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| LATEST
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 3 May 2008
Global:
New union push on work cancers
Union bodies worldwide are increasing the pressure for an end
to workplace cancer risks. Australian national union federation
ACTU has launched a zero cancer campaign and says more than 1.5
million workers may be exposed to cancer-causing substances on
the job without even knowing it.
BWI
news release • Global
Unions occupational cancer prevention campaign • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Australia:
Union alert on formaldehyde cancers
Australia's biggest building union is calling on the federal government
to start an urgent investigation into the use of formaldehyde
in household products. CFMEU said formaldehyde poses a real cancer
risk to workers and must be subject to stringent laws.
CFMEU
news release • Atsuya Takagi and others. Induction
of mesothelioma in p53+/- mouse by intraperitoneal application
of multi-wall carbon nanotube, Journal of Toxicological Sciences,
volume 33, number 1, pages 105-116, 2008 [pdf]
• Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Britain: Safety reps get well active!
The TUC is to train up thousands of workplace safety reps to target
prevention efforts at the work-related health problems that affect
over two million workers. A new occupational health guide from
TUC intends to improve the skills and activity level of safety
reps. Over the next year, the TUC hopes that around 15,000 workplace
safety reps can be trained using the new educational workbook,
‘Occupational health: Dealing with the issues’.
TUC
news release • Unionlearn
• Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
USA: Latinos worst affected by deaths
hike
Workplace fatalities have increased sharply for Latino and immigrant
workers in the US, according to a shocking new report. The new
edition of ‘Death on the job: The toll of neglect’,
published by the US national union federation AFL-CIO, reports
that 2006 fatal injuries among Latino workers increased by seven
per cent, with 990 fatalities.
AFL-CIO
news release • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Britain:
Computer chip firms in cancer ‘fantasy’
The microelectronics industry is inhabiting an ‘Alice in
Wonderland’ fantasy world when it comes to facing up to
possible cancer risks to its staff, the union Unite has warned.
It is pressing for the UK computer components and semiconductor
industry to initiate industry-wide research into the risks.
Unite
news release • Global
Unions zero cancer campaign • 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: Unions make work safer
Trade unions are by far the best vehicle to win better safety
at work, transport union RMT has said. RMT said that Britain's
new corporate manslaughter law still lets killer bosses off the
hook - and that unions remain workers’ best friend.
RMT
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: 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: Widow gets six figure asbestos
payout
The widow of a Unite member has secured £120,000 in an out
of court compensation settlement after her husband died from the
asbestos related cancer, mesothelioma. The unnamed 71-year-old
from Mold in Wales was exposed to asbestos while working for the
Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company in Trafford Park, Manchester,
now known as AEI.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • 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: 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: Another six figure death
fine for Corus
An incident that saw a Corus worker crushed to death has cost
the company £200,000 in fines and costs – the second
time it had received a six figure fine related to a fatality in
less than three months. It was also fined £125,000 in August
last year after a worker suffered horrific, near fatal burns at
its Scunthorpe plant.
HSE
news release • More
on recent Corus deaths and prosecutions • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Britain: Cost-cutting firm cost worker
an eye
Weldex UK, a Gateshead company that failed to properly maintain
machinery or train its staff, has been fined £10,500 following
an incident that left a worker blind in one eye. Magistrates blamed
the horrific incident on bosses looking to save money.
HSE
news release • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Morocco: Murder charge call after
fire deaths
Moroccan police have arrested the owner and manager of a Casablanca
mattress factory engulfed by a fire that killed at least 55 people.
The global union federation for the garment sector, ITGLWF, had
earlier called for murder charges to be brought against those
responsible.
ITGLWF
news release • ITUC
news release • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Britain: Glass firm fined after worker
severs artery
A company has been fined after a worker severed an artery after
falling from a ladder while repairing a window. Carlisle Glass
Ltd was fined £10,000 by Carlisle magistrates and ordered
to pay costs of £1,100 after admitting the safety breach.
HSE
news release • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Britain: Finger loss costs glue firm
£9,000
A Corby firm has been fined after a worker lost part of her middle
finger in a machine. Melissa Graham, 31, was working for glue
manufacturer Chemence Ltd when the 18 July 2007 incident occurred.
HSE
news release • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Britain: Quarry fined after rock smashes
head
A Bromsgrove company has been fined £5,000 after an employee
suffered a serious injury when a 66lb lump of sandstone fell on
his head. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Wildmoor
Quarry Products Ltd following the 21 March 2007 incident.
HSE
news release • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Britain: Worker narrowly escapes quarry
death
A quarry company and one of its employees have been fined after
an incident which “could have killed” a worker. Northumberland
firm W&M Thompson (Quarries) Ltd and foreman Alan Armstrong
admitted breaching safety regulations when they appeared at Bishop
Auckland Magistrates’ Court.
HSE
news release • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
Britain: HSE migrant worker webpages
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has improved its multi-lingual
migrant worker webpages to provide guidance for workers from overseas
and their employers. HSE says the pages for workers have been
translated into several languages, and are also available in English.
HSE
news release and migrant
workers webpages • Risks
354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 26 April 2008
Britain: Superhub safety rep sorts
out chutes
Parcelforce Worldwide has agreed to a £1.4m package of improvements
to Coventry’s ‘superhub’ distribution centres
after a union report highlighted major health and safety problems.
A briefing from CWU national health and safety officer Dave Joyce
noted: “This can be regarded as a hard fought and well won
victory for the CWU which I take pride in and so should the Coventry
engineers who stuck by their insistence that action needed to
be taken.”
CWU
briefing [word] • Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
USA: Doctors feel push to downplay
injuries
A leading group of US occupational doctors has spoken out against
pressure from companies to downplay workplace injuries. “Our
members feel they are being methodically pressured... to under-treat
and mistreat," said Dr Robert McLellan, president of the
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
Charlotte
Observer • Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Britain: River Clyde pilots in safety
strike
Workers who provide safe passage for ships on the River Clyde
have taken strike action over safety. The Pilots Group, which
is represented by the union Unite, said the action was to defend
the health and safety of the pilots and of maritime traffic.
Unite
news release • BBC
News Online • Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Global: Sportswear industry’s
Olympic shame
As the clock ticks down to the Beijing Olympics, workers producing
for the international sportswear companies that spend millions
on Olympic and athletic sponsorship deals are still working excessive
hours in exchange for poverty wages. ‘Clearing the hurdles,’
a damning new report from the labour rights coalition Play Fair
2008 (PF08), reveals violations of worker rights is still the
sportswear industry norm.
Play
Fair 2008 webpage and full report, Clearing the hurdles:
Steps to improving working conditions in the global sportswear
industry, Play Fair 2008 (PF08) [pdf]
• Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Britain: Napoli inquiry says profits
override safety
The container ship industry is putting profits before safety,
marine safety inspectors have warned in a report on the “catastrophic”
failure of the MSC Napoli, which was beached off the coast of
Britain in gales last year.
Nautilus
UK news release • MAIB
news release • Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Global: Unions call for asbestos ban
support
Global union federations representing tens of millions of workers
in the construction and metal sectors have renewed their call
for a global asbestos ban. The Building and Woodworkers’
International (BWI) has written to the Canadian Labour Congress
appealing for help from Canadian trade unions to end the export
of Canadian chrysotile asbestos to the developing world.
BWI
news release • Canadian
asbestos: One killer export, Ban Asbestos Canada Network •
Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Britain: Shipyard exposures caused
asbestosis
A Unite member has been awarded £20,000 in provisional damages
after exposure to asbestos in a shipyard wrecked his health. Peter
Guy developed asbestosis after being exposed to the dangerous
dust while working for Harland & Wolf shipyard during the
1960s.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Bangladesh: Latest death leads to
rights call
The death of yet another Bangladeshi garment worker as a result
of employer negligence highlights the need for trade union rights
to be reinstated in the country, global union federation ITGLWF
has said. Trade union rights were suspended under emergency rule
over a year ago.
ITGLWF
news release • Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Britain: Payout deal for stressed
teacher
A teacher who said his job ruined his health has been paid a “substantial”
sum as compensation for his ordeal. NUT member Andrew Massey,
54, has been unable to work since going sick with stress from
New College in Leicester.
BBC
News Online • Leicester
Mercury • Hazards
suicide report • Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Global: Dangers of mind-numbing jobs
Boring jobs turn our mind on to autopilot, say scientists - and
this means we can seriously mess up some simple tasks. Monotonous
duties switch our brain to “rest mode,” whether we
like it or not, the researchers report in Proceedings of National
Academy of Sciences.
Tom Eichele and others. Prediction of human errors by maladaptive
changes in event-related brain networks, PNAS, volume 105,
number 16, pages 6173-6178, 22 April 2008 [abstract]
• Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Britain: Lecturers are stressed and
insecure
An independent report on college staff satisfaction has revealed
a dedicated workforce that is deeply dissatisfied and facing stress,
bullying and insecurity. 'FE colleges, the frontline under pressure?',
produced for lecturers’ union UCU, found that while students
are happy with college staff, the staff are far from happy with
their jobs.
UCU
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: 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: 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
USA: Formaldehyde
linked to Lou Gehrig's disease
New preliminary research suggests that exposure to the chemical
formaldehyde, present in workplaces from laboratories to hospitals
to MDF factories, could greatly increase a person's chances of
developing Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS). Those who reported more than 10 years of exposure
to formaldehyde were almost four times more likely to develop
ALS.
Marc Weisskopf and others. Prospective study of chemical exposures
and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mortality, AAN Meeting
2008; Abstract # S25.005. AAN news release [pdf]
• Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 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: Family critical after man's
death
The family of a man who died after a sugar factory explosion has
said he would still be alive if more “care and attention”
had been paid to equipment. Robert Howe, 52, was showered with
hot coals when a boiler exploded at British Sugar’s Allscott
factory.
Shropshire
Star • BBC
News Online • Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
Britain: Depression hidden because
of work stigma
A third of people with clinical depression say they have been
turned down for jobs because of their mental health problems,
a study has found. More than two-thirds (71 per cent) feared that
disclosing their depression to colleagues would have a detrimental
impact on their careers, according to the research by charity
Depression Alliance.
Depression Alliance news release [pdf]
• Risks
353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards
news, 19 April 2008
Thailand: Migrants face death or deportation
Survivors of a human smuggling tragedy in Thailand, in which 54
migrants including two children were found suffocated in a locked
container truck on 10 April, will be deported back to army-ruled
Burma (Myanmar), a Thai court has ruled.
Seattle
Times • ANROAV
report • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Thailand: Migrants start compensation
test case
Three Shan workers are seeking to overturn a policy which is denying
migrant workers in Thailand compensation for their work-related
ailments. With support from the Human Rights and Development Foundation
(HRDF), which last year launched a migrant workers’ health
and safety project, the trio decided to bring their case to the
court after the workers’ compensation authority in January
denied them compensation.
ANROAV
news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Union vigilance call after
Corus death
Construction union UCATT has said companies must strive to improve
safety, after a young member was killed at a Corus plant on Teesside.
Kristian Norris, 29, was a refractory bricklayer employed by sub-contractor
Vesuvius UK to perform maintenance work.
UCATT
news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Jail terms needed to deter
work killers
There must be a root and branch review of health and safety on
construction sites to tackle the persistently high death rate,
construction union UCATT has said. The union warning came after
provisional Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures revealed
69 construction workers were killed at work in 2007/8.
UCATT
news release • HSE
news release and fatality
statistics • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Concerns at ultrasonic rail
inspections
Rail union RMT is warning that prompt action to address track
defects is being hampered as a result of a new ultrasonic track
testing system. The union says the technology trial poses a serious
safety risk to rail staff and passengers.
RMT
news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Cleaner solution to hospital
infections
Hospital cleaners need greater resources to defeat health care-associated
infections, the union UNISON has said. Delegates to the union’s
health conference heard the government’s target of halving
MRSA incidents by April 2008 looks like it hasn’t been met,
and called for more cleaners, better paid and with modern equipment.
UNISON
news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Six figure settlement for
explosion stresses
A gas worker whose career was wrecked when he was traumatised
by an explosion has received a £230,000 payout. GMB member
Danny McLoed, 50, a Transco employee, received the payout from
Schememade Limited, which admitted liability for cutting through
the gas pipe when laying cable.
GMB
news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Rail worker gets asbestos
payout
A former British Rail worker has been awarded £180,000 in
compensation after developing the incurable asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
ASLEF member Kenneth Chapman, 74, worked for New Southern Railway,
part of British Rail, from the 1950s until he retired in 1996
and was exposed to asbestos while working as a fireman, boiler
cleaner and train driver.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Union improves the odds of
safer bookies
The union Community has launched a campaign to end violence against
betting office staff in Scotland. It is asking trade unionists
and members of the public to sign an e-petition calling on the
Scottish parliament to ask bookmakers in the country to display
a purpose designed poster highlighting the legal penalties facing
those abusing their staff.
TUC
briefing document • Community
Respect at Ladbrokes campaign • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Council fined over gardener's
death
York Council has been fined £20,000 after the “entirely
avoidable” death of gardener Frank Smith, 54, who crushed
by a mower on an embankment. The council, which had pleaded guilty
at an earlier hearing, was also ordered to pay £20,425 in
prosecution costs, including the £9,332 cost of a Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation.
Yorkshire
Post • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Firm guilty after worker
set on fire
A utility firm has been fined £32,000 for failing to make
safe a live cable which then turned a worker into a human fireball.
SP Power Systems, a Scottish Power subsidiary, should have tackled
the danger five months earlier, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
BBC
News Online • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Six figure penalty after
sub-contractor dies
Edeco Petroleum Services has been fined £200,000 after a
sub-contractor was asphyxiated on a drilling job. The company
was also ordered to pay costs of £47,400 at Hull Crown Court
on charges relating to the death of Neil Millar, a 36-year-old
sub-contractor.
Hull
Daily Mail • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Tiny fine for massive brick
maker
The world’s largest clay brick and tile manufacturer has
received a £2,000 fine after two employees developed a classic
metal fume related occupational disease. Wienerberger Ltd pleaded
guilty to two breaches of the chemical control regulations COSHH
following an incident in May 2007 which led to one of the employees
being hospitalised with welding fume fever.
HSE
news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: More white collar asbestos
victims
A former benefits officer and a nurse are the latest workplace
victims of mesothelioma, the incurable asbestos cancer.
Thompsons
news release • Irwin
Mitchell news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Family members face asbestos
peril
Asbestos exposure is so dangerous it is killing the family members
of workers who brought home the dust on their clothes.
Evening
Post • Gazette
and Herald • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Britain: Study highlights cancer in
hairdressers
Hairdressers probably face an increased risk of cancer because
of the dyes and other chemicals they work with, according to the
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A Lancet Oncology
report of a IARC working group’s findings concludes. “Because
of the few supporting findings by duration or period of exposure,
the working group considered these data as limited evidence of
carcinogenicity and re-affirmed occupational exposures of hairdressers
and barbers as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans.’”
ETUI
REHS news report • Robert Baan, Kurt Straif, Yann Grosse,
Béatrice Secretan, Fatiha El Ghissassi, Véronique
Bouvard, Lamia Benbrahim-Tallaa, Vincent Cogliano, on behalf of
the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer Monograph
Working Group. Carcinogenicity of some aromatic amines, organic
dyes, and related exposures, The Lancet Oncology, volume
9, number 4, pages 322-323, April 2008 • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
Canada: Resign call over ‘death’
rebates
A Canadian union body has called for a compensation board’s
executives to resign after it was discovered some companies were
receiving cash rebates for “good” safety performance
when another arm of government had prosecuted them for safety
offences involving workplace deaths. The Ontario Federation of
Labour (OFL) and other groups say Steve Mahoney should be fired
from his post as chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
(WSIB) in the province.
NUPGE
news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
China: Journalists raises Olympics
safety concerns
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed
concern over the safety of journalists and media staff in the
run up to the Beijing Olympics. “In the last few weeks some
journalists have been threatened and there has been an increase
in violations of promises to let media work without interference,”
said IFJ’s Aidan White.
IFJ
news release • Risks
352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008
|
| EARLIER
NEWS |
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Global: Are you read for Workers’
Memorial Day?
Check out the Hazards Workers’ Memorial Day webpages for
news on 28 April events from Angola to Zimbabwe.
Global 28
April webpage • YouTube
Workers' Memorial Day resources and video clips •
AFL-CIO
Workers' Memorial Day, 28 April, online resource pack
• Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: Experts highlight spreading
cancer risks
A global epidemic of preventable industrial cancers is killing
hundreds of thousands each year because governments and employers
are failing to take simple and effective preventive action. Top
cancer prevention experts and trade union officers and workplace
reps from around the world, meeting in Scotland later this month
will reveal the full extent of the problem and will call for the
use of safer substances and processes and a phase out of the worst
cancer-causing culprits.
Stirling
University news release • Global
union zero cancer campaign
• 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
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: Unions seek stronger work
death measures
Unions have said additional measures are necessary to make negligent
employers fully accountable for workplace deaths.
Unite news release and corporate manslaughter webpage. GMB
news release • UCATT
news release • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: STUC challenge on Scottish
work deaths
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is urging Scotland’s
government to act quickly to remedy deficiencies the new Corporate
Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act. STUC general secretary
Grahame Smith said: “While this legislation is being peddled
as the machinery to deliver that justice for bereaved families,
it is clear that the governments in both Westminster and in Holyrood
have let down the families of workers killed by their employers.”
STUC
news release • The
Herald • BBC
News Online • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: Assaults register call after
stabbing tragedy
Public sector union UNISON is demanding a national system to register
attacks on local government workers. The call comes after the
tragic death of a council worker in Lancashire.
UNISON
news release • BBC
News Online • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: Colleges warned after acid
explosion injury
Lecturers’ union UCU has urged colleges to learn urgent
safety lessons after the prosecution of City of Bristol College.
The legal action came after a UCU member was injured in an acid
explosion.
UCU
news release • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: MoD ignored work injury warnings
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) stores assistant who suffered a serious
back injury due to continuous heavy lifting and whose employer
then failed to shift her to lighter work has received £60,000
in compensation.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: New rail ballots on control
room safety
Safety critical operators in electrical control rooms (ECR) in
Cathcart and Romford are being balloted for strike action in an
escalation of a dispute over plans to slash staffing levels in
the electrical control rooms.
RMT
news release • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: Tube strike averted after
safety guarantees
A three day strike on London’s Tube system was averted after
unions won a string of safety and staffing guarantees. Rail unions
RMT and TSSA say London Underground (LUL) has now abandoned what
they saw as a fundamental attack on Tube safety standards and
the casualisation of safety critical work.
RMT
news release • TSSA
news release • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Australia: Union push for stronger
safety rules
Australian unions are to call for stronger workplace safety rules,
in response to the new Labor government’s review of the
country’s safety system. The federal government has said
it is seeking to harmonise laws across all states and territories
in the country.
ACTU
news release • Australian
government news release and review terms of reference
• Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: Lung cancer survivor gets
payout
A man who developed lung cancer after being exposed to asbestos
in the workplace has been compensated by his former employers.
Widower, Joseph Douglas, 66, from Ellesmere Port has received
£65,000 in damages after he was diagnosed with lung cancer
in 2004.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: NHS workers sidelined and
under attack
Health service union UNISON has called for action to better involve
NHS staff in the running of the service and to address the stubbornly
high rates of attacks and other injuries to staff.
Healthcare
Commission news release and report, National
survey of NHS staff 2007 • UNISON
news release • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: Firm falls short on work
at heights
A Leicester firm has been fined after an employee suffered severe
back injuries in a fall from a stepladder. Air Plant Dust Extraction
Ltd was fined £5,000 with £5,147 costs at Norwich
Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to a breach of
safety law.
HSE
news release and shattered
lives campaign • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
Britain: McDonald’s fined after
teen worker is scarred
Burger giant McDonald's has been fined £20,000 after a teenage
worker was left scarred for life. The 17-year-old girl slipped
on a piece of cardboard left to soak up cooking oil and, as she
put out an arm to save herself, plunged it into the scalding hot
liquid.
Leicester
Mercury • Risks
351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008
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Hazards
news, 5 April 2008
Global: Conference to work out work
cancer solution
Occupational and Environmental Cancer Prevention - from research
to policy to action at international, national and workplace levels,
Friday, 25 April 2008, University of Stirling, Scotland.
Further information, including conference programme, contact
details and fees (including union reductions) •
Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Britain: Hit-and-run firefighter gets
£280k damages
A firefighter knocked from his bike on his journey home from work
has received over £280,000 in damages. David Frith, a member
of the firefighters’ union FBU from Leicester, received
the award via the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) untraced
drivers scheme after the hit-and-run incident.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
USA: Site workers rushed to an early
grave
In the shadows of the cranes, steel and concrete upon which Las
Vegas has pinned its addiction to growth, a body count has emerged.
Nine construction workers have died in eight accidents since the
end of 2006 at the towers that are redefining the Las Vegas skyline
- workers describe construction sites that are crowded with equipment
and people, combined with consistent - though often unstated -
pressure to do everything at top speed, and nervously refer to
the CityCenter site as “CityCemetery” or “CemeteryCenter.”
Las
Vegas Sun and follow
up article on the official enforcement failure • The
Pump Handle • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Britain: Don’t blame the workers
for terminal troubles
Heathrow unions have said their members didn’t cause the
chaos at Terminal 5’s opening last week, but they can help
to solve it. Problems with baggage handling facilities led to
flight cancellations, baggage mountains and a massive amount of
passenger frustration.
GMB
news release • Unite
news release • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Britain: Teaching union calls for
risk assessments
Schools must carry out proper risk assessments to protect staff
and pupils, teaching union NASUWT has said.
NASUWT
news release • HSE
news release • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Britain: Wire industry campaign success
A wire industry safety campaign backed by unions and the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE) has led to dramatic improvements in
accident rates. Steel industry union Community says the UK Steel
Live Wire Accident Reduction Campaign, launched in July 2006,
has surpassed its target of a 10 per cent reduction in accidents
“by a significant margin.”
Community
news release • 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: 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: What difference will the
killing law make?
The new corporate killing law, effective from 6 April, has received
a mixed welcome, with some staying it will lead to greater corporate
accountability and others suggesting while there may be some large
firms facing charges it lets negligent bosses off the hook. Prosecutors
will no longer have to prove that an individual acted as a ‘directing
mind’ and was responsible for a death - they can charge
a company instead.
Financial
Times • BBC
News Online • HSE
and Ministry
of Justice corporate manslaughter law webpages • TUC
corporate accountability webpages • FACK
• Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Britain: Oil boat deaths report highly
critical
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is considering whether there
were any breaches of UK legislation before the Bourbon Dolphin
tragedy off Shetland. The rig support vessel capsized with the
loss of eight lives in April last year – however, because
the eight deaths occurred offshore and were not investigated by
HSE, they will not be included in this year’s official UK
work fatality statistics.
Norway
ministry of justice news release and report • BBC
News Online and earlier
report • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Britain: Aga fined for work injury
Luxury cooker manufacturer Aga has been fined £25,000 after
an employee lost a thumb in an incident at its Coalbrookdale foundry.
Anthony Bridgewater had been checking to see whether sand had
clogged machinery when his hand hit a rotating blade, amputating
his thumb and breaking his finger.
Shropshire
Star • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
South Africa: Lobbyists fail to block
asbestos ban
A new law banning asbestos in South Africa took effect in late
March. Environmental affairs and tourism minister Marthinus van
Schalkwyk said the regulations prohibit the use, processing, manufacturing,
and import and export of any asbestos or asbestos-containing materials
(ACMs).
South African government
news release and asbestos
regulations webpage • Mail
and Guardian • International
Ban Asbestos Secretariat • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Britain: MPs vow support for meso
sufferers
Members of parliament have vowed support for a campaign for better
compensation for sufferers of the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
The members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational
Safety and Health’s asbestos sub-committee made the promise
after watching a short film calling on the government to amend
the law on government asbestos payouts.
Thompsons
Solicitors news release • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Japan: Government releases asbestos
firms list
The Japanese government has grudgingly released the names of 2,167
companies and offices around the nation where workers had received
compensation for asbestos-related illnesses. Campaigners say the
list will enable those who lived near the companies or who had
family members who worked there to get checked for diseases such
as the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Asahi
Shimbun • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Britain: MP raises alarm over nail
bars
A Labour MP is campaigning for increased protection for customers
and staff in nail bars. Dr Phyllis Starkey’s 10 Minute Rule
Bill, which would extend licensing for nail bars to areas outside
London, was debated in the Commons last month and will have a
second reading on 25 April.
Nail Bars and Special Treatment Premises (Regulation) Bill 2007-08,
Hansard
• CIEH
news report • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Australia: Brain cancer linked to
mobile phone use
A top Australian neurosurgeon has warned the world's heavy reliance
on mobile phones could be a major threat to human health. Vini
Khurana, who conducted a 15-month “critical review”
of the link between mobile phones and malignant brain tumours,
said using mobiles for more than 10 years could more than double
the risk of brain cancer.
Mobile
phone-brain tumour, Public Health Advisory, www.brain-surgery.us
Sydney
Morning Herald • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
USA: Pesticide exposure ups Parkinson’s
risk
There is strong evidence that exposure to pesticides significantly
increases the risk of Parkinson's disease, experts have concluded.
A study of people with the neurological disease found that sufferers
were more than twice as likely to report heavy exposure to pesticides
over their lifetime as family members without the disease.
Dana B Hancock and others. Pesticide exposure and risk of Parkinson's
disease: a family-based case-control study, BMC Neurology, volume
8:6, 2008, doi:10.1186/1471-2377-8-6, abstract
and full paper [pdf]
• Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
UK: Toxic plane fumes inquiry call
Airline staff and passengers are at risk from toxic fumes leaking
into aircraft cabins, according to the Global Cabin Air Quality
Executive pressure group. The group wants a public inquiry into
why more has not been done to protect people and inform them of
health risks and charges that the Health and Safety Executive
and the Civil Aviation Authority “have failed to ensure
that airlines abide by health and safety guidelines and basic
principles.”
GCAQE
news release • Global
Cabin Air Quality Executive • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Australia: Work exposures up vet miscarriage
risk
Female vets run twice the risk of miscarriage as a result of exposure
to anaesthetic gases and pesticides, suggests a study. Women carrying
out surgery and exposed to anaesthetic gases that were not filtered
out of the atmosphere, for an hour or more a week, were almost
2.5 times more likely to miscarry, those who used pesticides during
the course of their work were also twice as likely to miscarry,
and those who performed more than five x-rays a week were around
80 per cent more likely to miscarry than those performing fewer
procedures. Maternal occupational exposures and risk of spontaneous
abortion in veterinary practice Online First, Occupational
and Environmental Medicine, 3 April 2008, doi: 10.1136/OEM.2007.035246
[abstract]
• Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
USA: The Construction Chart Book
If you know the problem, then you can start working out the solution.
For US construction unions, this task has just got a whole lot
easier, with the publication of the Construction Chart Book -
a useful resource for construction unions anywhere, giving a well-structured
and detailed overview of major issues facing site workers wherever
you find them.
The
Construction Chart Book: The US construction industry and its
workers, 4th edition, 2008 • Health
and safety chapter • CPWR
(Center for Construction Research and Training) • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
France: Stress crisis prompts national
action
An apparent workplace stress crisis afflicting French workplaces
had prompted the government to launch an evaluation of the extent
of the problem and to plan a surveillance system for work-related
suicides.
REHS news releases on the Peugeot
report and the French
government stress study • Hazards
work-related suicides webpages • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Europe: Lidl accused of spying on
its staff
German supermarket group Lidl has denied that it spied on its
staff, but has admitted that it placed secret cameras in its stores.
The multinational company, which also confirmed it had employed
private detectives, insisted that it carried out the measures
simply to combat shoplifting.
BusinessWeek
• The
Times • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
Global: Studies reveal neglected toll
of work cancers
New studies have confirmed the numbers of workplace cancers has
been massively under-estimated. Investigators from Massey University's
Centre for Public Health Research in New Zealand say work-related
cancers affect between 700 and 1,000 people a year in the country
and kill 400 yet fewer than 40 cases a year are notified to the
Labour Department.
Sunday
Star Times • Massey
University research outline • Global
union zero cancer campaign • Risks
350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008
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