HQ.
Battersea Crane Disaster Action Group news release • FACK news release
Hazards news, 22 December 2007

Britain: Train driver manslaughter rap quashed
The Court of Appeal has quashed a train driver’s 17-year-old conviction for manslaughter. ASLEF member Bob Morgan was convicted on two counts of manslaughter on 3 September 1990; the union said the original conviction had not taken into proper account that the signal was defective and had been passed at danger on four previous occasions by different drivers.
ASLEF news release
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: Offshore safety on a 'knife-edge'
Safety is on a “knife-edge” in some parts of the North Sea oil industry, MPs have been warned. The admission from Health and Safety Executive (HSE) chief executive Geoffrey Podger followed two platform fires and a damning report on offshore safety standards in November 2007.
BBC News Online
Hazards news, 8 December 2007

Britain: HSE accused of inspection-by-phone
An inspection foreman has accused the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of ignoring serious safety problems after it refused to visit a dangerous workplace and took “telephone action” instead. The source told trade paper Contract Journal that HSE ignored his plea for a personal visit after he raised serious concerns over health and safety standards at the structural steel firm where he had worked.
Contract Journal • Just who does HSE protect? Hazards magazine, number 100, 2007
Hazards news, 8 December 2007

Britain: CCA slams ‘meaningless’ enforcement review
The Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA) is calling on the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) to undertake a new review of the circumstances when its inspectors should prosecute. It says the conclusions of the Health and Safety Executive’s review of its prosecution policy are “meaningless” as crucial evidence has been overlooked.
CCA news release and background papers
Hazards news, 1 December 2007

Britain: TUC scathing on new safety laws review
The TUC has said the government should stop pandering to negligent law-shy employers, and instead put its focus on protecting vulnerable workers from illness and injury. The comments came after Chancellor Alistair Darling this week launched a “major review” of safety laws, “focusing on small and low risk businesses.”
BERR news release and Improving outcomes from health and safety: A call for evidence [pdf] • Alistair Darling’s speech to the CBI conference
Hazards news, 1 December 2007

Britain: Corporate killers must face mega-fines
Companies whose neglect results in deaths should face fines running to hundreds of millions of pounds, government law advisers have said. A corporate accountability group, however, has said the Sentencing Advisory Panel (SAP) proposed penalties are still “simply too low.”
CCA news release • Sentencing guidelines news release [pdf] • Sentencing guidelines website
Hazards news, 24 November 2007

Britain: Call for tough action on safety ‘crime wave’
There must be tougher enforcement action to tackle a workplace health and safety “crime wave”, the TUC has said. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Evidence shows the most effective way to change behaviour is strong enforcement action, supported by advice and guidance.”
TUC news release • CCA news release • FACK news release
Hazards news, 24 November 2007

Global: Unions and enforcement are the safe option
Rigorous enforcement backed up by active unions is the best way to deliver safety at work, a new World Health Organisation report has concluded. ‘Employment conditions and health inequalities’ says contrary to the current fashion for deregulation, regulations are not the problem.
Employment conditions and health inequalities: Final report, WHO, 2007 [pdf] • The report is a contribution to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health
Hazards news, 17 November 2007

Britain: Courts protect wonga much better than workers
The courts disqualify company directors risking cash hundreds of times more often than directors risking people’s health and safety, a major study has found. Research for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published this week reported that since the introduction of a director disqualification act in the mid-80s only a handful of directors have been disqualified for breaching health and safety laws compared to over 1,500 each year for breaches of financial rules.
University of Warwick news release • A survey of the use and effectiveness of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 as a legal sanction against directors convicted of health and safety offences, RR597, HSE, 2007, summary page and full report [pdf]
Hazards news, 17 November 2007

Britain: Refinery blows one day after HSE visit
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has started an investigation into a fire at an oil refinery that saw flames shoot 100ft (30m) into the air. HSE inspectors had been at the site on Tuesday, the day before the fire, carrying out routine checks.
BBC News Online
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: Your money or your life
The government is giving a greater priority to enforcing financial regulations than ensuring the safety of UK workers, the union representing Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors has warned. Responding to official HSE fatality statistics, Prospect said it is unacceptable that the organisation responsible for enforcing health and safety law has been facing year-on-year real term cuts and dwindling staff numbers while the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has seen a rise in both funding and staff over the same period.
Prospect news release
Hazards news, 10 November 2007

Britain: HSE faces nuclear inspector shortage
The government is so short of nuclear inspectors that the programme of new reactors being planned may have to be put on hold, leaked papers show. The business secretary, John Hutton, has warned Gordon Brown that the government has only five inspectors working on the design assessments of the three types of reactors being considered for Britain, with an additional 35 inspectors are needed to be in place within 16 months.
The Guardian • Hazards enforcement webpages
Hazards news, 27 October 2007

Britain: Site employers quibble but don’t act
The construction group given responsibility by ministers to lead a site safety drive after fatalities took a dramatic upturn has admitted it cannot tackle the problem until it gets its own house in order. Work and pensions secretary Peter Hain has charged the health and safety task group of the construction industry’s Strategic Forum, composed of the major players in the industry, to come up with ideas to improve safety practices in the sector by the end of 2007.
Hazards magazine news report
Hazards news, 20 October 2007

Ireland: Watchdog to pursue 'trouble free' firms
Just because a firm does not report any accidents, doesn’t mean accidents are not occurring there, Ireland’s safety watchdog has said. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) says companies with a history of not reporting or under-reporting workplace accidents are about to come under additional scrutiny, in marked contrast with the approach taken by Britain’s Health and Safety Executive.
HSA news release
Hazards news, 6 October 2007

Britain: New HSC chair wants boardroom action
The new chair of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has called for more board level engagement and ownership on health and safety issues. Judith Hackitt - who has previously served time as a HSC commissioner - has held top posts in chemical industry lobby groups, including a stint as director general of the Chemical Industries Association.
HSE news release and Judith Hackitt profile
Hazards news, 6 October 2007

Britain: Minister backs jail for health worker abuse
The government is injecting £97 million into hospital security, to help protect staff from intimidation and violence. The money, which will be spread over four years, will ensure better security in hospitals, including improved training for staff to deal with aggressive behaviour.
DH news release • UNISON news release
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

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: Baggage handling firm picks up a fine
A firm that last year failed in an employment tribunal bid to wriggle out of an improvement notice issued because of inadequate airport manual handling measures has now been fined for ignoring a Health and Safety Executive manual handling notice. Manchester Airport ground handling company Menzies Aviation (UK) Ltd pleaded guilty to safety offences and to failing to comply with an improvement notice.
HSE news release • HSE back pain webpages
Hazards news, 8 September 2007

Britain: Inspection cuts could cost lives
Proposals to limit on-the-spot safety inspections could result in increased workplace deaths and injuries, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has warned. Safety professionals’ organisation IOSH warns that a draft code of practice for regulators proposes that random inspection should only be a small element of a regulator’s programme, used to test its processes, and recommends that regulators “allow or even encourage economic progress and only intervene when there is a clear case for protection.”
IOSH news release • Code of Practice for Regulators – A Consultation, Cabinet Office: draft code [pdf]
Hazards news, 8 September 2007

South Africa: Threats to inspectors must end
Construction industry employers must allow labour inspectors onto their construction sites to carry out inspections or face “the full might of the law”, South Africa’s labour minister has said. Membathisi Mdladlana called on employers to cooperate after an inspector was threatened with death by an employer after issuing a notice to stop dangerous work at a construction site.
BuaNews
Hazards news, 1 September 2007

Britain: Asbestos dumper gets his assets frozen
A Bradford man jailed in March for illegally dumping asbestos and excavation waste has had his assets frozen in the first case of its kind. The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), working with the Environment Agency (EA), obtained restraint orders to freeze properties belonging to 60-year-old William Reidy and related to the illegal activities of his demolition business Space Making Development.
Assets Recovery Agency news release • Telegraph and Argus
Hazards news, 25 August 2007

Britain: Safety warning on Tory’s red tape cuts
The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has called on the Conservatives to “completely re-think” before considering sweeping cuts to ‘red tape’, a move IOSH says could reduce competitiveness and end up costing lives. The safety professionals’ organisation said that it believes repealing the Working Time Regulations could lead to “a UK where worker-exploitation becomes rife.”
IOSH news release
Hazards news, 25 August 2007

Britain: Tory plan for red tape 'tax cut'
Tory leader David Cameron is looking at plans to cut £14bn in red tape and regulation for UK businesses – and some safety measures are in the firing line. The plans have been put forward by John Redwood - one of the most senior figures on the Tory right and chair of the party’s Economic Competitiveness Policy Group - who called them “a tax cut by any other name.”
TUC news release • Conservative Party Freeing Britain to compete webpages and Economic Competitive Policy Group full report [pdf]
Hazards news, 25 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: 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: 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: 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

Finland: SAK says get tough on safety crimes
Finland’s largest union confederation wants longer jail terms possible for workplace safety crimes. SAK says penalties should be comparable with those in force for environmental and economic crimes.
Trade Union News from Finland
Hazards news, 4 August 2007

Britain: Cash-starved HSE fails to probe major injuries
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is failing to investigate hundreds of the most serious workplace accidents every year because of a lack of resources, safety campaigners have found. Figures obtained by the trade union-backed safety magazine Hazards show that an increasing number of major injuries which should according to HSE rules require investigation are overlooked because of “inadequate resources”.
What gorilla? Rising deaths, enforcement scandal, consultation farce, useless statistics, Hazards magazine, Number 99, 2007 • Hazards enforcement webpages Hazards news, 4 August 2007

Britain: Work deaths fall out continues
Work fatality figures released last week and described by TUC as “dreadful” have led to more calls for extra resources for the beleaguered Health and Safety Executive. Prospect negotiations officer Mike Macdonald said HSE “cannot meet its public expectations to advise, inspect and enforce workplace health and safety so that Britain’s 28 million workers have confidence they will not be injured or killed at work.”
Prospect news release
Hazards news, 4 August 2007

Britain: Enforcement reduces deaths says site union
Construction union UCATT is demanding that Britain’s safety watchdog learn a lesson from its Irish counterpart when it comes to construction safety. The union has also called for top Health and Safety Executive (HSE) bosses, who announced last week a massive hike in construction deaths, to “consider their positions”.
UCATT news release
Hazards news, 4 August 2007

Britain: Let-off for directors takes shine off new law
Unions and campaign groups have given a lukewarm welcome to the new corporate killing law, saying the omission of explicit legal duties on and penalties for company directors is a major flaw. Alan Ritchie, general secretary of construction union UCATT, said it was “a hollow victory.”
UCATT news release • Unite-Amicus news release • FACK news release
Hazards news, 28 July 2007

Britain: Corporate killing law finally passed
The long awaited corporate killing law is to take effect next year. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber gave the law a qualified welcome, saying: “Even though unions wanted the bill to make individual directors personally liable for safety breaches and penalties against employers committing safety crimes to be tougher, we hope it will mean the start of a change in the safety culture at the top of the UK's companies and organisations.”
Ministry of Justice news release • TUC news release • Details of the new Act
Hazards news, 28 July 2007

Britain: Urgent action call as deaths soar
Deaths at work are at a five year high, new figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show. Statistics for 2006/07 released on 26 July show 241 workers died, up 11 per cent from 217 deaths in 2005/06.
HSE 2006/07 statistics report • TUC news release
Hazards news, 28 July 2007

South Africa: Unenforced laws leave work unsafe
Lenient, poorly enforced occupational safety laws are allowing companies to get away with inadequate safety measures, the Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene has said. Deon van Vuuren, the institute's president, said most firms did not carry out risk assessments every two years, as required by law, because government inspections rarely took place.
Business Report
Hazards news, 21 July 2007

Britain: HSE move will ‘haemorrhage key expertise’
Plans to relocate the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) policy division will damage its ability to advise Whitehall, fail to produce promised savings and risks haemorrhaging key expertise within the safety organisation, HSE unions have warned. Prospect and PCS members protested outside HSE’s London HQ on 17 July.
Prospect news release
Hazards news, 21 July 2007

Britain: Fate of work deaths law in the balance
The fate of a bill to allow companies to be prosecuted where gross negligence leads to the death of employees or members of the public is in the balance after the Lords voted for a fourth time to extend its scope to include deaths in custody. The corporate manslaughter and corporate homicide bill could fall if it does not become law by 19 July.
House of Lords debate on the Bill, 9 July 2007 • Parliament website tracking progress on the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill
Hazards news, 14 July 2007

Britain: Business wants regulated workplaces
A government push for less workplace regulation and enforcement is the opposite of what works and what businesses want, two new reports suggest. Findings of an 18-month inquiry published this week by Tomorrow’s Company, a group of prominent corporate leaders, calls for more, and better, regulation to reward environmentally and socially responsible companies and a report published on 4 July by The Work Foundation, concluded “re-regulation” and not deregulation that had led to the positive changes to the labour market without any credible evidence of damage to economic performance, while unemployment had remained relatively low.
Tomorrow’s Company news release • Tomorrow's global company: Challenges and choices – executive summary [pdf] • The Work Foundation news release • 7 out of 10: Labour Under Labour 1997-2007 [pdf] • The case for safety regulation and enforcement - Hazards enforcement webpages
Hazards news, 7 July 2007

USA: Call for three strikes policy for safety crimes
In the wake of an unprecedented 29 construction-related deaths in New York City over the last year, contractors and union leaders joined forces in mid-May to urge passage of a tough three-strikes-and-out penalty system that would ban repeat offenders from obtaining building permits for five years. The penalty is part of a comprehensive set of construction industry reforms sought by the groups that includes strengthened safety laws in an effort to protect the public and city construction workers.
Contractor magazine
Hazards news, 30 June 2007

Britain: HSC urged to act on directors’ safety duties
The failure of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) to press the government to change the law and introduce safety duties on company directors is being challenged by the Centre for Corporate Accountability (CCA). In a letter to HSC chair Bill Callaghan, the safety charity argues that HSC must follow through its December 2005 decision to support a change in the law and introduce safety duties on company directors.
CCA news release • Text of the letter to the HSC chair [pdf]
Hazards news, 30 June 2007

Britain: Crane collapse firm get safety notice
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has served a prohibition notice on the owners of the crane that collapsed in Croydon earlier this month. Select Plant Hire Company Ltd, the Kent-based company that owned the tower crane and which is part of construction giant Laing O'Rourke, has been served a notice banning them from erecting cranes without properly trained staff.
HSE news release • Battersea Crane Disaster Action Group
Hazards news, 23 June 2007

Britain: Top EU court backs UK safety law
The European Union's top court has dismissed charges that Britain broke EU laws by limiting how far companies need to go in ensuring the health and safety of their employees. The European Commission had argued in the European Court of Justice that a British regulation saying employers must ensure the health and safety of workers only “so far as is reasonably practicable” did not fully comply with EU rules.
ECJ news release [pdf] • HSE news release • European Commission news release • Case C127-05 European Commission v United Kingdom
Hazards news, 23 June 2007

Britain: Brown told to act on workplace safety
Gordon Brown must act to improve workplace health and safety when he becomes Labour leader and prime minister, a leading union safety adviser has said. Dave Feickert says safety improvements in Britain have stalled, enforcement is being undermined and the important additional contribution that could be played by union safety reps is being ignored.
Compass Online
Hazards news, 26 May 2007

South Africa: Move to intensify inspections at work
South African workplaces need more and better inspections and greater input from unions if their poor safety record is to be improved, the country’s top labour official has said. Department of Labour director general Vanguard Mkosana warned employers that the department is to intensify inspections of workplace law compliance throughout the year.
South Africa Department of Labour news release • Hazards enforcement webpages
Hazards news, 19 May 2007

Britain: Firm pays for ignoring enforcement notices
A defunct construction firm has been fined £6,000 after failing to comply with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) improvement notices. Harry Kindred (Newcastle) Ltd, which is now in receivership, pleaded guilty to four breaches of health and safety law.
Risks 306, 19 May 2007
Hazards news, 19 May 2007

Britain: Directors consult on directors’ duties
Top bosses organisation the Institute of Directors (IoD) has launched a consultation on new guidance spelling out the safety role of company directors. In parallel with this process, TUC and unions are continuing their campaign for new legally binding safety duties on company directors.
Directors' Duties on Health and Safety at Work - A public consultation by the Institute of Directors • Draft IoD guidance [pdf]
Hazards news, 19 May 2007

Britain: Unite calls for action on enforcement
A dramatic increase in workplace deaths shows the need for more resources for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and a reversal in the downward trend in enforcement, Britain’s biggest union has said. Unite, the union formed this month from the merger of TGWU and Amicus, made the call after latest provisional figures showed workplace fatalities in the construction industry increased last year by over 30 per cent, a figure it suggests HSE has attempted to cover up.
Amicus news release • CCA news release including text of the HSE internal memo • HSE news release • Hazards enforcement webpages and ‘HSE is broke’ feature which first revealed HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger’s concern about the prosecutions shortfall
Hazards news, 12 May 2007

Australia: Safety suffers after government attack
Industrial relations reforms in Australia have resulted in widespread breaches of occupational health and safety law, official figures shows. Almost a third (30 per cent) of all Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) – individual contracts introduced by the right-wing Howard government in a bid to undermine unions – allow workers no rest breaks during their scheduled hours of work.
Risks 302, 21 April 2007

Britain: Ignore HSE enforcement notice and pay
A company director and a building firm have become the latest to receive safety penalties for ignoring HSE enforcement notices.
Risks 302, 21 April 2007

Britain: HSE union asks ‘who will enforce new rules?’
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) union Prospect has raised serious questions about the resource-depleted watchdog’s ability to enforce the new construction safety regulations. It says HSE, the body responsible for inspecting workplaces, is already reeling from massive job cuts and faces a further drive to find 15 per cent cost savings over the next three years.
Risks 302, 21 April 2007

USA: OSHA digs a hole for its deregulation push
A US law designed to make removal of protective legislation easier has instead proven that safety laws do in fact save lives. A US Department of Labor safety watchdog OSHA evaluation of the impact of the construction standard on excavations and found it had “reduced deaths from approximately 90 per year to 70 per year” while “overall construction industry activity when adjusted for inflation has increased 20 per cent,” said assistant secretary of labor for OSHA Edwin G Foulke Jr.
Risks 301, 7 April 2007

Britain: Train bosses should pay for Paddington
Unions have described the £4m imposed on Network Rail after its safety blunders contributed to the 1999 Paddington rail crash as “an insult”, with the penalty for crimes committed by a now defunct private company Railtrack being paid from the public purse. ASLEF general secretary Keith Norman called for the fines imposed on Network Rail to be taken from the bonuses of senior managers.
Risks 301, 7 April 2007

Britain: Network Rail fined £4m for Paddington crash
Network Rail has fined £4m after a court found it responsible for a catalogue of failures that resulted in the Paddington rail crash, which left 31 people dead and 400 injured. In court, Mr Justice Bean said: “The fine must be a constant and lasting reminder to the management of the company and to others involved in the railways of the paramount importance of safety and to prompt attention to any identifiable risk.”
Risks 301, 7 April 2007

Britain: HSE ‘failure’ on consultation angers unions
The decision by the government’s safety watchdog not to recommend a duty on employers to consult with safety reps has been condemned by the unions TGWU and Amicus.
Risks 301, 7 April 2007

Britain: Union concern as work deaths soar
A dramatic increase in workplace fatalities has led to a union call for more safety reps and for harsher penalties on deadly employers. The call comes after Risks revealed last week that 124 workers had died in the six months from April to September 2006.
Risks 301, 7 April 2007 • Hazards deadly business webpages

Shusssssh. Don’t mention the “e” word
The top dog at the UK’s workplace safety watchdog has said flexibility and partnership are its new watch words – but has steered clear of the whole enforcement role. Geoffrey Podger, chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive, told the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) conference last week: “If we are going to ensure the world of work is as safe and as sustainable as possible, then we need to be flexible enough to respond effectively to the challenges as they arise.”
Hazards online, 4 April 2007 • HSE News release

USA: Regulation by litigation is the new order
Legal action is becoming the major factor forcing safety action in the US as the official safety watchdog is revealed increasingly to have little appetite for the job. The claim, by Professor David Michaels of the George Washington University School of Public Health and previously a top US occupational health expert in the Clinton administration, comes after a report on the BP Texas City refinery blast by the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which censured the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for its failure to inspect refineries or require safety improvements.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007 • Hazards BP safety news and resources • Hazards enforcement webpages

Britain: Safety survives as a council enforcement priority
Health and safety will remain one of the top regulatory priorities for local authorities, a government backed review has concluded. The final report of the Rogers Review, released as part of the Chancellor’s budget statement and accepted by the government, has set five priorities for local authority regulatory services.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007

Britain: Dramatic rise in workplace fatalities
There has been a dramatic rise in workplace fatalities at work, official figures show. Statistics for the six months up to the end of September last year released this week by the Health and Safety Executive show 124 workers died in the six month period, compared to 212 in all of 2005/06 - if the same trend continued until the reporting year ends this month, it would push the fatalities figure to a five year high of 248 deaths, up 17 per cent on last year.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007 • HSE fatal injury statistics update and tables • Hazards enforcement webpages

Britain: You can help TUC win on penalties!
The TUC is urging all union reps and campaigners to back a proposal for more serious safety penalties on dangerous employers. The call comes in response to a Labour Party 'Labourspace' online competition to find the best work-related campaigning issue.
VOTING IS EASY! Back the TUC 'Give safety some teeth' campaign and vote for serious safety penalties • Background on the campaign

Britain: Call for new journalist killing law
News company ITN has launched a campaign to create a new crime of wilfully killing a journalist. The call comes four years after the death of ITN reporter Terry Lloyd. A coroner ruled in 2006 that Mr Lloyd, 50, was unlawfully killed by troops and called for charges against them.
Risks 299, 24 March 2007 • International News Safety Institute website and new ‘War, journalism and stress’ trauma self-help website for journalists

Britain: Unions demand rethink on safety reps’ rights
Proposals from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that safety reps should have no new consultation rights despite such measures being supporting overwhelmingly in a national consultation have led to union consternation and the deferral of a final decision. A TUC spokesperson said: “We urge the HSC to respect the views of those employers, safety representatives and safety professionals who responded to the consultation exercise and implement the proposed changes as soon as possible.”
Risks 299, 24 March 2007

Europe: Europe catches UK’s deregulation obsession
The UK government has welcomed a decision by governments from across the European Union “to follow the UK's lead and reduce red tape arising from EU law by 25 per cent”. EU heads of government agreed a target to reduce administrative burdens by 25 per cent by 2012, in 13 policy areas, including company law, health and safety and transport, which have been identified by the European Commission as imposing the largest administrative burdens on business.
Risks 298, 17 March 2007

Britain: Large rise in site deaths linked to safety cuts
A dramatic rise in deaths in the construction industry must shame the government into reversing cuts in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the unions UCATT, PCS and Prospect have said. Latest figures reveal that 74 people have died on building sites already this year, an increase of 14 per cent on the 2005/06 figure of 59 deaths – and the figure could rise as the reporting year only ends on 31 March.
Risks 298, 17 March 2007

Britain: Firm pays £250,000 after worker’s electrocution
Civil engineering giant Balfour Beatty has been has been told to pay over £250,000 in fines and court costs following the fatal electrocution of a rail worker near Basingstoke. Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure Services pleaded guilty to safety offences at Winchester Crown Court.
Risks 297, 10 March 2007

Britain: Vote now for serious safety sanctions!
The TUC wants you to back a proposal for more serious safety penalties on dangerous employers. The call comes in response to a Labour Party ‘Labourspace’ online competition to find the best work-related campaigning issue.
Risks 297, 10 March 2007 • Background on the campaign • Back the TUC ‘Give safety some teeth’ campaign and vote for serious safety penalties

Britain: Sleeping lorry driver jailed for crash deaths
A lorry driver has been jailed after four people died in a motorway crash caused when he fell asleep at the wheel. German Andreas Klassen, 51, had contravened EU regulations on hauliers' working hours and pleaded guilty to four charges of causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for five years.
Risks 296, 3 March 2007

Britain: Network Rail admits failures led to train smash
Network Rail admitted this week that maintenance failures caused the 23 February Cumbria rail crash, killing Margaret Masson, an 84-year-old passenger, and injuring dozens. Responding to the publication of an interim investigation, the company said it was “devastated” and apologised unreservedly “to all the people affected by the failure of the infrastructure.”
Risks 296, 3 March 2007

Britain: Community service for ignoring HSE safety notice
A builder has been fined and given community service for failing to carry out work properly, leading to the collapse of a shop in Elland, West Yorkshire. Shabir Naseem was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the incident. Naseem, 47, trading as SH Builders, was sentenced to 200 hours community service and fined £7,500 with costs of £7,190.58 for breaching a prohibition notice which ordered him to stop work.
Risks 295, 24 February 2007

Britain: Usdaw slams “short-sighted” safety watchdog
Retail union Usdaw has written to the chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Geoffrey Podger slamming plans to scrap one of just two inspectors responsible for developing national safety policies in the food and agriculture sector. The food manufacturing sector has a much higher than average accident rate but budget cuts at the HSE has led the safety watchdog to axe one of the inspectors working with trade union and employer organisations to develop safe working initiatives.
Risks 295, 24 February 2007

Britain: FSA fine exposes HSE’s missing teeth
Scottish union federation STUC has expressed fury that the work safety watchdog does not have the same power to lay down hefty sentences enjoyed by the equivalent City financial watchdog. Following the fine of £980,000 imposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on the Nationwide Building Society after a laptop containing confidential customer information was stolen, the STUC said breaches of finance rules are more likely to attract meaningful sanctions than those imposed on organisations that kill or maim their workers.
Risks 294, 17 February 2007 • Hazards deadly business webpages

USA: Bush takes stranglehold on safety watchdog
President Bush has signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect key areas including public health, workplace safety, the environment and civil rights. Representative Henry A Waxman, a Democrat and the chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said: “The executive order allows the political staff at the White House to dictate decisions on health and safety issues, even if the government’s own impartial experts disagree,” adding: “This is a terrible way to govern, but great news for special interests.”
Risks 292, 3 February 2007

Canada: Old safety system ignores new workplaces
Workplace safety inspections in Canada are out of whack with the reality of the modern workplace environment, a TV investigation has found. Reporters found inspections were up to 10 times more frequent in traditional workplaces than in non-traditional ones and found that government inspections are also following a traditional five-day, nine-to-five schedule, while an increasing number of people are working outside the traditional nine-to-five shifts, and their likelihood of having an accident increases during those periods.
Risks 292, 3 February 2007

Britain: Union anger as HSE cuts paper handling guide
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has withdrawn its guidance on transporting paper safely, in spite of opposition from the union Amicus. Tony Burke, Amicus assistant general secretary said: “Amicus has opposed the withdrawal of this guidance on the basis it was not being replaced by any effective, alternative guidance, thus leaving our members in the industry unclear about what they should do.”
Risks 291, 27 January 2007

Britain: Work health watchdog “too under-resourced” to work
The body charged with protecting the occupational health of 29 million British workers is too under-resourced to operate effectively, the union representing official health and safety specialists has warned. Prospect, the union for Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors, scientists and specialists, says it is fearful that a current review of HSE’s Corporate Medical Unit (CMU) will spell its death knell at a time when the HSE is seeking to shed 250-350 jobs as a result of a funding shortfall.
Risks 290, 20 January 2007

Britain: Questions asked about Corus ‘justice’
The day steel giant Corus received what has been described as a “pinprick” fine for criminal safety offences which led to the deaths of three workers, three sub-contract migrant workers at another Corus plant were jailed and told they would be deported for working illegally in the UK. The cases have thrown into stark relief concerns about the adequacy of existing workplace health and safety penalties, with the father of one of the dead men backing a campaign calling for the jailing of company directors found guilty of deadly safety crimes.
Risks 288, 23 December 2006 • Fack website • Hazards deadly business webpages • Ha