Get a life! News - Hazards Magazine and WHIN

Britain
Draft Euro report backs TUC hours campaign
The UK's opt-out from a directive aimed at limiting working hours to 48 a week is being widely abused by employers, according to a draft official Euro report.
Risks 137, 20 December 2003

EUROPE
Europe should toughen up working time rights
The UK TUC has presented Europe's top employment policy official with a dossier proving the case of tougher working time controls in the UK.
Risks 136, 13 December 2003

BRITAIN
GMB says "burn out Britain" is a reality
Almost one in four men works longer than the European limit, according to a GMB analysis of the most recent census data.
Risks 135, 6 December 2003

BRITAIN
EU report exposes UK working time abuse
An unpublished European Union research report exposes widespread working hours abuse by UK employers. The report was commissioned from three Cambridge University academics in the run up to the European Commission's review of the UK opt-out from the Europe-wide 48-hour working week ceiling.
Risks 135, 6 December 2003

BRITAIN
New deal to cut truckers' hours
A deal has been struck which will see more than 1,000 lorry drivers get a pay rise - and spend fewer hours on the road. Drivers with Chester-le-Street-based ACC Distribution are to get an 18.5 per cent pay rise over two-and-a-half years, coupled with a huge reduction in working hours.
Risks 134, 29 November 2003

BRITAIN
Workers lose billions in unpaid overtime
UK workers will put in more than £23 billion of unpaid overtime this year, according to a new TUC report. The TUC said around five million people work an average of seven hours and 24 minutes without pay every week - worth £4,500 a year.
Risks 134, 29 November 2003

BRITAIN
Unions up the working time pressure
Patricia Hewitt, secretary of state for trade and industry, would like to keep the opt-out to the working time regulations that would otherwise put a limit of 48 hours on the working week. She might find this an unpopular move on two fronts, however, as the European Commission now seem likely to demand the closure of Britain's work hours loophole and unions continue their campaign for a working hours ceiling.
Risks 132, 15 November 2003

BRITAIN
TUC welcomes expected Euro crackdown on long hours
The TUC has welcomed indications that the European Commission is to crack down on the abuse of the UK opt out from the 48 hour average working hours ceiling. The European Commission's concerns where heightened following the publication of a two-year Cambridge University study which showed that "the way (British) employers have implemented the opt-out is a very abusive one," according to EC employment commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou.
Risks 132, 15 November 2003

BRITAIN
No sex please, we're British workers
Almost one in five workers are being put off sex because of the long hours they are compelled to work, according to a union survey. The research by Amicus found a third of all respondents said that they didn't have enough time to spend with partners or children, 19 per cent said their sex life had suffered and up to 40 per cent said they don't have enough time to do work related training or any other kind of education.
Risks 132, 15 November 2003

JAPAN
Depressed workers win compensation
Two workers who suffered from depression after their employer left them nothing to do have qualified for workers' compensation. An increasing number of workers receive compensation because of overwork, but this is the first time it has been granted because "management stripped employees of duties."
Risks 131, 8 November 2003

AUSTRALIA
Job strain and insecurity is bad for you
Job strain and job insecurity are strongly linked with poor health, particularly mental health, a study has found. Researchers reporting in the November issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found employment and high job strain showed strong, independent associations with physical and mental health, which persisted after adjusting for factors such as gender, education, employment status and personality.
Risks 131, 8 November 2003

BRITAIN
It's about time… the government listened
TUC has produced a detailed briefing for MPs to support its case for an end to the UK opt out from the European working week ceiling. It says the UK is the only EU country that allows every worker to opt out of the 48-hour limit on the average working week.
Risks 131, 8 November 2003

BRITAIN
Minister welcomes HSE stress guide
The government's safety minister has welcomed new practical guidance to help employers and employees develop solutions to workplace stress problems. Speaking at the launch the new guide, minister for work Des Browne, said: "The government's approach is based on encouraging supportive organisational cultures where employers work with staff and their representatives to identify and address real employee concerns in a positive way."
Risks 131, 8 November 2003

BRITAIN
Outsourcing, staffing and downsizing are safety issues Safety just got serious - a new Health and Safety Executive guide says restructuring, reorganisation, outsourcing and downsizing are not just buzzwords, they are key safety issues.
Risks 129, 25 October 2003

BRITAIN
Stress is costing British firms £1.24bn
British industry is haemorrhaging a "massive" £1.24 billion a year because of stress-related sickness and lost productivity, according to a survey. The HSE/Personnel Today study concludes: "The only reason Britain has kept pace at all is because we work the longest hours in Europe. We are having to work harder and longer to maintain our position in the pack, less inspiration means more perspiration."
Risks 129, 25 October 2003

BRITAIN
Seafarers working a dangerous 85 hour week
More than half the seafarers operating in UK coastal waters are working "dangerously" long hours, a union backed study has found. Most seafarers working on ferries and tankers around the UK coast get no opportunity for six hours of uninterrupted sleep and more than 45 per cent are working more than 85 hours a week, according to ships' officers' union Numast.
Risks 129, 25 October 2003

BRITAIN
Tired transport workers lay siege to Downing St
Transport and General Workers' Union members have laid siege to Whitehall to demonstrate against long hours in the transport industry. TGWU says the long hours culture, in which many drivers frequently work a 70 hour week, is known to lead to dangerous levels of fatigue.
Risks 128, 18 October 2003 • ITF Road Transport Day of Action website and background on the ITF day of action worldwide

BRITAIN
Red tags are like "red rags to a bull"
Workers at a Leicester factory have banned overtime work and taken part in selective work stoppages after bosses introduced a Big Brother-style monitoring system forcing them to wear red tags on breaks.
Risks 128, 18 October 2003

BRITAIN
How to opt back in to a 48 hour working week
Most UK workers are protected from working more than 48 hours a week on average unless they voluntarily sign an opt-out from working time rules. But as one in four people are forced to sign the opt-out, the TUC is issuing Time's up for long hours, a how to guide to opting back in to a 48 hour working week.
Risks 127, 11 October 2003

CANADA
Organising beats stress
Enough workplace stress: organizing for change, a new guide from Canadian public sector union CUPE, "contains concepts, solutions and strategies that can effect meaningful change in CUPE workplaces across the country. Equipped with this guideline, members can identify and eliminate workplace stress hazards."
Risks 126, 4 October 2003 • Enough workplace stress: organizing for change [pdf format]

IRELAND
More workers quit due to stress
Job stress is driving Irish workers to quit, a workplace stress authority has warned. Maurice Quinlan, director of the EAP Institute, says this can prove costly for all concerned, with one pharmaceutical rep in Ireland recently receiving €250,000 (£173,000) in compensation after suing an employer for work overload.
Risks 125, 27 September 2003

AUSTRALIA
Workplace bullies leave three dead
Workplace bullying has claimed the lives of three workers in one Australian state in the past twelve months, a psychologist has claimed. Meddwyn Coleman told a Bendigo Trades Hall Council forum that workplace bullying lay behind the suicide deaths of three workers in the state of Victoria.
Risks 125, 27 September 2003 • Hazards magazine on work-related suicides and bullying factsheet [pdf format].

BRITAIN
Double trouble from soaring stress
The prevalence of work stress related health problems including heart conditions has doubled since 1990 and is now the top cause of lost work days, according to new official figures. An HSE report says: "The estimated prevalence rate of stress and related (mainly heart) conditions has increased over time and is now around double the level it was in 1990."
Risks 124, 20 September 2003

BRITAIN
Brit journalists are being written off by overwork
British journalists work the longest hours for the lowest pay with the fewest rights and the shortest holidays in Europe and are are facing stress and ill-health as a result, says journalists' union NUJ. It adds that three of our members have committed suicide, at least one directly blamed by their families on stress at work."
Risks 124, 20 September 2003 • Hazards worked to death web resources

BRITAIN
No more Mr Knackered Guy
A campaign for humane work hours and an end to overtime coercion by employers has been launched by TUC. A TUC poll has revealed that large sections of the workforce are enduring illegally long hours without ever agreeing an "opt ou" from the 48 hour working week ceiling.
Risks 123, 13 September 2003 • TUC It's about time campaign

BRITAIN
Women win on call battle
Nine women wardens have won a legal battle that could have major implications for people who are forced to remain on standby after completing their hours of work. The GMB members lived in sheltered homes for the elderly in the London borough of Harrow and worked a basic 37 hour week - but they were kept on call for another 76 hours.
Risks 123, 16 September 2003

USA
Give the workers a break
A US campaign is calling for the country's frazzled workforce to "take back their time." The organisers of "Take Back Your Time Day," scheduled for 24 October, say overwork leaves fewer and fewer Americans with enough time for their families and other responsibilities.
Risks 122, 6 September 2003

GLOBAL
Work less, produce more
A new International Labour Office (ILO) shows that workers produce more when they are not worked into the ground. ILO's Key indicators of the labour market concludes the relatively rested French workers each generated $35 worth of output per hour, compared to $32 for their horribly overworked US equivalents. Norwegian workers are almost 20 per cent more productive than their US counterparts.
Risks 122, 6 September 2003

BRITAIN
Give us back our evenings and weekends
Government action to reduce weekend working and excessive work hours is needed to help parents balance their work and family responsibilities, new research has concluded. A Joseph Rowntree Foundation report found employed parents are more likely to work outside the normal "nine to five" than other workers.
Risks 122, 6 September 2003

BRITAIN
Teachers use drink and drugs for stress
Teachers and other school staff are turning to anti-depressants and alcohol to cope with rising stress levels. The findings came in response to a Wrexham council survey, undertaken after concerns were raised by the Health and Safety Executive.
Risks 122, 6 September 2003 • Hazards guide to sensible drugs and alcohol policies

BRITAIN
Long hours rife in UK workplaces
Over 3.4 million men work in excess of 49 hours a week, according to research for GMB London Region. A Durham university analysis of 2001 Census of Population provides "the first comprehensive statistics on those working more than 48 hours since the EU introduced a limit of 48 hours on the working week."
Risks 122, 6 September 2003

DENMARK
Don’t pay the price for stress
National union federation LO Denmark has pulled together case histories on workplace stress prevention - and has found successful "preventive efforts paid off" for companies.
Risks 121, 30 August 2003

AUSTRALIA
TV union gains overtime safety clause
Television company workers in Australia will be able to refuse overtime on safety, work-life balance and other grounds under new union-negotiated contract clauses.
Risks 121, 30 August 2003

CANADA
Workers want survivable jobs
Canadian workers are stressed out, overworked and tired, a union has claimed. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is calling for improved management of workload and time, which would ease tensions in the workplace and off the job.
Risks 120, 23 August 2003

BRITAIN
TGWU negotiators take tough line on bus hours
Bus industry pay negotiators from the Transport and General Workers Union will be taking a tough line in future talks with employers when the subject of working hours comes up.
Risks 119, 16 August 2003

BRITAIN
Row looms over working hours
Unions have given a cool response to a suggestion the government aims to keep its opt-out from the European Union wide working week ceiling of 48 hours. To the dismay of unions, Tony Blair negotiated a temporary deal with the European Union in 1997, ensuring that British employers can ignore the hours limit if staff agree.
Risks 119, 16 August 2003

BRITAIN
Some workers can't choose to refuse
Finance union UNIFI has said anyone who thinks workers are freely opting for long work hours is sadly mistaken. The union was responding to a 7 August leader in The Times that suggested prime minister Tony Blair should argue that government, the unions or Europe have 'no business stopping people working as many hours as they want to.'
Risks 119, 16 August 2003

BRITAIN
Drop dead! Deadly diseases of the modern workplace
Workers exposed to stress for at least half their working lives are 25 per cent more likely to die from a heart attack, and have 50 per cent higher odds of suffering a fatal stroke, according to the "modern workers health check" in the TUC-backed Hazards magazine.
Risks 118, 9 August 2003

NEW ZEALAND
Unions take on the epidemic of overwork
Unions in New Zealand are calling for more work-life balance to reverse an epidemic of overwork related health problems.
Risks 118, 9 August 2003

AUSTRALIA
Stressed employees are worked to death
Australian union safety campaign UnionSafe is warning that work practices, the demise of job security, escalating demands, and violence and bullying in the workplace are creating tired and stressed out employees prone to heart attacks, strokes, disease and depression and more likely to take their own lives.
Risks 118, 9 August 2003

USA
Overtime showdown looms in Senate
"Unless the White House amends its proposed changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, this critical showdown will determine if the fabric of American working life disintegrates any further under President Bush’s brand of compassionate conservatism," warns a Labor Research Association briefing.
Risks 118, 9 August 2003

BRITAIN
Hospital told to cure stress or else
An NHS hospital has been told it must act to reduce workplace stress among its 1,100 staff. A Health and Safety Executive improvement notice ordered the Dorset county hospital to undertake a risk assessment of the burden being placed on employees.
Risks 118, 9 August 2003

USA
Workers hit by depression era hours
US workers are facing work pressures not seen since the great depression. Press reports say Americans manage to live with the stingiest vacation allotment in the industrialised world - 8.1 days after a year on the job, 10.2 days after three years. And workers now logging more hours than any time since the 1920s.
Risks 117, 2 August 2003

BRITAIN
Working mothers are "too stressed"
Flexible hours and other "family friendly" employment policies are of limited help to working mothers if their work spills over too much into their home life and they feel overloaded and under stress while at work, according to a new study. The report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found the quality of working time may have as much impact on family relationships as the amount of time spent at work.
Risks 117, 2 August 2003

BRITAIN
Doctors could sue over hours
Junior doctors may be able to start suing hospitals as three out of four fail to meet targets on long hours, the British Medical Association (BMA) has warned. On 1 August limits on the hours worked as well as guaranteed breaks became part of junior doctors' contractual rights.
Risks 117, 2 August 2003

BRITAIN
Amicus seeks the time of our lives
Amicus is pushing forward with its campaign for a better, less stressful, balance between life and work. A series of "the time of our lives" regional conferences for union reps in the autumn will address '"ssues around productivity and negotiating away excessive working hours."
Risks 117, 2 August 2003

AUSTRALIA
Unions win mines hours reduction
Tasmanian mine operators have been ordered to reduce working hours on safety grounds in the first legally binding instruction of its kind in Australian history. The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU), hailed the orders as a "huge victory that will flow on to every other state and territory."
Risks 116, 26 July 2003

BRITAIN
Oil workers step up holiday fight
Rig workers’ union Amicus is considering legal action in its fight to secure four weeks' paid holiday for thousands of oil workers.
Risks 116, 26 July 2003

BRITAIN
Mass offshore safety reps resignation threat over hours
Hundreds of North Sea health and safety reps are threatening to resign because of the government's failure to fully apply the Working Time Directive to the offshore sector. Rig workers’ union Amicus says small print in the new working hours rules means offshore workers will still not be entitled to four week's paid annual leave.
Risks 115, 19 July 2003

JAPAN
Toyota widow compensated for work suicide
The widow of a Toyota Motor Corp employee who took his own life in 1988 as a result of overwork has been told by a High Court in Japan she is entitled to compensation. Presiding Judge Katsusuke Ogawa said the 35-year-old’s suicide was triggered by excessive hours and workload.
Risks 114, 12 July 2003

NEW ZEALAND
Unions welcome stress action
New Zealand’s top union body says new official guidelines for managing stress and fatigue in the workplace will highlight the "devastating consequences" of stressful work.
Risks 114, 12 July 2003

BRITAIN
Union pressure wins hours victory
New measures to protect over 400,000 additional workers from excessive hours and unreasonable working patterns are to be introduced by the government. The move, which follows extensive lobbying by the TUC and unions, will extend the 1998 Working Time Directive provisions to employment sectors previously excluded.
Risks 114, 12 July 2003

CANADA
Stressed out by hours and overload
Long working hours and work overload are stressing out Canadians, an official study has found. Statistics Canada reports that in 2000, the highest proportion of working Canadians - more than one-third (34 per cent) - cited too many demands or hours as the most common source of stress in the workplace.
Risks 113, 5 July 2003

BRITAIN
TUC tells bosses to give us a rest
The TUC has told UK business bosses they are "obsessed" with making workers accept longer hours, and should give us all a rest. Bosses’ organisation CBI is urged the government to support a continued opt-out from parts of the EU-wide working time law, which means British workers have the worst working hours protection in Europe.
Risks 112, 28 June 2003

BRITAIN
Break free work is no picnic, says union
A poll for civil service union PCS has found over half the UK workforce (57 per cent) take less than 30 minutes for their lunch break at work, the legal minimum for an average working day. Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) said they skipped lunch or lunched at their desk at least once a week, with one in five saying they did this every day.
Risks 112, 28 June 2003

BRITAIN
HSE goes public on stress management standards
Employers will have to protect their staff from stress - or risk legal action, the HSE has warned. HSE’s new Management standards for stress say employers must support their employees and ensure they do not feel overly pressured in their roles, and sets six targets for sorting stress.
Risks 111, 21 June 2003

USA
Stressed at work have fat chance of survival
Too little control over your job greatly increases the risks of a fatal heart attack or stroke, a major study has found. Lead author Dr Paul Landsbergis said: "This effect of cumulative exposure to job strain is larger than the estimated impact of ageing 30 years or gaining 40lb in weight."
Risks 110, 14 June 2003 • American Journal of Epidemiology, vol.157, pages 998-1006, 2003 [abstract]

BRITAIN
Train drivers threaten strike over dangerous hours
Train drivers may have to resort to industrial action in an attempt to cut a "dangerously long" working week of up to 70 hours, their union has warned. Members of the train drivers' union Aslef are under increasing pressure to work overtime, amid evidence that sleep deprivation is making the network unsafe, Aslef general secretary Mick Rix told the union’s annual conference.
Risks 109, 7 June 2003

BRITAIN
Union plans £15m fund to cut working hours
A £15 million union fighting fund should be spent on a campaign to cut the working week of manufacturing workers to 35 hours, Amicus-AEEU general secretary Derek Simpson has said. The union leader argues that UK employees are working themselves into the ground while European workers enjoy a shorter working week.
Risks 109, 7 June 2003

EUROPE
Pilots call for minister to keep his word on hours
Britain’s airline pilots are calling on transport minister John Spellar to keep his word and oppose new proposals on airliner flying hours coming from the European Parliament.
Risks 109, 7 June 2003

BRITAIN
Studies find there is no escaping work stress
Work-related worries threaten the well-being of the UK’s workforce, with two-thirds of employees unable to leave work stress in the office.
Risks 108, 31 May 2003

BRITAIN
Unions mock "voluntary" long hours culture
Union leaders have made light of a new report by a bosses’ organisation that claims most people work long hours voluntarily. The Institute of Directors said campaigners who argued for a better balance between work and home life often distorted the truth.
Risks 108, 31 May 2003

BRITAIN
Jobs top cause of stress, says Samaritans
New stress research by MORI to mark the start of Samaritans Week shows Britain is smoking, drinking and slobbing out to cope with high daily stress levels. The Stressed Out survey found that the biggest cause of stress was jobs, followed by money, family and health.
Risks 106, 17 May 2003

BRITAIN
Doctors want overtime to stop as doctor dies
The British Medical Association has advised senior hospital doctors to ensure they are not working more than 48 hours a week. The move comes after a coroner criticised the hours worked by a paediatric consultant who was found dead in a toilet at Southampton General Hospital. Dr Sid Watkins died after he apparently injected himself with the drug Fentanyl to help him cope with his workload.
Risks 106, 17 May 2003

BRITAIN
Stress forces workers to quit rat race
More and more people are prepared to quit their well-paid jobs because the stress is becoming unbearable, according to a new report.
Risks 102, 19 April 2003

BRITAIN
Three million unhappy Easter bunnies this weekend
Nearly three million (2.9m) people had to work on Good Friday and 2.7 million Easter Monday, a new TUC report reveals. Give workers an Easter break: Why three million won't be happy Easter bunnies also shows that around three million get no holiday pay if they take off Good Friday or Easter Monday.
Risks 102, 19 April 2003

BRITAIN
Take a break for safety’s sake
Accident rates plummet if workers get to take regular breaks, UK research shows.
Risks 95, 1 March 2003

USA
Knackered nurses are not an option
A US nursing union says the introduction of legal limits on the overtime worked in the nation's hospitals is the healthy choice for nurses and patients. Diane Sosne, co-chair of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Nurse Alliance, said "Exhausted nurses working back-to-back shifts just can't give the quality care that patients deserve." The union is backing a proposed Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act.
Risks 93, 15 February 2003

BRITAIN
Union wins time off from the pub
Bar managers' union TGWU has won a commitment to a working hours ceiling of 48 hours from pub chain The Spirit Group - and is gaining lots of new members impressed by its stand. The company accepted the average working week limit to head off a move by the National Association of Licensed House Managers (NALHM), a section of the TGWU, to take the company to court over excessive work hours.
Risks 93, 15 February 2003

AUSTRALIA
Four out of five workers want an end to overwork
Eighty per cent of Australian employees want more family friendly workplace laws and a cap on long working hours, according to one of Australia's largest workforce surveys. Australian union federation ACTU's National survey of workplace issues covers more than 8,000 employees nationwide and found high levels of workplace stress, insecurity, financial difficulty, understaffing, excessive workloads and unpaid overtime.
Risks 92, 8 February 2003

BRITAIN
Bad bosses make their workers sick
Managers believe that flexible working could stop rising employee absence, by allowing workers the time off to deal with personal emotional and family issues such as stress and childcare, without having to resort to calling in sick.
Risks 91, 1 February 2003

BRITAIN
Depressed workers get little support at work
Medication prescribed for anxiety and depression can affect a worker's ability to work in a manner that does not put them or others at risk, a study for the HSE has found. It adds that employers are not helping matters.
Risks 90, 25 January 2003

EUROPE
Is action on stress next?
The European Commission believes more action is needed to tackle workplace stress - and the TUC will tell it a directive would do nicely. In a consultation paper aimed at the Europe's union umbrella group ETUC and employers' body UNICE the EC says it wants "to elicit the opinion of the social partners on the protection of the health and safety at work of workers from occupational stress."
Risks 89, 18 January 2003

BRITAIN
Stress standards to put pressure on employers
Employers will have to meet challenging new standards on stress being introduced before the end of the year. HSE is to introduce work-related stress audits in its routine health and safety inspections by the end of 2003, reports say, and will ultimately have the power to fine organisations failing to meet minimum standards.
Risks 89, 18 January 2003

USA
Wal-mart - not so supermarket
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, forced employees to work unpaid overtime, a US federal jury found.
Seattle Times, 20 December 2002 • US union UFCW Wal-mart campaign• Update: Miami Herald, 15 January 2003

BRITAIN
TGWU to set up "flexible hours" watch
Transport and General Workers' Union negotiators are to keep a close watch on employers to make sure they become their employees' flexible friend. The initiative comes as new government figures showed over a third of all workers believe flexibility is more important to them than a pay rise. A new flexible working law takes effect on 6 April 2003.
Risks 87, 4 January 2003

FINLAND
Stressful work makes you grind your teeth
People who feel stressed out at work are more likely to grind their teeth frequently, according to Finnish researchers. The study employees at the Finnish Broadcasting Company found the amount of tooth grinding did not vary according to occupation, but employees who reported higher levels of stress were much more likely to grind their teeth. They also spent more time at the doctor's or dentist's.
Risks 87, 4 January 2002

BRITAIN
Knock off on time, says union Civil service union
PCS has called on its members to make a new year resolution to go home at 5.00pm at least once a week. This call for a more "civil" service comes in a new union self help guide to dealing with long hours culture at work.
Risks 87, 4 January 2003

BRITAIN
Feeling sick - blame the job
Are you treated like dirt, overworked, not asked about what you do and how to do it, and all by a clueless boss? Well, don't be surprised if you end up sick, researchers say.
Risks 86, 28 December 2002

BRITAIN
Millions start the new year where they left off - at work
One and a half million workers will be on the job on New Year's Day, according to a TUC analysis of official Labour Force Survey figures. And three and a half million workers will not have paid leave if they do get the day off. TUC is calling for three more days holiday and for better rights.
Risks 86, 28 December 2002

BRITAIN
All I want for Christmas is my two weeks leave
TUC research shows that nearly a million people will be working this Christmas Day and one and a half million will work on New Year's Day. The TUC analysis of the latest Labour Force Survey figures also shows that over three million employees will not receive holiday pay if they take off Christmas Day or New Year's Day.
TUC news release, 23 December 2002 • BBC News Online

BRITAIN
Firm fined after overworked driver dies in crash
A delivery company owner has been fined £2,500 for breaches of health and safety regulations after a driver who was suffering from exhaustion was killed in an accident. It is believed Gary Couser, 19, had fallen asleep as a result of working a series of shifts lasting more than 16-and-a-half hours.
Risks 85, 21 December 2002

BRITAIN
Six figure payout for overwork stress
A young financial adviser for Pearl Assurance has obtained six-figure compensation for work-related stress. The Amicus-MSF member routinely worked 75 hours per week as a financial adviser over several years with dwindling support from his employer. He suffered two nervous breakdowns as a result.
Risks 85, 21 December 2002

BRITAIN
Stressed staff want legal protection
A poll by personnel professionals' organisation CIPD has revealed that a quarter of workers think their job is very stressful. The survey of 1,000 employees found more than three-quarters want legislation that will tackle stress.
Risks 83, 7 December 2002

CANADA
Union wants less work, not more compo
A plan to increase compensation rates for nursing home workers in New Brunswick, Canada, won't solve what's causing the accidents and injuries, a union has warned. CUPE nursing home workers say injured workers wouldn't suffer in the first place if there were more people to do the job.
Risks 82, 30 November 2002

USA
DVD on work stress and work organisation and interventions
A new DVD from the US government's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) describes workplace factors that can create or exacerbate worker stress, and suggests practical measures for reducing job-related stress through changes in work organisation. It also notes NIOSH's position "that the most effective way to reduce work-related stress is to identify and address organisational stress factors in the workplace."
NIOSH news release • Risks 81, 23 November 2002
Working with stress is available free from Roger Wheeler [nioshtv@cdc.gov], NIOSH

BRITAIN
Too much too fast with too little say
Health unions in the Black Country have used the TUC's stress MOT to identify wide-ranging problems with the organisation of work. The survey found workers had too much to do, too little time to do it, and too little say in how it was done.
Risks 80, 16 November 2002

BRITAIN
24/7 boozing must not be a licence to abuse
The Transport and General Workers' Union is warning that extended pub opening hours must not lead to exploitation of bar workers, and has issued its own 8-point workers' rights manifesto.
Risks 80, 16 November 2002

BRITAIN
Crackdown on long hours
Junior doctors and some transport staff will be brought within the Working Time Directive during 2003, under new government plans. The proposals will extend the regulations - aimed at improving working conditions and workplace health and safety - to about 770,000 workers.
Risks 78, 2 November 2002

FINLAND
Work stress "doubles heart risk"
People who have stressful jobs could be twice as likely to die from heart problems, new research shows. And the worse the job, the worse the problem. The researchers found that those assessed as having the greatest imbalance between effort (high) and reward (low) were more than twice as likely to die from heart disease compared with those with the least imbalance.
Risks 76
Mika Kivimäki and others. Work stress and risk of cardiovascular mortality: prospective cohort study of industrial employees, British Medical Journal, vol.325, page 857, 19 October 2002

BRITAIN
Tackle the hassle of stress at work
The TUC has launched its first safety rep leaflet on the web to mark this year's European week of health and safety at work which concentrates on stress.
Risks 75, 12 October 2002
TUC tackle the hassle leaflet

BRITAIN
Interfish fingered for "workhouse" compensation
Three workers victimised after refusing excessive working hours in a Plymouth "workhouse" have received compensation. The Transport and General Workers' Union, who backed the employment tribunal case against fish processor Interfish Limited, praised the "three brave members who stood up for their rights not to work more than 48 hours a week under the Working Time Regulations."
Risks 74, 5 October 2002

BRITAIN
Working class compelled to work long hours
One in three fathers regularly breach the 48 hours a week limit set by the European Working Time Directive, a new survey has found. And while people in professional jobs put the long hours down to their career aspirations and family needs, working class parents were more likely to say their employers gave them no choice. Ivana La Valle, a co-author of the study, said: "These findings raise important questions about the effectiveness of the EU Working Time Directive as it is currently applied in the United Kingdom."
Risks 73, 28 September 2002

BRITAIN
TUC backs working smart, not long
The TUC has welcomed the government's drive to promote working time best practice, but says it must also act to outlaw overwork. Employment minister Alan Johnson has urged firms to do more to help employees balance home and work lives.
Risks 73, 28 September 2002

BRITAIN
TUC urges workers to give their workplace a stress MOT
Thousands of UK workers will be urged to check whether their work is causing them stress in a nationwide health and safety exercise next month co-ordinated by the TUC. As its contribution European health and safety week - 14-20 October - the TUC is asking union safety reps in offices and factories across the country to complete a TUC stress MOT of their workmates and their workplace.
Risks 73, 28 September 2002

BRITAIN
Sucks in the City
Unions in London have embarked on an "Organise the City" campaign to raise awareness of employment rights and increase the profile of trade unions in the City of London. Union spokesperson Mick Connolly said: "The affluence and supposed sophistication of the City should enable it to be a 'respect at work zone' but sadly for many it is a 'grief at work' zone." The union campaign team say bullying and harassment, discrimination, stress, and excessive working hours are just some of the problems workers endure.
TUC news release , 14 September 2002

BRITAIN
The balancing act
"Working excessively long hours is linked to ill health, stress and low productivity and is one of the major barriers to women's advancement," says UK union UNISON's U magazine. It adds that "with an ageing workforce, more jobs being created for women and decreased job security, a better work-life balance is becoming a must. People are demanding and expecting working practices that address their needs within the context of a new century."
U magazine , September 2002

BRITAIN
Exodus of "worn out" staff from public jobs
Public services are heading for a staffing crisis caused by stress and disillusionment among millions of workers, the UK government's spending watchdog has warned.
Risks 70, 7 September 2002

CANADA
Technology lets us take job stress home
Canada's employers are losing the productivity gains of the past decade because of the workload and stress that technology is piling on their workers, warns the author of a major study.
Risks 70, 7 September 2002

FRANCE
35-hour week scrapped by right wing government
The French right wing government has responded swiftly to the wishes of the business lobby and removed working hours limits. The move sounds the death knoll for the 35-hour week, the most daring social experiment of Lionel Jospin's Socialist cabinet.
Risks 70, 7 September 2002

BRITAIN
Union to investigate high suicide rate in construction
The construction workers union UCATT is to investigate if suicide is a major problem for the industry after a survey put the sector at the top of the suicide list in East Kent. Sixteen per cent of all male suicide victims worked in the industry, about three times the expected rate. UCATT eastern regional secretary Brain Rye is leading the investigation to see if the high suicide rate of construction workers is a national problem. In Japan work-related overwork and depression leading to suicide is a government compensated occupational condition, know as 'karojisatsu.'
Risks 70, 7 September 2002

INTERNATIONAL
Night shifts could increase accident risk at work
Disturbed sleep and night shift work are related to falling asleep unintentionally at work and require special attention with respect to occupational safety, finds a study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Risks 70, 7 September 2002

USA
If you gotta go, you gotta go says boss
Imagine losing your job because you refused to wet yourself on the line at work. That’s exactly how the workers at Jim Beam bottling plant in Kentucky live every day. Workers are fuming about being limited to four breaks per 8½ hour shift, only one of which can be unscheduled. The union UFCW says that out of 100 workers on the bottling line — the only part of the plant subject to the policy — 42 have received some kind of discipline for taking an unauthorised trip to the restroom.
Risks 69, 31 August 2002
Tell Jim Beam why we’re not wetting ourselves

BRITAIN
UK workers want a rich life not riches
Britain’s stressed-out, overworked employees would rather work more sensible hours than win the lottery, according to a new survey into working patterns across the UK.
Risks 69, 31 August 2002

CANADA
Workers squeezed for five unpaid days a month
Canadian employers, especially large companies and organisations, are wringing an average of five days a month in unpaid overtime from increasingly stressed-out employees. Employees have less and less control over the amount of overtime they work, whether paid or unpaid, and men are exploited worse than women.
Risks 69, 31 August 2002
Also see: CLC news release and Is work working for you 2002? survey findings

UK
Workers 'cheated out of holidays'
More than 1 million British workers are missing out on holidays, or being cheated out of time off, TUC research has revealed. Analysis of government figures shows that more than 400,000 UK workers were receiving fewer than 12 days paid holiday a year, says TUC. The legal controls on working time were introduced as a result of a European directive designed to protect workers from the dangers of fatigue and overwork.
Risks 68, 24 August 2002

FRANCE
Junior doctors safety strike wins more rest
Junior doctors in France should finally see their number of rest hours increased after unions blamed a series of traffic accidents, including two fatal ones, on fatigue.
Risks 67, 17 August 2002

BRITAIN
GMB warns against trivialising killer stress
General union GMB is calling on employers and enforcement authorities to take workplace stress more seriously. The union is concerned that with the current trend of promoting alternative therapies such as massage and aromatherapy in the workplace, there is a danger of trivialising what is a workplace killer.
Risks 67, 17 August 2002

BRITAIN
Employers wrong on temp work benefits
Whenever new employment rights are proposed, the CBI, and other employers' organisations, have claimed they will lead to fewer jobs, but this argument is not sustainable, says UK union federation TUC.
TUC news release, 8 August 2002

BRITAIN
Official figures show "Burn-out Britain" persists
Workers now live in "Burn-Out Britain", where one in six people work more than 48 hours a week and one in 10 men work more than 55 hours a week, says the TUC.
TUC News release, 8 August 2002
Risks 66, 10 August 2002

AUSTRALIA
Work causes bad blood pressure
A retired airman's three-year successful battle to prove his stressful job left him with compensatable permanently high blood pressure may have wide ramifications for how Australian employers treat workers. Cardiologist Murray Esler, a member of the review panel, said: "This judgment is very specific in saying occupational stress is one proven cause of high blood pressure. That really does cross a boundary." He added: "It clearly goes beyond the military. It's the typical job of someone who works long and hard without any control over their work targets."
Risks 65, 3 August 2002

EUROPE
Health threats posed by the "changing world of work" Decentralisation, teleworking and other trends in work, including the growing use of short-term employment contracts, could increase accident rates and other occupational safety and health (OSH) problems, according to two new reports from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work .
European Agency news release, 1 August 2002
See also: European Agency Changing World of Work webpages

NEW ZEALAND
Union survey says families under pressure
A new report from New Zealand’s top union body 'clearly shows many New Zealand families are under severe pressure as a result of long work hours and changing work hour patterns.' New Zealand Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said its Thirty families report documents the impact of work hours on families through workers' stories.
Risks 64, 27 July 2002

AUSTRALIA
Union case wins right to veto overtime
Australian employees cannot be forced to work unreasonable hours of work after the Australian Industrial Relations Commission ruling on an ACTU “reasonable hours” test case. The Commission ruled that an employee can refuse to work overtime if it is unreasonable, based on the employee's family responsibility and their health and safety. Unions in major industries responded to the findings by saying they will push for capped overtime, shorter working hours and better staffing.
Risks 64, 27 July 2002
Also see: ACTU news release • VTHC news release • ABC News Online • The Age

USA
More hours, more stress, more pain
Americans have a difficult time dealing with stress, and many adopt coping strategies that may only make them feel worse, according to new survey results. The survey has found the most common source of stress mentioned is lack of time, which affected 62 per cent of the respondents. Time crunches often resulted from too much work, or from working too many hours.
Risks 61, 6 July 2002

USA
Workers told "faster, faster"
A decade long obsession with productivity has been healthy for the corporate bottom line, but workers in the USA say they are paying for it with exhaustion and pain.
Risks 61, 6 July 2002

BRITAIN
UK near bottom of the league on job security
UK plc is a world leader - in job insecurity. A new TUC report shows it comes second only to Korea when it comes to job insecurity among major industrialised countries. Studies have linked job insecurity to high levels of workplace sickness absence, strain injuries, stress, heart disease, depression and other health problems.
Risks 60, 29 June 2002

BRITAIN
Local government workers are overworked, stressed and ready to quit
Nearly 70 per cent of local government workers considered leaving their jobs in the past year, an NOP survey has found. The NOP Local Government Members Survey 2002 commissioned by UNISON found seven out of 10 workers (71 per cent) felt that compared to this time last year, workload and pressure had increased, with a similar proportion (69 per cent) saying stress levels had increased.
UNISON news release, 18 June 2002
See: The Independent • Ananova

AUSTRALIA
Unions demands controls as hours soar
Final submissions in a reasonable hours test case brought by Australia’s unions have been made. Union confederation ACTU wants workers to be given more control over the burgeoning amount of overtime they are being required to work. In the last year the average working week has increased by nearly two and a half hours, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Westpac Bank.
ACTU news release, 15 June 2002
See: Workers Online

BRITAIN
"Workaholic" parish priest found hanged
A workaholic Roman Catholic priest took his own life after driving himself to exhaustion, according to his family. The body of Father Gerry Prior, 37, was found at his home in Livingston, Scotland, where he was a parish priest at St Peter's Church.
Risks 57, 8 June 2002

GLOBAL
World's road unions: 15 October Day of Action
The date for the global transport workers' union federation ITF's next International Road Day of Action has been confirmed as Tuesday 15 October 2002. This will be the sixth of the worldwide days to publicise the message that 'fatigue kills.'
Risks 56, 1 June 2002

EUROPE
Work's worse in EU candidate countries
Workers in the "candidate countries" for membership of the European Union (EU) report longer working hours and more workplace health hazards and problems than their equivalents in the EU.
Risks 56, 1 June 2002

BRITAIN
Pub union calls time on long working hours
The pub managers' union, the National Association of Licensed House Managers (NALHM), is to start legal proceedings against a pub chain. The action against the Spirit Group centres on what the union - part of the Transport and General Workers' Union - says is a failure to recognise the Working Time Regulations.
Risks 56, 1 June 2002

BRITAIN
Lords pass UK Dignity at Work Bill
The House of Lords has given an unopposed third reading to the UK Dignity at Work Bill, after bullying victims brought to the Lords by the trade union Amicus put the case for legal protection.
Risks 56, 1 June 2002

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