|
|
 |
|
|
| LATEST
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 5 July 2008
Britain:
Unions slam ‘complacent’ government
The government’s response to a highly critical Commons select
committee report on the work of the Health and Safety Executive
has been described as “complacent” and “disappointing”
by unions. The 21 April committee report warned that lack of funding
was undermining HSE and called for more cash, more front line
inspectors, more inspections and more prosecutions, but the government
response said improvements would be achieved by HSE “prioritising
and targeting its activities” and indicated it would persevere
with the existing HSE policy.
Work and pensions committee news
release and full
government response • Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
USA: Welding firms pay for manganese
disease
US firms facing thousands of compensation claims from manganese-exposed
welders with serious nervous system disease, have been paying
millions to scientists who have then produced papers denying any
link between the metal and “manganism”, a Parkinson’s-type
condition.
Mother
Jones • Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: Government blasted on crane
register refusal
Safety campaigners have reacted angrily to a government refusal
to introduce a central register of cranes. Construction union
UCATT said “the reasoning that the register is not feasible
because the cranes are mobile is spurious.”
BCDAG
news release • Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
USA: Beryllium
firm caught in spin mode
A major US firm that denied outright having used notorious industry
spin doctors to block regulatory action on highly dangerous beryllium
was lying, evidence suggests. Earlier this year, David Michaels
and Celeste Monforton of the Project on Scientific Knowledge and
Public Policy (SKAPP) published a paper, ‘Beryllium’s
public relations problem: Protecting workers when there is no
safe exposure level,’ criticising beryllium giant Brush
Wellman for its efforts to prevent workplace safety agency OSHA
and the US Department of Energy from lowering exposure limits
for the highly toxic metal, linked to problems including cancer
and debilitating lung and other diseases.
DefendingScience.org
and documents
relating to Brush Wellman • SKAPP
case study: Beryllium - Science or public relations? •
Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain:
Why did rail firm ignore deadly hoist warning?
Rail union RMT is demanded the withdrawal from use of ‘Unimog’
hydraulic hoists after an incident in Essex left three workers
injured, one subsequently succumbing to his injuries. RMT had
earlier raised concerns about the safety of the hoists.
Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: Injured bus driver gets payout
A Newcastle bus driver who was medically retired following a vehicle
smash while working has secured significant damages with the support
of the GMB union’s Friends and Family scheme. Kenneth Lansley
suffered debilitating injuries when a BMW drove into the side
of his vehicle.
Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: BP neglect caused asbestos
cancer
BP Oil UK has been told it must pay compensation to the family
of a former worker who died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Unite member Wilf Human worked at the firm’s refinery on
the Isle of Grain from 1957 until 1979.
Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: Payout from Boots for thigh
injuries
Unite member Fred Stedham, 53, a Boots the Chemist warehouse worker
who was forced to do a job despite raising safety concerns has
received £8,000 compensation after it resulted in him being
injured.
Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: Journalists throw the book
at bullying
Journalists’ union NUJ it telling its union reps how to
tackle workplace bullying. NUJ equality officer, Lena Calvert,
said: “Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect
at work, but too often this is not the case.”
Stop bullying: Challenging bullies and achieving dignity at work
[pdf]
• Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: Not-for-profits are not for
bullying
The union Unite is challenging the “unacceptably high”
levels of bullying in the not-for-profit sector. It says recent
research showed 43 per cent of Unite members in the sector had
experienced bullying in the last two years.
Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Global: Olympic movement from sports
goods firms
A month before the start of the Beijing Olympics, key sporting
goods brands including Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Umbro and Speedo
have formed a groundbreaking joint working group with trade unions
and campaign groups.
Play
Fair 2008 • Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: Golden toilet bid to flush
out breaks pay
An MP is backing a union campaign for paid toilet breaks at a
Scottish meat firm supplying the supermarket chain Tesco. Workers
at Brown Brothers in Kirkconnel are forced to take unpaid lavatory
breaks - a policy that has been condemned by Labour MP Russell
Brown and the union Unite as unacceptable.
Guidance
on toilet breaks • Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: Oil firms accused of putting
production first
Offshore oil operators have been accused of deliberately delaying
maintenance operations to produce as much oil as possible to exploit
sky-high world prices. The claim by Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm
Bruce came in a Commons debate on the 20th anniversary of the
1988 Piper Alpha disaster, in which 167 workers perished.
KP3 report [pdf]
• Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: Small dip in work deaths
There has been a small dip in the number of people killed at work
this year, but the workplace death rate has remained significantly
higher than record low recorded in 2005/06. The figures show the
general fatality rate for employees, the self-employed and all
workers has remained broadly the same over the last five years.
HSE
statistics webpages • Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain:
Top medical journal backs nano precaution
The Lancet Oncology, one of the world’s top cancer journals,
has called for the precautionary principle to be used when dealing
with nanotechnologies.
Leading
Edge: Space elevators, tennis racquets, and mesothelioma,
The Lancet Oncology, volume 9, number 7, page 601, July 2008.
DOI:10.1016/S1470-2045(08)70157-8 • Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: The price of teen’s
life at work - £7k
An Altrincham firm has been fined £7,000 for safety offences
that led to the death of a teenage apprentice. S Cartwright &
Sons (Coachbuilders) was prosecuted after 16-year-old Ashley Saunders
sustained fatal injuries when he fell through a fragile roof whilst
retrieving a football during a lunchtime kick-about on 7 February
2006.
Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: ‘Shocking’ failures
led to fatal petrol burns
A Twickenham garage has been fined £20,000 after pleading
guilty to safety breaches that led to the death of employee Biagio
Malacaria. Alexanders of Twickenham Ltd, a car MOT, service and
repair business, was also ordered at City of London Magistrates
Court last week to pay costs of £16,905.
Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Britain: Smoking ban is a major life
saver
A year after England’s smoking ban took effect more people
are trying to quit smoking, the air in pubs and bars is cleaner
and rates of compliance with smokefree laws remain high, according
to a report from Smokefree England. Its survey found 76 per cent
of people and 55 per cent of smokers now support the law.
Department
of Health news release, and report, Smokefree
England - One year on • Effectiveness of smoke-free
policies. John P Pierce, María E León, on behalf
of the IARC Handbook Volume 13 Working Group, IARC Secretariat,
Lancet Oncology, volume 9, pages 614-615, 2008 • Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
Europe: Top union body calls for nano
precaution
Europe’s trade union confederation ETUC has called for the
precautionary principle to be applied to nanotechnologies. It
says “significant uncertainties” revolve around potential
benefits of nanotechnologies and their harmful effects on human
health and the environment.
ETUC
resolution on nanotechnologies and nanomaterials •
Risks
363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 28 June 2008
Britain:
Seasoned safety reps get online training
Safety reps who already have basic training under their belt,
now have the option to take the next stage of their union safety
education online. From October, TUC’s ‘Next steps
for safety reps’ course will be available web- as well as
college-based.
Further
information • TUC’s
full range of safety rep courses, explained in the latest
issue of Hazards magazine • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
USA: Watchdog complicit as firms bury
victims
The US system for measuring workplace safety is flawed and misses
up to half of all workplace injuries, according to a report presented
at a hearing on OSHA, the federal agency charged with protecting
workers' safety and health. “Without accurate injury and
illness statistics, employers and workers are unable to identify
and address safety and health hazards, and policy makers are unable
to assess the state of workplace safety in this country,”
said George Miller, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee.
House
Education and Labor Committee news release and report [pdf]
• Wall
Street Journal • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain: Fire crews lack basic flood
safety gear
Fire crews are working without basic flood safety equipment like
lifejackets, waterproofs and boots, one year on from the deluge
of summer 2007, firefighters’ union FBU has warned.
FBU
news release • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Turkey: Union protests win safety
concessions
More than 5,000 supporters joined 300 striking shipyard workers
in a 16 June protest in Turkey’s Tuzla shipyards. The high
profile action, which was in response to horrific rates of work-related
deaths and injuries, led within days to safety commitments from
the Turkish prime minister.
IMF
news release • Turkish
Daily News • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain: Family receives asbestos
payout
The family of a former UNISON member has received more than £140,000
in compensation following his death from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Jim Crowe died aged 79 in June 2007 after developing the incurable
disease.
UNISON
news release • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain: Scaffold boss jailed for
ignored HSE notice
A Rotherham scaffold boss has been jailed for three months after
a worker was seriously injured just months after the firm received
a formal Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stop-the-job notice
for the same safety failings. Philip Wolstenholme, the boss of
A1 Access Scaffolding, was charged after one of his workers fell
six metres on 12 January 2007.
HSE
news release • Building
• Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Philippines: Union says deadly shipyard
must close
A Philippines shipyard with a horrendous safety record should
close, a union has said. Instead of bringing economic development
to the Central Luzon area, the shipbuilding facility in Subic
Bay operated by Hanjin Heavy Industries Cooperation Philippines
(HHIC) has become a “graveyard” for workers, construction
union NUBCW said.
BWI
news release • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain: Construction giant fined
over driver’s death
A construction company has been fined £120,000 after a worker
fell to his death at one of its yards. Lorry driver Nigel Sargeant,
45, plunged 15ft (4.6m) to the ground at Calders and Grandidge
Limited in Boston, part of the global Saint-Gobain group, as he
was trying to reduce the height of his trailer-load of steel poles.
HSE
news release • BBC
News Online • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain: Fruit packer fined over work
injury
A Sittingbourne company has been fined £3,000 after its
failure to train workers and assess work risks led to a worker
sustaining serious injuries. Fruit packing company Cross and Wells
Ltd was also ordered to pay full costs of £3,422 at Sittingbourne
Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to safety offences.
HSE
news release • Packaging
News • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Bangladesh: Zara forces Dhaka factory
closure
Fashion firm Zara has forced the closure of a supplier's factory
in Bangladesh after workers reported harsh treatment, including
physical and verbal abuse. The supplier has agreed to close the
factory, redeploy its workers, and recognise trade unions at its
other factories.
BBC
News Online • Global
Business – listen
to the latest programme • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain: Dangerous plan to ditch insurance
records
Workers who develop ‘long-tail’ diseases could miss
out on compensation as a result of government plans to axe the
requirement on firms to hold onto their insurance records for
40 years. The draft regulations also seek to remove the requirement
on businesses to display a current employers’ liability
insurance certificate.
DWP employers’ liability insurance proposals [pdf]
• Employers’
liability insurance, EDM 1839, David Taylor MP • Retention
of workplace insurance policies, EDM 1829, Andrew Dismore
MP • Risks 362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain: Scotland acts on asbestos
payouts
A bill to help those affected by past exposure to asbestos has
been published by the Scottish government. The legislation would
overturn a House of Lords ruling which said damages could not
be claimed for benign scarring of the lungs.
Scottish
government news release and Damages
(Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill • UCATT
news release • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain:
PM urged to act on breast cancers
The prime minister is being asked to take action to prevent breast
cancers caused by occupational and environmental exposures. Breast
cancer campaigner Helen Lynn has launched an e-petition on the
10 Downing Street website.
Sign
the prevent breast cancer petition – it takes less than
a minute (UK residents only) • No
more breast cancer campaign and the Hazards
websites • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain: Workers make a stink over
loo breaks
A meat company supplying Tesco has been accused of “Dickensian
employment practices” by making workers clock off when they
go the toilet. The union Unite is now calling on Tesco to intervene
to stamp out the practise at Dumfriesshire-based Brown Brothers.
BBC
News Online • Hazards
magazine toilet breaks webpages • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain: MP calls for end to young
worker deaths
An MP is calling for a course on basic health and safety awareness
to be built into the National Curriculum. Labour MP Michael Clapham,
the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational
Safety and Health, raised his concerns at a House of Commons seminar
to highlight the perils facing young workers.
IOSH
news release • Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
Britain: Health, safety and migrant
workers
A new webpage from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides
advice for their employers. HSE’s online guidance targets
employers, employment agencies, employment businesses, gangmasters
and other labour providers and spells out their responsibilities
under health and safety law towards migrant workers.
HSE
guide for employers of migrant workers • TUC
guide for migrant workers • TUC guide for union safety
reps on supporting migrant workers [pdf]
• Risks
362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 21 June 2008
Britain: Charter calls for migrant
worker rights
Scottish employers are being urged to sign up to a charter of
migrant workers’ rights. Around 40 migrant workers from
14 countries met in Edinburgh to present the charter to Scottish
parliament members and explain the problems they face when coming
to Scotland to work.
UNISON
Scotland news release and charter [pdf]
• Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Korea: Shipyard deaths linked to deregulation
A spate of deaths in South Korea’s highly profitable shipyards
has been linked to the government’s deregulation of health
and safety in the sector. The Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU)
reports that 15 shipbuilding workers have lost their lives at
work in the last year.
IMF
news release • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Global: Seafarers hear piracy action
call
Amid a fresh flurry of global pirate attacks, particularly in
the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia, an action call
from Nautilus UK and Nautilus NL – the UK/Dutch seafarers’
union - has been adopted unanimously at the International Transport
Workers' Federation (ITF) seafarers’ conference in Stockholm.
Nautilus
UK news release • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: It’s worse than murder
at work
At least twice as many people die from fatal injuries at work
than are victims of homicide, a new report has revealed. Academics
Professor Steve Tombs and Dr Dave Whyte found that at least 1,300
people died as a result of fatal occupational injuries in 2005-06
in England and Wales, compared with 765 homicide deaths.
Centre
for Crime and Justice Studies news release • A
crisis of enforcement: the decriminalisation of death and injury
at work, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, 17 June 2008
• Response
to the report from HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger
• Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain:
IOSH questions ICL safety cover
The organisation representing health and safety professionals
is urging the inquiry into the Glasgow ICL explosion to take advantage
of safety officers’ expertise to help find the underlying
causes of the disaster. The Institution of Occupational Safety
and Health (IOSH) has submitted a 'statement of case' to the ICL
inquiry, which is due to start on 2 July, focusing on the availability
and use of competent health and safety advice.
IOSH
news release and evidence to the ICL Inquiry [pdf]
• The
ICL/Stockline campaign website • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Italy: National one-hour stoppage
for safety
Metalworkers across Italy downed tools from 11am to noon on 17
June in support of a new draft law on health and safety at work.
The action follows a public outcry at the escalating toll of workplace
deaths in Italy, including a series of recent tragedies.
IMF
news release • BBC
News Online • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: Safety Bill moves to the
Lords
The House of Lords is to look at tougher penalties for those who
breach health and safety laws after proposals were passed by MPs.
The Health and Safety (Offences) Bill put forward by Labour MP
Keith Hill cleared the Commons after being given an unopposed
third reading.
IOSH
news • Health
and Safety (Offences) Bill •
Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: HSE dismay as most sites
fail safety test
Thirteen out of 15 Merseyside construction sites visited in a
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection blitz were issued
with enforcement notices for breaches of safety law. A February
blitz of over 1,000 sites saw over 300 sites shut down for serious
safety breaches.
HSE
news release •
Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: Government told to fund site
safety or fail
The government needs to provide adequate safety training and an
increase in Health and Safety Executive inspectors if its new
strategy for the construction industry is to succeed, a top safety
organisation has said. Safety professionals’ organisation
the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) said
for the government strategy to succeed there must be “an
eventual doubling” in the number of frontline inspectors.
IOSH
news release •
BERR
Strategy for Sustain Construction webpage
• Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: Fall leads to £15,000
fine
A Darlington building firm has been fined £15,000 following
an incident in which one of its workers was seriously injured
in a workplace fall. Bussey and Armstrong Ltd pleaded guilty to
a safety offence and was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay
costs of £3,193 at Darlington Magistrates’ Court.
HSE
news release •
Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: Chemical burns blast firm
pays twice
A worker who suffered serious burns after an explosion at a Brighouse
chemical container site has been awarded £15,000 compensation.
Mohammed Ahmed Ali suffered 15 per cent burns to his forearms,
thighs, genitals and lower abdomen when a chemical container he
was working on at Pack2Pack exploded in March last year.
Brighouse
Echo • Halifax
Evening Courier • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: Weetabix worker loses fingertips
Cereal manufacturer Weetabix has been fined £3,500 after
a worker lost his fingertips in a workplace machine. HSE inspector
Peter Snelgrove said the injury could have been avoided if the
company had obeyed the law.
HSE
news release • Risks
361
Britain: Jail for asbestos dumpers
Two men have been jailed for a £1.2 million flytipping scam
which saw thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste including asbestos
dumped at bogus construction sites emblazoned with mock health
and safety notices. James Kelleher, from Dagenham and Patrick
Anderson, from the Irish Republic, were accused of dumping over
14,600 tonnes of waste – the equivalent of 750 lorry loads
- at 15 sites in London and Essex.
Environment
Agency news release •
BBC
News Online • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: Memorial remembers fallen
reporters
A memorial to media staff killed while doing their work has been
unveiled by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon. The 10m (32ft) glass
and steel cone on top of BBC Broadcasting House in central London
will shine a beam of light into the sky every night at 10.00pm.
INSI
news release • UN
news release • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Italy: National one-hour stoppage
for safety
Metalworkers across Italy downed tools from 11am to noon on 17
June in support of a new draft law on health and safety at work.
The action follows a public outcry at the escalating toll of workplace
deaths in Italy, including a series of recent tragedies.
IMF
news release • BBC
News Online • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: Deadly fishing hazards targeted
A £250,000 government scheme to help fishers attend a programme
of training is aiming to improve the sector’s dire safety
record. A recent study by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)
showed that the fishing industry is 115 times more dangerous than
the construction industry, and that those working in the under
16.5m sector, representing 89 per cent of the fleet, are particularly
at risk.
DfT
news release • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Norway: Overtime causes anxiety and
depression
If you work a lot of overtime, especially on a low income or doing
heavy manual labour, you're at increased risk of anxiety and depression.
Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway found even moderate
overtime hours appears to raise the risk of “mental distress”
and said their results support EU-style regulation setting a working
hours ceiling.
Elisabeth Kleppa, Bjarte Sanne and Grethe S Tell. Working
overtime is associated with anxiety and depression: The Hordaland
Health Study, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
volume 50, number 6, pages 658-666, June 2008 [abstract]
• Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: Inquest told of mother’s
work stress
A nurse who was suffering from work-related stress was found dead
after consuming a cocktail of sedatives, an inquest has heard.
Statements read at Michele Wood’s inquest, where the coroner
recorded an open verdict, revealed how the pressures of her job
mounted in the days leading up to her disappearance.
Ipswich
Evening Star • Hazards
suicide webpages •
Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Australia: Depressing text message
leads to suicide
The family of Tony Cecere, a 53-year-old Australian worker with
a history of depression who killed himself after being fired,
has been awarded Aus$367,000 (£177,000) in compensation.
A judge ruled a text message calling on him to return his mobile
phone and work car triggered an acute depressive episode leading
to his suicide.
News.com.au
• Hazards
suicide webpages
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Britain: National Hazards Conference
2008, 18-20 July
The premier annual event for union safety reps is less than a
month away - the 19th National Hazards Conference will take place
at Keele University, Newcastle-under-Lyme, from 18 to 20 July.
The conference includes top national and international speakers,
workshops and the best chance you’ll get to exchange organising
ideas and experiences with other union safety reps.
Hazards conference book form [pdf]
• Delegate fees are £195 (residential) and
£105 (non-residential) • Further information: email
the Hazards
Campaign, c/o GMHC, 70 Alexandra Road, Manchester M16 7WD
• Tel: 0161 636
7558 • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Europe: New risk assessment campaign
launched
Most accidents and diseases are preventable, and the first step
in preventing them is risk assessment. That is the message of
‘Healthy Workplaces. Good for you. Good for business,’
a Europe-wide information campaign on risk assessment launched
by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).
EU-OSHA
news release • EU-OSHA
risk assessment website and risk assessment factsheets number
80 and number
81 • HSE
European campaign webpages •
Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
Global: Europe’s chemical law
has long reach
The REACH chemical safety law that started to come into force
in Europe this month, is also forcing US companies to improve
their chemical health and safety approach. The EU regulations
take a far more precautionary approach than US law, where regulators
must prove a chemical is harmful before it can be restricted or
removed from the market.
Washington
Post • Risks
361
Hazards news, 21 June 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Unwelcome return of the long
hours culture
An extra 180,000 people across the UK are now working more than
48 hours a week, according to a TUC analysis of official statistics.
The figures, included in a new TUC report, ‘The return of
the long hours culture’, show the number of people working
long hours has increased at a faster rate over the last year than
the decline in excessive working between 1998 and 2006.
TUC
news release and report, The return of the long hours culture
[pdf]
• Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
USA: New
committee to push a US asbestos ban
US public health advocates have launched a Committee to Ban Asbestos
in America (CBAA). The new group, created by the Asbestos Disease
Awareness Organization (ADAO) and The John McNamara Foundation
say many people wrongly believe asbestos is already banned in
the US.
CBAA
news release • ADAO
website • BanAsbestos.us
• International
Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain:
Mixed progress on agency and hours laws
The UK government will keep its opt-out from the European Union’s
48 hour weekly work ceiling, but has agreed a series of improvements
to working time rules. The European Trade Union Confederation
(ETUC) and the Socialist Group of MEPs in the European Parliament
have both said they will challenge the working time compromise.
TUC
news release and briefing
on changes to working time rules • ETUC
news release • Socialist
Group of MEPs news release • BERR
news release • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Global:
Play Fair campaigners confront IOC
Play Fair 2008 activists turned out at the International Olympic
Committee’s Swiss headquarters on 10 June to protest at
the organisation’s failure to tackle safety and labour rights
violations by firms making Olympic merchandise. “The IOC
has had years to consider these issues yet continues to delay
– their response to the labour rights crisis in the production
of Olympic goods is inadequate and risks tarnishing the reputation
of the Olympic movement,” said campaign spokesperson Esther
de Haan.
ITUC
news release • Play
Fair 2008 • Catch
the Flame • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Tony’s death was no
accident
The family of a Hartlepool council labourer who was struck down
by a car as he put up signs has criticised the inquest process
following a verdict of accidental death. Hartlepool Borough Council
worker Tony Gate remained in a coma for nearly three years after
being struck by a car in July 2003.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Northern
Echo • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Global:
Union dismay at more journalist deaths
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says the deaths
last week of journalists in Afghanistan and Somalia, both of whom
worked for the BBC, underscores the need for comprehensive international
action to confront the global crisis of violence against independent
reporters.
IFJ
news release • NUJ
news release • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Network Rail ‘playing
Russian roulette’ with safety
Network Rail is playing Russian roulette with rail workers’
and passengers’ safety by cancelling crucial rail-defect
testing scheduled for the eve of a two-day maintenance strike
due to start at mid-day on 14 June, rail union RMT has warned.
The union has called on the railways inspectorate to investigate
Network Rail’s decision to scrap testing scheduled to take
place on Friday 13 June.
RMT
news release • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
USA:
Does popcorn poison cause Parkinson’s?
A top expert on diacetyl, the chemical responsible for an outbreak
of the potentially fatal lung disease ‘popcorn lung’,
now fears it could also be linked to Parkinson’s disease.
David Egilman, a physician and clinical associate professor at
Brown University in the US, says he is aware of two cases of Parkinson’s
disease in men who were flavourists at Givaudan in Cincinnati,
a large flavourings company.
The
Pump Handle • Seattle
Post-Intelligencer ‘Secret Ingredients’ blog •
Hazards diacetyl
webpages • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Rail cost cuts ‘bad
news for safety’
The financial squeeze on Network Rail announced this week by the
Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) could compromise safety, rail
union RMT has warned. ORR said Network Rail (NR) would receive
£26.5 billion to carry out the programme set by the government
between 2009 and 2014 - nearly £3 billion short of the £29.3
billion it sought.
RMT
news release • ORR
news release • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Convicted fatality firm fined
£2
A company convicted of workplace safety crimes after a fatal gas
blast sent a fireball through its premises has been fined just
£2. Factory worker Christopher Knoop, 50, was killed and
three others were seriously hurt when liquified petroleum gas
exploded at North West Aerosols Ltd in Aintree in 2005.
FACK
news release and website
• HSE
news release • Daily
Mirror • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Firework boss charged over
deaths
A firework depot owner and his son have been charged with manslaughter
over the deaths of two firefighters. Martin Winter, 50, and Nathan
Winter, 23, have been bailed to appear at Lewes Magistrates' Court
on 18 June; the company, now known as Alpha Fireworks Ltd, has
been summonsed for breaches of explosives regulations.
The
Telegraph • BBC
News Online • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Five metre fall ends in fine
A five-metre fall that left Rhondda carpenter David Morgan with
serious injuries that may well have ended his career has resulted
in a fine for his employer. Loft conversion company Allied Welsh
Ltd pleaded guilty at Bridgend Magistrates’ Court last month
to a safety breach and was subsequently fined £25,000 at
Cardiff Crown Court and ordered to pay costs of £8,600.
HSE
news release and Shattered
lives web resource • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Five grand fine for near
fatal fall
A worker was nearly killed when he tried to fix a ceiling unit
and fell from a ladder, a court heard. Wellingborough firm Spray-Craft
Coating Limited was fined £5,000 after the unnamed employee
fell more than two metres from the top of a spray booth, resulting
in several fractures and bleeding to his brain.
HSE
news release • Northamptonshire
Evening Telegraph • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Waitrose fined for teen’s
crushed arm
Supermarket chain Waitrose has been fined £25,000 after
a teenage worker had his arm crushed in a machine at a Birmingham
store. The 17-year-old broke both bones in his arm and was trapped
in the machine for an hour and a half, Birmingham Magistrates’
Court heard.
Birmingham
City Council news release • Birmingham
Post • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain:
MP savages insurance industry jackals
Insurers have been accused of being hypocrites and “jackals”
because of their ongoing efforts to evade liability for asbestos
compensation payouts. Labour MP Michael Clapham, the chair of
the Commons all party asbestos sub-committee, was speaking in
a 4 June Westminster Hall adjournment debate about the ongoing
fight to restore compensation to victims of pleural plaques.
UCATT
news release • Hansard
report of the 4 June Westminster Hall debate • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain:
Pressure wins pleural plaques review
A government consultation into a House of Lords ruling on the
asbestos-related condition pleural plaques will begin this month.
The commitment came in an adjournment debate in parliament on
4 June, initiated by Labour MP Michael Clapham.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Strains follow workers out
of the office
More than two thirds of workers now suffer from repetitive strain
injury, costing £300 million in lost working hours, a new
study has found. The research from Microsoft revealed cases soared
by more than 30 per cent last year because more staff than ever
work both inside and outside the office.
Microsoft
webpage and report, Ergonomics and repetitive strain injury
[pdf]
• Daily
Mail • Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
USA:
Diabetes higher in pesticide sprayers
People who spray pesticides have a higher risk of diabetes than
the rest of the population, according to a new study. Scientists
from the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
(NIEHS) found that people who spent more than 100 days using chlorinated
bug sprays were 20 to 200 per cent more likely to get diabetes,
depending on which chemical they worked with.
NIEHS
news release • MP Montgomery and others.
Incident diabetes and pesticide exposure among licensed pesticide
applicators: Agricultural health study, 1993-2003, American
Journal of Epidemiology, volume 167, pages 1235-1246, 2008 [abstract]
• Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
Britain: Get working on occupational
health
TUC’s new occupational health workbook is now available
free online. Over the next year, the TUC hopes that around 15,000
workplace safety reps can be trained using the new guide, 'Occupational
health: Dealing with the issues'.
Occupational health: Dealing with the issues [pdf]
• Risks
360
Hazards news, 14 June 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news,
7 June 2008
Britain: Court challenge to cancer
payouts
A nine-week battle started this week in the High Court and will
see insurance companies seek to evade liability for a large number
of asbestos compensation payouts. The court will decide whether
insurers are liable for damages from sufferers’ first exposure
to asbestos, or from when they become ill.
Unite
news release • The
Guardian • BBC
News Online • The
Times • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
USA: Unions win in Las Vegas strike
deal
A construction safety strike that started on the Las Vegas strip
on Monday 2 June, ended on Tuesday after unions secured major
safety commitments. Construction workers had marched in circles
outside the locked gates of the massive $9.2 million CityCenter
development, picket signs raised above their heads reading “Unsafe
job site.”
Las Vegas Sun feature
and coverage
of company statement • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain:
Dismay at ICL inquiry means testing
The families of those killed in the May 2004 ICL/Stockline disaster
in Glasgow have voiced concern over plans to means test those
wishing to have legal representation during the forthcoming public
inquiry.
STUC
news release •
ICL/Stockline independent report and campaign website •
Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Europe: Unions REACH out on chemical
safety
Unions will play an active role in promoting the Europe-wide chemicals
regulation REACH, union confederation ETUC has said. The commitment
came on 3 June 2008 as the Helsinki-based European Chemicals Agency
(ECHA) became operational.
ETUC
news release • ECHA news release [pdf]
• Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Global: Worldwide safety pact with
steel giant
The world's largest steel company and trade unions representing
its employees worldwide have signed a groundbreaking agreement
to improve health and standards throughout the company. The global
union federation for the metalworking sector, IMF, said the agreement
with ArcelorMittal recognises the vital role played by trade unions
in improving health and safety.
IMF
news release and global agreement [pdf]
• Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain: Union cover protects injured
cyclist
A former British Energy employee from Selby, who was knocked
off his bike on his journey home from work and suffered a stroke,
has secured over £200,000 in compensation.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Australia: Job stress causes depression
High work demands are to blame for widespread depression in Australian
workers, with women workers worst affected, according to Melbourne
University research. The study, led by associate professor Tony
LaMontagne, found that almost one in six cases of depression among
workers in the state of Victoria was caused by job stress.
The
Age • The
Australian • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain: Union backs criminal attack
fund
A fund to provide financial assistance to security employees who
suffer serious injury as a result of a criminal attack at work
has been launched. The Criminal Attack Fund (CAF) initiative is
by security firm G4S Cash Services (G4S) and the union GMB.
GMB
news release • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain:
UK bids to weaken formaldehyde standard
The UK government has attempted to undermine a proposed new European
exposure limit to protect workers from a chemical linked to allergies
and cancer. Commenting on new standards agreed by the European
Commission’s Advisory Committee for Safety and Health at
Work, the European Trade Union Confederation’s (ETUC) research
arm, ETUI-REHS, reported: “The German and British governments
actively supported the formaldehyde industry’s campaign,
while the other governments were divided.”
ETUI-REHS
news report • Fatal
failings on formaldehyde, Burying the evidence, Hazards magazine,
number 92, 2005 • Global
Unions zero cancer campaign • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Australia: Board sick thanks to formaldehyde
Tom Connelly knows all about the symptoms of sick house syndrome.
As a carpenter he comes into regular contact with the formaldehyde-rich
building materials that create health problems for residents.
Construction union CFMEU is campaigning for low formaldehyde building
boards, to protect workers from allergies, irritation and cancer
risks.
Sydney
Morning Herald • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain: Stress inaction requires
enforcement action
The TUC has welcomed new research showing how managers can take
action to prevent workplace stress, but has said those who don’t
get the message should face a genuine prosecution risk.
CIPD
news release • TUC
news release • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain: Bus firm failed to learn
deadly lesson
A bus firm that missed “blindingly obvious risks”
even after experiencing a workplace fatality has been fined £60,000.
The London Central Bus Company Limited was prosecuted following
an incident in which employee Omar Maouche fell into a pit and
suffered spinal injuries, just over a year after another employee
died in similar circumstances.
HSE
news release • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain: Fined transport firm loses
its appeal
A transport firm fined for safety failings that led to a worker
being seriously injured has lost its appeal against the penalty.
Harris Transport Ltd failed in its 2 June bid at Southampton Crown
Court to overturn the £28,000 fine imposed in January 2008.
HSE
news release • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain: Six figure fine for mechanic’s
death
A Staffordshire vehicle maker has been fined £166,000 for
health and safety violations after a 39-year-old mechanic was
crushed to death. Simon Rose, a field engineer at Dennis Eagle
Limited, was trying to cure a brake fault on a bin wagon at a
council depot, Stafford Crown Court heard.
HSE
news release • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
Britain: Freight firm fined for lorry
driver death
A transport firm has been fined £22,000 after a lorry driver
was killed. Martyn Simm, 45, was killed in March 2006 when a defective
sliding metal gate weighing 0.4 tonnes fell onto him as he was
closing it, at Berser International Cargo Services Ltd’s
site in Chesterton.
HSE
news release • Risks
359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 31 May 2008
Britain:
HSE is still facing staff crisis
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announcement that it is to
recruit 40 new inspectors will still leave the safety watchdog
too stretched to properly do its job, critics have warned. After
a spate of construction deaths in New York, the city – which
is similar in size to London – has just announced it is
to hire 63 more inspectors to enforce safety rules at construction
sites.
PCS
campaign • IOSH
news release • CIEH
news • New
York Times • Hazards
magazine deadly business webpages • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Japan: Toyota acts on deadly overwork
Toyota is taking steps to deal with a corporate culture that been
linked to deaths from overwork. From June, the company is to pay
workers overtime for attending out-of-hours ‘kaizen’
or quality control (QC) circle meetings - it previously only allowed
workers to claim two hours' overtime a month for such “voluntary”
activities.
Asahi
Shimbun • BBC
News Online • More
on karoshi and karojisatsu • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Spit kits need union input
Transport union Unite has welcomed the announcement that London’s
bus drivers are to be issued with DNA “spit kits”.
Unite
news release • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Iran: Chemical plant fire kills 30
At least 30 people have been killed and 38 injured, many of them
suffering severe burns, in a fire in a chemical plant in central
Iran on Sunday 25 May, the state news agency IRNA has said. The
fire in the cosmetics and detergent-producing plant near the town
of Shazand is reported to have been caused by a blast during welding
work.
ABC
News • BBC
News Online • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Payouts for stone dust disease
Two foundry workers who developed silicosis, one of the longest
recognised occupational lung diseases, have received compensation.
The Unite members, who both worked in the melting department of
Federal Mogul’s Southwick factory on Wearside, have received
“substantial” payouts in an out of court settlement.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Sunderland
Echo • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Europe:
Campaign challenges corporate abuses
Victims of human rights and environmental abuses by European companies
around the world could find justice in European courts under proposals
unveiled this week at an international conference at the European
Parliament. The European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ)
revealed policy proposals developed by a team of legal experts
which if adopted by the European Union would guarantee the legal
responsibility of companies based in Europe, and their directors,
for human rights or environmental violations committed by their
subsidiaries or subcontractors anywhere in the world.
ECCJ
news release, including links to the full report, Fair law:
Legal proposals to improve corporate accountability for environmental
and human rights abuses, ECCJ report, 29 May 2008, executive summary
[pdf]
• Smart
regulation: Legislative opportunities for the EU to improve corporate
accountability, ECCJ conference, 29 May 2008 • European
Coalition for Corporate Justice • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Paramedic gets vehicle crash
payout
A paramedic who was injured after a van driver overshot a red
light and collided with his ambulance has received a £62,856
payout. North East Ambulance Service paramedic David Fenwick,
55, suffered a serious shoulder injury that required two operations.
Thompson
Solicitors news release • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Canada:
Pro-asbestos lobby gets caught out
Canada’s pro-asbestos lobby has faced stern criticism for
wrongly implying a long-delayed government commissioned report
opposes a ban on asbestos. Critics including the chair of the
Health Canada panel of experts that prepared the report have denounced
both the delay and the misrepresentation of their findings.
CBC
News • Ottawa
Citizen • International
Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) • Ban
Asbestos Canada • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Unions act on education’s
mental stresses
Unions representing workers in education have issued guidance
designed to remedy work-related mental health problems in the
sector. A joint letter to head teachers from the unions GMB, NUT,
UNISON and Unite says their new guide “will, we hope, provide
you with valuable information, both on how to prevent the development
of mental health conditions and on how to support staff who do
fall ill.”
NUT
news release and joint union guide, Preventing work-related
mental health conditions by tackling stress: Guidance for head
teachers [pdf]
• Hazards
work-related suicides news and resources • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Global:
Pursuing the corporate killers
The trades union-backed health and safety magazine Hazards is
stepping up the pressure on deadly bosses with the launch of new
‘deadly business’ web resources. Hazards magazine’s
Jawad Qasrawi said: “The Hazards ‘Deadly business’
online resource provides tools, information and news to help trades
unions and campaigners build the pressure on killer bosses.”
Hazards
magazine deadly business webpages • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Head teacher ‘suicide’
inquiry call
Relatives of a Scottish head teacher thought to have taken her
own life after a critical school inspection have demanded a fatal
accident inquiry. The death of Irene Hogg, 54, at the end of March
follows a spate of work-related teacher suicides, a number linked
to school inspections.
BBC
News Online • The
Times • Daily
Record • Daily
Mail • Scottish
Borders Council tribute page to Irene Hogg • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Common solvents threaten
fertility
Men regularly exposed to chemicals found in paint and other common
products may be more prone to fertility problems, UK research
as indicated. Men such as painters and decorators, who work with
a family of solvents called glycol ethers, are two-and-a-half
times more likely to produce fewer “normal” sperm;
the findings reinforce warnings issued in 1983 by the US authorities
about reproductive hazards to both male and female workers from
occupational exposure to certain glycol ethers.
Sheffield
University news release • Science
Daily news release • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Former nurse's shock at asbestos
illness
Another former nurse has fallen victim to the asbestos cancer
mesothelioma. Diane Coote, 57, believes she was exposed to the
deadly dust in her 10 years nursing at hospitals in Norwich.
Norwich
Evening News • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Beehive firm doesn’t
cut it on wood dust
A Lincolnshire firm making beehives has been fined after a worker
was injured by a cutting machine and colleagues were exposed to
potentially harmful Western Red Cedar wood dust. Company managers
had attended a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) woodworking safety
and health awareness day only seven months earlier, but have now
been criticised by HSE for not acting on what they learned.
HSE
news release • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Firm fined for four flattened
fingers
An engineering firm has been fined £7,000 after an employee
had his fingers crushed in an unguarded 60 ton power press. The
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the case following its
investigation into the incident on 25 June 2007 at Metal Products
(Arden) Ltd's site in Burntwood.
HSE
news release • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Meat firm chops off fingers
A multinational meat processing firm where a worker had the tops
of three fingers sliced off, another received a serious electric
shock and employees and contractors were using dangerous walkways
60 feet above the factory floor has been fined £265,000
and ordered to pay £21,653 in costs. Michael Warnes was
changing a mould on a packaging machine at the Tulip factory in
Thetford in October 2005, when machine parts moved.
HSE
news release • BBC
News Online • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: Worker dies after being buried
in waste
A worker died after being buried in rubbish at a waste dump, a
court has heard. White Reclamation Ltd was fined £50,000
and ordered to pay costs of £30,000 at Manchester Crown
Court, after pleading guilty to workplace safety offences.
HSE
news release • Hazards
magazine deadly business webpages • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain:
Experts slam corporate manslaughter law
Legal experts have warned the new corporate manslaughter law is
not tough enough because it fails to hold individual directors
accountable for deadly mistakes. No director or senior manager
of a large of medium-sized UK firm has ever been jailed for workplace
manslaughter.
Contract
Journal • Hazards
magazine deadly business webpages • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
Britain: New occupational cancer resources
New resources on occupational cancer prevention have been made
available online.
Stirling
work cancer conference papers and CCOHS
work cancer recognition and prevention course • Global
Unions zero occupational cancers campaign • Risks
358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news,
24 May 2008
Britain:
Get trained, get organised, get safe!
Training trade union safety reps in the links between workplace
safety and union organisation is a top priority for TUC. Liz Rees,
head of TUC’s education service, made this plain in a new
interview with the trade union safety magazine Hazards.
Don’t
be a safety nerd, Hazards, Number 102, pages 20-21,
2008 • Risks
357
Hazards news, 24 May 2008
USA: Court dismisses industry’s unsafe assumption
A well-resourced attempt by industry lobby groups has failed in
| |
