Hazards news, 17 December 2011

Britain: Union fears after site deaths upturn
Construction union UCATT has warned that a rise in construction deaths is “deeply troubling” as it as it has occurred at a time of depressed activity in the industry. According to the union: “The rise in fatalities was particularly disturbing as the industry remains in the doldrums with workloads relatively low, it is feared that as activity increases, deaths will further rise.”
UCATT news release • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

USA: Warning on extra risks in green construction
Construction workers involved in environmentally friendly, ‘green’ building projects can face additional traditional and novel hazards, researchers have found.  Problems identified in the study identify a greater risk of falls and new, high risk tasks.
Katherine S Dewlaney, Matthew R Hallowell, and Bernard R Fortunato, Safety risk quantification for high performance sustainable building construction, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, published online ahead of print, 2011 [abstract] • EHS Today • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Railway worker loses legs and his job
A railway worker who lost both legs and his job after he was run over by a train has received £750,000 in compensation. The ASLEF member from Harlow, whose name has not been released, has been medically retired since the traumatic incident in August 2007.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Global: OECD warning on rising mental problems
Mental illness is a growing problem in society and is increasingly affecting productivity and well-being in the workplace, according to a new OECD report. According to the report, three in four workers with a mental disorder report reduced productivity at work, compared to one in four workers without a mental disorder.
OECD news release • Sick on the job? Myths and realities about mental health at work, OECD, December 2011, full text, related OECD factsheet and webpage • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Engineer compensated after fall through roof
A Unite member who lost his job after he seriously damaged his arm when he fell through a roof at work has received more than £164,000 in compensation. The 66-year-old from Shrewsbury, who had to take medical retirement as a result of his injuries, was installing CCTV cameras at Lime Street train station in Liverpool as part of his role as a commissioning engineer with Siemens.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Europe: Crisis exposes need for new safety strategy
Unions across Europe are calling for a new European Union health and safety strategy and have reaffirmed their resistance to an official proposal to weaken workplace safeguards. Commenting on proposals to exempt smaller businesses from some legal workplace safety rules, ETUC general secretary Bernadette Segol said: “All workers have a right to working conditions respecting their health, safety and dignity regardless of the size of company they work for.”
ETUI news report • European Parliament report • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Railway worker was traumatised by gun attack
A railway worker who was threatened at gunpoint by a robber suffered post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result. The RMT member has now received a £45,550 payout from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) for the effects of the terrifying ordeal in August 2006.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: UK still high in the long hours league
UK workers remain among the most overworked in Europe, new official statistics indicate. An analysis published by the Office of National Statistics found full-time workers in the UK work longer than the EU average (42.7 hours compared with 41.6), with only people in Austria and Greece working a longer week, both at 43.7 hours a week.
ONS news release • TUC news release • Touchstone blog and Work Your Proper Hours Day campaign • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Report’s focus on ‘lifestyle’ cancers criticised
A report that concluded nearly half of cancers diagnosed in the UK each year - over 130,000 in total - are caused by avoidable lifestyle ‘choices’ including smoking, drinking and eating the wrong things, has been criticised for downplaying occupational and environmental cancer risks and the social class effects that consign many workers and their families to multiple risks.
D Max Parkin and others. The fraction of cancer attributable to lifestyle and environmental factors in the UK in 2010, British Journal of Cancer, volume 105, Issue S2 (Si-S81), 6 December 2011. Alliance for Cancer Prevention news release • BBC News Online • The Guardian and related letters • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: HSE asbestos campaign is resurrected
The Health and Safety Executive’s award-winning ‘Hidden Killer’ asbestos campaign is to recommence, after being put on hold for over a year on government instruction. A phase of the campaign due to start in October 2010 was abandoned when the government introduced a blanket freeze on government-funded campaigns.
UCATT news release • HSE ‘Hidden Killer’ campaign • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: ‘Ticking timebomb’ of bladder cancer cases
Lawyers are warning of a ‘ticking timebomb’ as workers exposed to carcinogenic chemicals from the 1950s to the 1970s develop potentially fatal cancers. Pauline Chandler from the law firm Pannone said “my fear is that workers in a number of industries, including; the chemicals sector, paint production, rubber manufacture and pigments and dyestuffs production, will develop cancers and be unaware that they are related to their past employment.”
Pannone Solicitors • The Guardian • Global Unions zero cancer campaign • HSE cancer statistics • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: UK Coal fined for four separate fatalities
UK Coal Mining Ltd has been fined after its safety failings cost the lives of four mineworkers in separate incidents at two collieries. UK Coal was ordered to pay a fine of £112,500 and £187,500 costs for each fatality, totalling £1.2m.
HSE news release • Safety in the pits, Hazards, number 116, 2011 • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Safety concerns raised ahead of Swanland sinking
A cargo ship which sank in the Irish Sea off Gwynedd with the loss of six crew had been at the centre of repeated safety concerns. The 34-year-old British-managed ship had a history of defects, according to safety inspections by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
BBC News Online • ITF news release • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Firms fined over forklift death
Two companies have been fined a total of £100,000 following the death of a maintenance worker who fell from the forks of a forklift truck at a Macclesfield factory. Martin Denton, 60, was being lifted in a metal container, known as a stillage, on 10 June 2006 when it slipped off and he fell approximately four metres to the concrete floor below.
HSE news release • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Director banned after worker falls from balcony
A Welsh construction company has been fined and its director banned after a labourer suffered serious injuries on a construction site. Karl Kraus, 31, was employed by Preseli Construction & Maintenance Ltd, and was working on the build of a large domestic property when he fell backwards on to the balcony and then seven metres to the ground below.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Workers burned as drill vaporises
A company and its manager have been fined after two workers were engulfed in a fireball when they cut through a live 1,000 volt electrical cable at an industrial unit in Telford. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Birmingham firm RVB Investments UK Ltd and manager Clifford Leigh following the incident on 10 August 2010.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Bus crush apprentice needed plastic surgery
One of South Yorkshire's main bus operators has been fined after a teenage apprentice was trapped under a 14 tonne bus when its air suspension failed. Ben Burgin, who was 17 at the time, needed restorative plastic surgery to his nose and eye socket following the incident at Stagecoach Yorkshire's garage in Wakefield Road, Barnsley, on 7 September 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Companies fined after worker breaks back
Anson Packaging Ltd and Cambs Compressor Engineering Ltd have fined after a 24-year-old worker broke his back in a fall from a roof void. Anthony Strong, a pipe fitter employed by subcontractor Cambs Compressor Engineering Ltd at the time, suffered fractures to his spine, skull and ribs.
HSE news release • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Britain: Council fined for lost fingers
Warwickshire County Council has been fined after a self-employed heating contractor lost most of two fingers in poorly guarded machinery. John Shields, 64, who traded as Shieldson Heating, was checking a heating pump in a basement plant room on 4 October 2009 when his hand was pulled into the running belts of a hot water pump. HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Canada: Warning on China-owned mining firms
Authorities in British Columbia, Canada, must conduct a full inquiry into the safety standards of Chinese-owned coal mining companies before allowing them to operate in the province, the United Steelworkers (USW) union has said. China's “horrific” record of coal mine disasters warrants a full-scale review of the safety records and practices of any Chinese-owned coal-mining companies seeking to invest in BC, said Stephen Hunt, the USW's Western Canada director.
USW news release • Energetic City • Metro News • Risks 536 • 17 December 2011

Hazards news, 10 December 2011

Britain: TUC calls for action on safety
The TUC is calling on unions and safety campaigners to challenge a government safety strategy that “will lead to more work-related deaths, injuries and ill-health.” TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson said: “TUC wants to use 28 April 2012 as the day when workers up and down the country take action to protect our health and safety.”
TUC calls for action • Hazards magazine, number 116, 2011. TUC Workers’ Memorial Day webpages • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

USA: Settlement won’t bring mine deaths justice
A record penalty imposed following the deaths of 29 miners in a US coal mine explosion has been given a qualified welcome by unions. In a deal agreed between the US Attorney’s office and Alpha Natural Resources, the new owner of the West Virginia Upper Big Branch coal mine, will pay nearly $210 million in a historic settlement arising from the worst US coal mining disaster in decades.
UMWA news release • USW news release • Charleston Gazette • Los Angeles Times • Pump Handle • MSHA report • The agreement in full • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Cuts endanger workers' health
The government decision to slash workplace safety regulation and to skew the system away from employer responsibility and towards 'personal responsibility' is attracting continued criticism. The official response to the government-commissioned Löfstedt report, which concluded Britain's workplace safety laws 'are broadly right', was to press ahead with a deregulatory programme the report considered unwarranted.
PCS news release • CWU news release • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Global: Horror at ‘immoral’ discount asbestos plan
Campaigners in India have condemned plans for a trade deal which could eliminate all tariffs on Canadian asbestos exports to the country. Ongoing negotiations for a Canada–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement were revealed by Canada's opposition New Democratic Party.
NDP news release • OEHNI news release • IBAS report • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Global: Brands promise to ditch hazardous chemicals
Six major international clothing brands have announced a ‘joint roadmap’ intended to dramatically reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in their supply chains. Adidas Group, C&A, H&M, Li Ning, Nike Inc and Puma say the initiative will lead the apparel and footwear industry towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020.
ChemSec news report. Joint  roadmap [pdf] • Dirty Laundry • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Will Nick Clegg admit he was wrong?
The deputy prime minister should fess up and admit he was wrong to question the need for health and safety regulation and enforcement, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) union Prospect has indicated.
Prospect letter to Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister [pdf] • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Workplace reps save lives and money
The prime minister’s threat to remove funding for the time public sector union reps take to do their union work ignores the life- and cash-saving role these reps play, the TUC has said. David Cameron told the Commons: “I do not think full-time trade unionists working in the public sector on trades union business, rather than serving the public, is right, and we will put that to an end.”
SHP Online • BBC News Online • UNISON Active • TURC website • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Government ‘dicing with death’ at sea
Maritime union RMT has accused the government of “dicing with death in British waters” after it emerged in parliament that one in twelve UK coastguard jobs have already been cut, with worse to come.
RMT news release • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Unite seeks asbestos justice
Supreme Court judges have been asked by Unite to end the uncertainty about whether people dying from the asbestos cancer and their families will be entitled to compensation. Unite’s appeal to the UK’s highest court, which started on 5 December, comes after insurance companies were partly successful in a test case about whether insurers are liable to pay claims for the fatal asbestos cancer, mesothelioma.
Unite news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Call for pleural plaques compensation
The “shameful situation” that denies workers in England and Wales compensation for asbestos related pleural plaques must end, the union Unite has said. The union was speaking out after the Northern Ireland Executive announced workers there would be allowed to claim for the condition, following Scotland’s lead.
Northern Ireland Executive news release • Unite news release • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Lifting tonnes, and what do you get?
A Unite member called on to lift a huge piece of electrical equipment suffered a hernia as a result. The 65-year-old fitter with Alstom Grid UK needed major surgery after helping colleagues to handle the 10 tonne structure.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: BAE safety systems weren’t ship shape
A welder working for a high tech engineering giant suffered multiple injuries when he fell two metres because a scaffolding pole had not been properly secured. GMB member Rex Hann, 61, hurt his back, neck and right hand in the incident at BAE Systems Surface Ships Portsmouth in Farnborough.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Coal mine death rate hits a 50 year high
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been instructed to spell out its mines safety strategy, after a series of fatalities this year and revelations Britain’s coal mine fatality rate has hit a 50-year high. Union representatives raised concerns about the industry’s record at HSE’s December board meeting, which agreed the watchdog should prepare a paper for the board on its strategy to address safety in the mines.
Safety in the pits, Hazards, number 116, 2011 • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Mother’s anger as death fine is halved
The mother of a man killed in a workplace fireball has expressed dismay after a court cut his employer’s fine in half. Mark Wright, who worked at Deeside Metals, was told to crush and bale 4,000 sealed aerosol containers, but a cloud of volatile vapour was released and ignited by an electric spark, blowing the roof off the building and burning 90 per cent of Mark’s body.
FACK news release • Morning Star and Dorothy Wright’s Victims Impact Statement • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

USA: Shiftwork linked to diabetes in women
Women who work a rotating schedule that includes three or more night shifts per month, in addition to day and evening working hours in that month, have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a study has found. Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) reached their conclusion after comparing women on rotating shifts with those who only worked days or evenings, and found the risks increased in line with years working the shifts.
An Pan, Eva S Schernhammer, Qi Sun, Frank B Hu. Rotating night shift work and risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Two prospective cohort studies in women, PLoS Medicine, published online 6 December 2011 • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Worker's arm crushed in a conveyor belt
A Cheshire factory worker could have lost his arm when it was dragged into an industrial conveyor belt, a court has heard. The 56-year-old from Northwich, whose name has not been released, suffered a broken elbow, crush injuries to his left hand and bruising down the left hand side of his body in the incident at the Amcol Minerals Europe Ltd's plant in Winsford.
HSE news release • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Firms fined for cherry picker road death
Two construction companies have been fined following the death of worker Peter Cole who fell from a cherry picker on a dual carriageway in Liverpool. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Amey Infrastructure Services Ltd and Mouchel Parkman Services Ltd following the incident on 20 August 2006.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Britain: Human traffic report highlights work abuses
A report into human trafficking in Scotland demonstrates the need for the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) to extend its coverage to a wider range of industries, construction union UCATT has said. The union was commenting on publication of the report of an inquiry into human trafficking in Scotland, undertaken by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
EHRC news release and full report • UCATT news release • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Europe: Deregulation a threat to work safety
A European Commission plan to weaken health and safety protection in the majority of Europe’s workplaces will leave workers in jeopardy, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has warned. A letter from the union body to The European Union’s Heads of State and Government expresses “serious concerns” about a European Commission report, ‘Minimising regulatory burden for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)’, to be discussed at the next European Council.
ETUC news release and letter to the EU Heads of State and Government • Risks 535 • 10 December 2011

Hazards news, 3 December 2011

Britain: Safety reps spread on Virgin territory
Health and safety is helping build union influence in parts of a communication giant which has demonstrated “residual resistance” to the union. CWU has more than doubled the number of union health and safety reps in Virgin Media to 17, with 10 new reps recently put through their paces in an intensive five-day union-run training course.
CWU news release • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

USA: Newt calls for child labour in schools
 Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has announced he wants to “get rid of unionised janitors” and hire poor kids to clean the schools in low income neighbourhoods. Gingrich suggested that putting scrubbing brushes and floor sanders in the hands of kids and firing school maintenance workers would “lift up the poorest neighborhoods.”
AFL-CIO Now blog and related story • Politico • AFSCME online action page “to tell Newt he’s out of his mind” and related video about the Newt Gingrich plan • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Serious questions after Irish Sea tragedy
Transport union RMT has said the investigation into the sinking of a cargo vessel in the Irish Sea must answer some “serious questions” about the adequacy of maritime safety regulation and enforcement. Six of the eight Russian crew members on the Swanland died after it was hit by a huge wave on 27 November.
RMT news release • MCA news release and update • BBC News Online • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Ferry victimisation vote goes ahead
A ballot for strike action and action short of a strike by all members on Wightlink’s Portsmouth routes is underway, over what the union RMT describes as the victimisation and unfair dismissal of an RMT union representative who raised safety concerns.
RMT news release • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Injured man can no longer drive lorries
A worker’s career as an HGV driver was brought to a premature end after he badly broke his wrist at work. Unite member Peter Stocks, 63, from Newton Alfreton in Derbyshire, is now unable to drive HGVs after suffering the injury, which led to two operations on his right wrist.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Europe: Economic woes should not undermine safety
The faltering global economy should not be used as an easy excuse to compromise workplace safety, the European Union’s top employment official has said. László Andor, e European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, cautioned “even in difficult times, the safety of workers cannot be compromised and must remain a top priority.”
European Agency news release and campaigns webpage • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Warning as deadly stress set to soar
Unions and campaigners have warned of soaring stress levels among both the employed and unemployed as government-imposed cuts take hold. Thousands of workers are either worrying about losing their jobs or facing longer hours, increased workloads, wage reductions and reduced pensions while increasing bills and rocketing unemployment add to the misery, say occupational stress campaigners. 
Morning Star • National Work Stress Network • We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Report supports safety law; ministers see red tape
A government commissioned report that concluded Britain’s workplace safety laws “are broadly right” and which found “little evidence” they are “goldplated” is being used by the government to attack those laws and to skew the system away from employer responsibility and towards “personal responsibility”.
DWP news release • Reclaiming health and safety for all: An independent review of health and safety legislation, report of the Lofstedt Review [pdf] and the government response [pdf] • Autumn statement documents and statement • HSE news release • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Safety report ducks the real issues, says TUC
The TUC has welcomed the Lofstedt report's conclusion that the UK's health and safety laws “are broadly right”, but it says it has major concerns that the proposals to exempt some self-employed workers could have a “devastating impact” on their safety. The union body is also disappointed that the report makes no suggestions as to how the protection of employees in the workplace could be improved.
TUC news release • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Ruse to ‘smuggling in’ safety reforms condemned
Unions have condemned government proposals to remove over a third of Britain's health and safety regulations as part of a raft of legal reforms planned for 2015.
Unite news release • UCATT news release • STUC news release • FACK news release • Hazards Campaign news release • Morning Star • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Government axes apprenticeship safety measure
The government says it is to end apprenticeship health and safety measures that “go beyond” the legal minimum and that were introduced after a spate of deaths in 2003. Business secretary Vince Cable told an Association of Colleges conference that from the start of 2012, training providers and employers offering apprenticeships will no longer have to comply with any requirements that go ‘above and beyond’ health and safety legislation.
Vince Cable’s speech, 17 November 2011 • Unite news release • SHP Online • TUC’s 2005 safety reps’ guide to health and safety on apprenticeships and young workers health and safety webpages • Autumn statement documents and statement • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Massive blade cuts off three fingers
A Rochdale engineering firm has been fined for criminal safety breaches after an unsupervised young worker had three fingers cut off by an industrial saw. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution against Adelaide Engineering Company Ltd after the 21-year-old from Bury, whose name has not been released, lost parts of three fingers on his left hand.
HSE news release and manufacturing webpages • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Canada: Child pleads for end to asbestos industry
Heidi von Palleske and her daughter, Cavanagh Matmor, 11, travelled to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on 24 November to plead with Canada’s Conservative government to end its support of the asbestos industry. After 130 years, asbestos mining in Canada was suspended in November, but the industry could be revived if the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos, Quebec, secures a loan guarantee from the provincial government to open an underground mine.
Montreal Gazette • Related video • CTV News • Huffington Post • Stop Asbestos Canada website • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Illegal distillery gang jailed
Five men who masterminded a major counterfeit vodka manufacturing and bottling plant in Leicestershire, have been sentenced to a total of 17 years and ten months. The plot was uncovered in “an unregulated and fire hazardous” industrial unit by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) when they carried out raids in September 2009.
HMRC news release • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Litany of mistakes led to 16 helicopter deaths
Confusion, mistakes and miscommunication led to plans to replace a helicopter’s faulty gearbox being scrapped – a week before the system suffered a catastrophic failure, claiming the lives of 16 workers. An official report said the Super Puma helicopter disintegrated as it plummeted from 2,000ft into the North Sea at 170 knots, after its main rotor gearbox failed and its massive rotor blades ripped from the body of the aircraft and severed the tail from the fuselage.
AAIB report • Scotsman • BBC News Online • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Demolition body suspends death firm
The National Federation of Demolition Contractors has suspended Essex demolition member Micor pending the outcome of a probe by its accident investigation committee into the death of one of the firm’s workers in 2006. Gary Drinkald, 43, was killed when a concrete beam fell and crushed him on a site in Basildon.
Construction Enquirer • NFDC listing • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Defunct firm fined £5,000 over fatal crushing
A south Wales company has been fined after a worker was crushed to death by falling machinery in 2009. Gareth Young, a 60-year-old grandfather from Beaufort in Ebbw Vale, was working at Moulded Paper Ltd on 4 August 2009, when an unsecured electrical control cabinet weighing just over half a tonne, fell on him.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Serious safety failings blight basement jobs
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors took enforcement action on more than a third of sites visited during an initiative last month to improve standards on basement construction sites. They took enforcement action at 40 sites (37 per cent) after discovering criminal breaches of safety regulations, serving a total of 78 notices, two-thirds of them the more serious prohibition notices.
HSE news release • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Britain: Companies fined after Arsenal stadium amputation
Three construction companies have been fined after a worker helping build Arsenal’s Ashburton Grove stadium was injured so badly his leg had to be amputated. A dumper truck drove over the right leg of Michael O’Donovan, 41, while he was kneeling to clean steel shuttering used to form reinforced structures and pillars.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Australia: Strike victory at deadly chicken plant
Staff who had to hide serious injuries at an Australian poultry plant or risk dismissal, have won protection from victimisation and better wages after taking action. The agreement came after a 13-day blockade of the Baiada Poultry plant by picketers and supporters.
NUW news release • The Age • Sydney Morning Herald and related opinion piece • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Canada: Child pleads for end to asbestos industry
Heidi von Palleske and her daughter, Cavanagh Matmor, 11, travelled to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on 24 November to plead with Canada’s Conservative government to end its support of the asbestos industry. After 130 years, asbestos mining in Canada was suspended in November, but the industry could be revived if the Jeffrey mine in Asbestos, Quebec, secures a loan guarantee from the provincial government to open an underground mine.
Montreal Gazette • Related video • CTV News • Huffington Post • Stop Asbestos Canada website • Risks 534 • 3 December 2011

Hazards news, 26 November 2011

Britain: Unite warning on haulage dangers
The government must act to protect Britain’s 300,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers from excessive hours and other abuses, transport union Unite has said. The union is calling on transport secretary Justine Greening to boost the resources for the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), which regulates the roadworthiness of the industry’s lorries and drivers’ working hours.
Unite news release • Road Transport • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Government sticks with ‘dangerous’ coastguard plans
Government ministers plan to press ahead with station closures, despite overwhelming opposition from coastguards and the public, the union PCS has said. The union believes proposals to close eight coastguard stations around the UK and cut more than 140 jobs will result in the loss of life-saving local knowledge around our coastline.
PCS news release • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

USA: Call for a US workplace homicide law
US law should be amended to reverse the decline in prosecutions for criminal safety offences and to allow grossly negligent employers to face workplace homicide charges, a law expert has said. Jane Barrett, a former state and federal state prosecutor who currently teaches environmental law at the University of Maryland,  says the US should pass a federal industrial homicide law modelled after the Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute.
Corporate Crime Reporter • Counterpunch. Jane Barrett. When business conduct turns violent: Bringing BP, Massey, and other scofflaws to justice, American Criminal Law Review volume 48, number 2, pages 287-333, 2011 • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Renewed demand for dog law overhaul
A petition has been launched by top animal charities, the veterinary profession and trade unions to increase pressure on the government to overhaul the dangerous dog laws. Twenty organisations, including the unions CWU, GMB, Prospect, UNISON, Usdaw and Unite, hope to get more than 100,000 to sign up to the petition on the prime minister’s official website.
CWU news release • GMB news release • Sign the petition for a new dangerous dogs law • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Cases highlight college asbestos dangers
An asbestos related death in a college cleaner, a secretary in a university science department who also succumbed to an asbestos cancer and the prosecution of a university for criminal breaches of asbestos law prove education staff need better protection from the deadly fibre, the union UCU has said.
UCU news release • HSE news release • Sunday Mercury • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

South Africa: Mining companies put profits first
The drive for profits by mining companies operating in South Africa is undercutting safety, unions have charged. The union call for corporate executives to take the industry’s safety performance as seriously as they do the bottom line has won the backing of the country’s mining minister.
ICEM news report • Mineral resources minister Susan Shabangu’s speech • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Safety cuts 'pose deadly risk in schools'
Children and teachers could die because of government cuts that will hamper the identification of asbestos in schools, Unite has warned. Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said the deadly material is still rife and that government plans to slash 35 from Health and Safety Executive budgets will mean even more people are exposed.
Morning Star • Huffington Post • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Work injury ended career before it started
An apprentice plater was forced to delay his training after a 37-stone steel structure broke his foot at work. GMB member James Davies, 22, was left with a fractured metatarsal and had to take four months off work after the huge steel component which was being built for the offshore industry fell towards him whilst he was working for Wilton Engineering Services in Port Clarence.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Plater damaged for life by vibrating tools
A plater suffered permanent damage to hands as a result of using the vibrating tools provided to do his job. The 53-year-old GMB member from Northallerton, whose name has not been released, developed Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) while working for Severfield Reeve Structures at Dalton Airfield, Thirsk.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Qatar: FIFA challenged over World Cup work hazards
Trade unions are intensifying their campaign to get football's governing body FIFA to address poor working conditions in Qatar, host the 2022 World Cup. The Gulf state's preparations for the tournament include building nine football stadiums in the next 10 years, using primarily migrant labour.
ITUC news release • BWI news release • BBC News Online • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Sickness review ups pressure on ill workers
A government commissioned report that recommends taking responsibility for signing off sick workers out of the hands of GPs and handing it to a new Independent Assessment Service (IAS) could lead to damaging pressure on sick workers, the TUC has said.
DWP news release • review webpage and full report, Health at work – an independent review of sickness absence, DWP, 21 November 2011 • TUC news release • Personnel Today • BBC News Online • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Sickness plans are not about healthy workers
Workplace health campaigners have said a report for the government aimed at reducing the cost to business of sickness absence should have instead looked at preventing workers becoming sick in the first place. The findings of the government-backed review conducted by Professor Carol Black and former British Chambers of Commerce head David Frost, which include a recommendation that people should be signed off for long-term sickness by an independent assessment service and not by GPs, have been welcomed by government.
Morning Star • The Independent and related letters • The Guardian • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Workers can’t afford to be sick
Workers cannot afford to be off sick and rush back to work because of financial fears, new research has found. Insurance giant Aviva found over half (52 per cent) of UK workers could survive financially for only three months on statutory sick pay.
Aviva news release • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Former Phurnacite workers face doubled cancer risk
Conditions at the Phurnacite smokeless fuel plant in South Wales were so bad they more than doubled the risk of certain workers developing cancers, according to medical experts. The claim came at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where the High Court is hearing testimony after weeks of witness statements in a case where more than 300 ex-workers are seeking compensation for ill-health they say was caused by working at the National Smokeless Fuels plant before it closed in 1991.
Wales Online • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Site firm fined after worker scarred for life
A construction company has been fined for criminal safety failings after a young worker was left permanently scarred when he struck an underground cable during digging work. Richard Baisley, 26, from Scunthorpe, received severe burns to his hands, arms, face and chest when he drilled through concrete and pierced a 415 volt cable.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Construction Enquirer • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: Feed firm fined for severed fingers
A North Yorkshire animal feed company has been fined for criminal safety offences after a supervisor suffered severe injuries to his hand. The man, who does not want to be named, had his right hand crushed and two fingers severed when he attempted to clean an air slide under a large machine used for mixing animal feed.
HSE news release • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Britain: TUC says it is time for ‘unionreps ACTION!’
The TUC has launch of a new set of online resources for union reps to help them organise, campaign and build stronger unions – ‘unionreps ACTION!’ The union body says they “include everything needed to build the union and campaign to win.” To access the resources, union reps have to register with the existing TUC ‘unionreps’ website.”
Background on unionreps Action! • TUC unionreps website – if you’re already a member, you just need to log in • Risks 533 • 26 November 2011

Australia: Home improvement show gives asbestos warning
A major Australian TV channel is to broadcast asbestos warnings on a popular home renovation programme, after a high profile union campaign. Unions NSW welcomed Channel Nine's decision to include an alert about the dangers of asbestos on ‘The Block’ and called on the other TV networks to follow suit.
Unions NSW news release • Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia • Risks 533 • 26 November 201

Hazards news, 19 November 2011

Britain: Travelling time adds to stress and fatigue
A TUC analysis of official statistics shows that employees spend nearly 200 hours a year travelling to and from work.
TUC news release • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Australia: State told to sign up for new safety system now
The Western Australian government has been condemned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) for refusing to join other states in a new uniform health and safety system that will begin on 1 January.
ACTU press release • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Britain: Tired pilots risk lives
Pilots union BALPA is seeking to alert people to the dangers posed by proposed changes to the limits on pilots flying time. To support their campaign BALPA have produced a short youtube video.
Balpa campaign page • Youtube video • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Australia: Concern over use of bonded asbestos after disasters
‘Bonded asbestos' is not safe as is commonly claimed, an official enquiry in Australia has found. The chair of the federal government's Asbestos Management Review, Geoff Fary has told an annual oncology conference in Perth, Australia, that he has received several submissions that suggest the country's recent spike of natural disasters has resulted in asbestos fibres being released, and that may have some unexpected consequences. Press report • Press report • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Britain: Union slams violence against NHS staff
Public sector union UNISON has claimed that there has been an increase in violence against nurses, paramedics and other NHS staff in the last year and has called for urgent action to stem the rising tide. Figures released by 'NHS Protect' show that the number of reported attacks in 2010-11 in England was 57,830, compared with 56,718 in 2009-10.
UNISON news release • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Britain: Call for release of housing asbestos info
Unite is demanding that a Scottish housing association release reports into an incident of asbestos exposure which could have health implications for both workers and tenants. Scottish Borders Housing Association, the region's largest landlord, with more than 5,500 homes units, so far refused to disclose the contents of the documents, relating to works carried out in Hawick four years ago.
Press report • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Canada: Government told to stop asbestos exports
Canadian opposition MPs renewed calls for the Canadian government to stop their efforts to block asbestos being listed on the UN's list of hazardous substances, and to help asbestos miners and communities dependent on the substance in their adjustment as that economy ends.
News report • ABC report on the effect on developing countries • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Britain: Union tells HSE - 'involve us'
Unite has asked HSE to involve its safety officials in the investigations following two deaths at the Port of Tilbury last month. Andy Green, from Unite said: “We are deeply shocked that the HSE has not responded to calls from Unite representatives at the port and the company has chosen not to conduct a joint investigation alongside Unite safety representatives, adding: “We are at a loss why the HSE will not speak to us and believe their behaviour is nothing short of shameful.”
News report • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Britain: Union legal services come up trumps
GMB has managed to help a member get compensation after she was turned down by no-win no-fee lawyers. Union member Sheila Gilling, from Northamptonshire, had to take nine months off work following a fall at Birmingham International Airport which badly dislocated her shoulder.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Britain: Call for dramatic changes in Scotland
Scotland needs a wholesale revision of its approach to workplace safety, according to a new paper. Writing in the Scottish Left Review, Professor Andrew Watterson of Stirling University and colleagues are critical of HSE, but add 'it is politicians, governments and some employer bodies, driven by ideology and lacking in sound evidence, that explain the real crisis in workplace health and safety not HSE pusillanimity.”
Andrew Watterson, Tommy Gorman and Jim McCourt. Work is killing us • Scottish Left Review • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

USA: More evidence of dangers from trike
An international study has linked the industrial solvent trichloroethylene (TCE), also called 'trike', to Parkinson's disease. Researchers found a six-fold increase in the risk of developing Parkinson's in individuals exposed in the workplace.
News report • Review of carcinogenicity of trike • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Britain: Cleaner killed by killer dust
A college cleaner died from mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos at Grimsby College where she worked. Brenda Waddell, 61, developed the disease after being exposed to asbestos at the then Grimsby College, where she worked as a cleaner from 1984 to 2007.
Press report • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Britain: Government inaction leaves mother uncompensated
A mother who was diagnosed with mesothelioma will be deprived of compensation unless her employer's insurer can be found. Sharon Walker, who worked as a seamstress in Leeds, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in August 2010 but she is unlikely to receive compensation from her former employer because the firm no longer exists and no trace can be found of its insurers.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

USA: Sick pay is good for everyone
A US study has concluded that extending paid sick leave could save the country $1 billion in medical costs annually. The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) report found paid sick leave is good for the economy, employers and the country.
Institute for Womens Policy Research • Risks 532 • 19 November 2011

Hazards news,12 November 2011 

Britain: UCU survey find stress is getting worse
Stress levels in further and higher education are on the rise, according to a new report published by the union UCU. UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said it was “not acceptable” that at least four-fifths of university and college staff found their jobs stressful,” adding universities and colleges “are getting a reputation as stressful places to work and this report reveals that the problem is getting worse.”
UCU news releases on the higher education and further education studies • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Zambia: Persistent safety abuses at Chinese-owned mines
Chinese-run copper mines in Zambia are dangerously unsafe and owners routinely flout the rights of workers, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report, ‘You'll be fired if you refuse,’ highlights “persistent abuses” in the Chinese state-owned mines.
HRW news release and report, You’ll be fired if you refuse: Labor abuses in Zambia’s Chinese state-owned copper mines • BBC News Online • Allafrica.com • The Guardian • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: ASLEF dismisses driverless trains ‘fantasy’
Train drivers’ union ASLEF has said the Transport for London (TfL) board is ‘living in a fantasy world’ if it believes it can introduce driverless Tube trains in the next eight years. The union’s general secretary Keith Norman said: “To put the safety of millions of passengers a year in the tender hands of a system that doesn’t work would be folly of titanic proportions.” 
ASLEF news release • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: RMT demands an end to ‘dangerous’ Tube plan
London Underground (LUL) plans to halve the frequency of maintenance checks on Metropolitan line Tube trains to once every two months, the union RMT has discovered. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “This is yet more damning evidence of LUL’s increasingly cavalier attitude towards the safety of passengers and staff in its blind determination to cut costs on all fronts.”
RMT news release • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

USA: Mine safety crackdown hasn’t hurt growth
An official safety crackdown in the US mining sector has not impeded the industry’s growth or harmed profits, a top official with the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has said. In his two years at the helm, MSHA director Joe Main has stepped up inspections of mines with a history of problems and creating criteria for identifying, listing and delisting violators, bolstered the number and the training of inspectors, expanded worker safety programmes and put resources into the prevention of miners’ lung, or black lung disease.
Business Week • USW Blog • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: FBU wants hybrid vehicles taken out of service
South Yorkshire fire crews have asked for controversial new vehicles to be taken out of service until a full investigation into serious safety failures has been completed. The union says there are “a host of safety concerns” with the vehicles, known as CARPs - Combined Aerial Rescue Pump.
FBU news release • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Video displays drop on office worker
A fire service control worker who suffered multiple injuries when four wall-mounted video display panels fell on her has received compensation.  The 46-year-old GMB member, whose name has not been released, was injured in the London Fire Service Control Room in June 2008.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Cancer strikes 66 years after first exposure
A former union official who was first exposed to asbestos when he was just 16 years old has received “substantial compensation” after developing mesothelioma.  Dennis Jones, 82, was exposed to asbestos whilst working as an apprentice for Crewe Locomotive Works from 1945.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

USA: DuPont victimised safety whistleblower
Chemical giant DuPont Co victimised a worker who raised concerns about potentially deadly safety problems in a chemical reactor. A New Jersey Superior Court ruled this week in favour of John “Jack” Seddon, and a $500,000 (£312,000) punitive damage settlement awarded by a lower court in a whistleblower lawsuit.
NJ.com • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Grayrigg tragedy exposes rail’s profit-led system
A Network Rail management system more concerned with bonuses and profits and where maintenance took a back seat have been clearly exposed by the Grayrigg tragedy, unions have said. Margaret Masson, 84, from Glasgow, died after the Virgin train derailed on the West Coast Main Line, in February 2007.
RMT news release • TSSA news release • ASLEF news release • BBC News Online • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Global: Dock operator must live up to fine words
One of the “big four” global network terminal (GNT) dockside operators has been urged to prove its award-winning public corporate responsibility commitment by improving dock health and safety. In an open letter to DP World on 28 October, Frank Leys, the dockers’ section secretary of the global transport unions’ federation ITF, congratulated the company on winning the awards and reminded DP World of its duty of care to its own workers.
ITF news release and GNT campaign. DP World news release on the Lloyd’s List award [pdf] • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Call for dramatic changes in Scotland
Scotland needs a wholesale revision of its approach to workplace safety, according to a new paper. Writing in the Scottish Left Review, Professor Andrew Watterson of Stirling University and colleagues express concern about government cuts in regulation and enforcement and a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) failure “to champion workplace health and safety”.
Andrew Watterson, Tommy Gorman and Jim McCourt. Work is killing us, Scottish Left Review, issue 67, 2011 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Scottish business lobby has concerns for HSE
Scotland’s business lobby is facing a quandary about health and safety, torn between concern about the rapidly diminishing support provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and its more traditional opposition to regulatory controls. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) said it was concerned by the prospect of an “increasing disconnect” between the HSE and businesses operating in lower or medium-risk sectors. SHP Online • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Dad still angry 10 years after son’s death
The father of a steelworker killed in an explosion 10 years ago says he is still angry nobody has ever been brought to justice. Michael Hutin's 20-year-old son Andrew was one of three workers who died at the Corus plant in Port Talbot on 8 November 2001.
BBC News Online • FACK website • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Safety fears lead to cockle beds closures
Cockle beds off the Lancashire and Wirral coast have closed after authorities passed an emergency byelaw. The emergency services have been called out at least 26 times since the Ribble Estuary bed opened on 1 September.
NWIFCA letter of notification to cocklers [pdf] and emergency byelaw [pdf] • BBC News Online • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Industrial waste firm caused permanent injuries
A firm that treats industrial waste has been fined after one of its employees suffered life-threatening injuries when he was hit by a forklift truck. Collier Industrial Waste Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the 35-tonne vehicle reversed into a worker at its plant in Trafford Park on 14 January 2010.
HSE news release and workplace transport webpage • BBC News Online • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Labourer burnt in football ground fireball
A labourer was badly burned in a gas explosion at Macclesfield Town’s training ground. Local Stephen Rowley, 43, suffered burns to his face, neck and both arms at Egerton Youth Club in Knutsford on 18 September 2009. His employer, Paul Leonard, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following an investigation into the cause of the explosion.
HSE news release and construction webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Community service for ‘frightening’ roofers
Two roofers have received suspended sentences after a Derbyshire office worker was injured when a roll of roofing felt crashed through the ceiling of her office. Kathleen Philipson was sitting at her desk when the metre-long, 37kg roll fell through a roof light and came through the ceiling, hitting her on the shoulder.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Firm fined for not insuring itself
A kitchen and bedroom furniture manufacturer from Corby has been fined for failing to insure the company against liability for employee injury or disease. HSE inspector Sally Harris said: “Alina Trade Limited had many opportunities to produce a valid insurance certificate, so many in fact the firm appeared to be deliberately flouting the law.”
HSE news release • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Britain: Vehicle recovery firm fined for taking no notice
A vehicle recovery business has been fined for using an unsafe forklift truck after being served with an official prohibition notice barring its use. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted John Lang, sole trader of J Lang 24HR Recovery, over the illegal use of the forklift truck, which took place at 3.20pm on Wednesday 19 January 2011.
HSE news release and enforcement approach • Risks 531 • 12 November 2011

Hazards news, 5 November 2011

Britain: Firm fined after slow motion fatality
A firm has been fined after an employee suffered mortal injuries in a workplace fall, but this death will not appear in the Health and Safety Executive’s statistics because the worker took too long to die. J Mills (Contractors) Ltd was fined £145,000 plus £7,700 costs after Alan Kerwin, 32, fell 10 metres through a fragile roof onto a concrete floor and died two years later from his injuries.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

USA: Death mine security boss guilty of cover-up
The former director of security at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine has been found guilty of lying to US federal agents and destroying documents sought by investigators looking into a deadly blast. Twenty-nine miners were killed in a 2010 explosion at the West Virginia Mine.
AFL-CIO Now blog • Charleston Gazette • FairWarning • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Engineering firm fined after crushing death
An engineering firm has been fined £180,000 after an employee was crushed to death by a 1.5-tonne steel frame. Parker Plant Ltd, a Leicester-based manufacturer of quarrying plant and equipment, was prosecuted after the incident on 13 December 2008 that claimed the life of Michael Tilley, 55.
HSE news release • Leicester Mercury • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Pet food firm fined after crushing death
A factory worker was killed when his neck was crushed by a pneumatic hatch on a pet food mixing machine. HG Gladwell and Sons Ltd, which manufactures animal feed and pet food at Copdock Mill just outside Ipswich, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to ensure the sliding hatch on the top of the machine was safe.
HSE news release and manufacturing webpages • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Cambodia: Mass fainting follows use of insecticide
The latest mass fainting incident at a Cambodian factory supplying major high street stores has been linked to the use of an insecticide. More than 100 workers collapsed at the Anful Garments Factory in Kampong Speu on 24 October after the cloth they were working with was sprayed with insecticide the previous day, a senior provincial health official said.
Phnom Penh Post • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

China: Gas explosion kills 29 in coal mine
A deadly blast at a coal mine in southern China has killed 29 people. The gas explosion took place at a colliery in Hunan province, Chinese state media reported. Six miners were being treated in hospital after being rescued from the Xialiuchong Coal Mine, owned by the Hengyang city government.
China Daily • BBC News Online • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011 

Britain: DC deaths expose driverless train dangers
London Underground is on the verge of plunging the Capital’s tube system into the same “lethal combination” of safety cuts and automation that led to nine people being killed on the Washington DC Red Line service just over two years ago, Tube union RMT has warned.
RMT news release • ASLEF news release • Washington Post investigation into the Red Line crash • The Guardian • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Guns onboard are not the only answer to piracy
Seafarers’ union Nautilus has cautiously welcomed the prime minister’s announcement that British-flagged vessels will be able to carry armed guards to protect them from pirate attack - but believes there are still “questions to be asked and concerns to be addressed.”
Nautilus news release • ITF news release • BBC News Online • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Two deaths in four days at Tilbury dock
A second death has occurred at Tilbury docks just days after an earlier fatality prompted the union Unite to call for action. Unite’s Julia Long called for health and safety action across all ports to reflect the dangers within the industry, complaining “the government has set the ports as a 'low risk' industry.”
Unite news release • Thurrock Gazette • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

USA: Green building standard linked to job hazards
A scheme designed to encourage energy efficient ‘green’ buildings could be leading to increased health and safety problems for those making the buildings green. The union backed safety research organisation CPWR says green construction “is perhaps the most important trend in today's building industry.”
CPWR website • Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, posted online 4 July 2011 ahead of print • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Dock worker’s family get asbestos cancer payout
The family of a Humber shipyard welder who was killed by asbestos has received compensation. Lifelong GMB member Arthur Prestidge was 80 when he died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Grimsby Telegraph • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Electrician gets pay out for cancer that will kill him
A former electrician diagnosed with an invariably fatal asbestos related cancer has received £140,000 compensation from his former employer’s insurers. The 76-year-old Unite member from Liverpool, whose name has not been released, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October 2010.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: TUC warns that safety cuts will mean more injuries
The TUC has warned that cuts in enforcement could lead to an upturn in work-related deaths, sickness and injuries. The union body was commenting after official figures showed a fall last year in work-related ill-health and injuries – but the figures have been contested.
HSE news release and statistics summary • [pdf] and Annual health and safety statistics report 2010/11 [pdf] • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: HSE statistics ‘spin’ disputed by campaigners
Campaigners have disputed a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) headline claim that there has been a ‘continued fall in workplace ill health and injury’. Hilda Palmer of the campaign group Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) said a fall in reported injuries at a time of rising fatalities “should be ringing alarm bells rather than activating the spin cycle at the HSE.”
Hazards magazine • Morning Star • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Clegg invited to find out the facts on enforcement
Nick Clegg’s promise to small businesses that he will stop regulators “breathing down your necks” is based on a damaging ‘caricature’, the union representing Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors has said. Prospect deputy general secretary Mike Clancy said the speech “reinforced the need for a debate informed by facts rather than impression.”
Prospect news release and related release and open letter to Nick Clegg • Unite news release • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Tory self-regulation threat re-emerges
Ideas for business self-regulation floated by the Conservatives prior to and immediately after they won the election have resurfaced. Top Tories had talked of introducing a system of ‘earned autonomy’, where firms with better safety records could opt-out of official health and safety inspections.
BIS news release • Prime Minister’s Office news release • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Half of workers are ill-treated at work
Half of British workers have been ill-treated at work in the last two years, researchers have found, with several million also suffering from “impossible workloads”. Professor Ralph Fevre of Cardiff University, one of the report's authors, said: “Many managers saw staff welfare as low on their list of priorities, while some even felt ill-treatment of staff was expected of them.”
Ralph Fevre, Duncan Lewis, Amanda Robinson and Trevor Jones, Insight into ill-treatment in the workplace: patterns, causes and solutions, 2011 [pdf] and Appendix: Respondents to the British Workplace Behaviour Survey [pdf] • BBC News Online • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Justice bill will ‘punish innocent victims’
The government's controversial legal aid and sentencing changes have cleared the Commons, despite opposition from MPs of all parties and stern criticism from disability organisations and unions. AVSGF chair Tony Whitson said: “This bill misses the target: it punishes innocent victims instead of tackling real issues with the system, such as irresponsible claims marketing and fraudulent claims.”
BBC News Online • Morning Star • AVSGF news release [pdf] • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

China: Gas explosion kills 29 in coal mine
A deadly blast at a coal mine in southern China has killed 29 people. The gas explosion took place at a colliery in Hunan province, Chinese state media reported. Six miners were being treated in hospital after being rescued from the Xialiuchong Coal Mine, owned by the Hengyang city government.
China Daily • BBC News Online • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011 

Britain: LibDems oppose safety rep protection
LibDems in the European Parliament have voted with centre right parties to ensure the failure of a proposal to protect workplace safety reps from blacklisting and victimisation. The vote in Strasbourg followed a debate on a mid-term review of the European Union’s health and safety strategy.
Blacklist Support Group report • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Chemical reaction keeps painter out of work
A painter who developed a reaction to epoxy paints has had to give up his trade as result. The 61-year-old from South Tyneside, whose name has not been released, developed a sensitivity to the paint after 40 years in the trade.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Asbestos deaths claim non-industrial workers
As new figures reveal asbestos cancers are claiming a record number of lives, the deaths of a nurse and a police officer from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma indicate how widespread the problem has become. 
Grimsby Telegraph • Sunday Mercury • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011 

Britain: Firm fined after slow motion fatality
A firm has been fined after an employee suffered mortal injuries in a workplace fall, but this death will not appear in the Health and Safety Executive’s statistics because the worker took too long to die. J Mills (Contractors) Ltd was fined £145,000 plus £7,700 costs after Alan Kerwin, 32, fell 10 metres through a fragile roof onto a concrete floor and died two years later from his injuries.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Engineering firm fined after crushing death
An engineering firm has been fined £180,000 after an employee was crushed to death by a 1.5-tonne steel frame. Parker Plant Ltd, a Leicester-based manufacturer of quarrying plant and equipment, was prosecuted after the incident on 13 December 2008 that claimed the life of Michael Tilley, 55.
HSE news release • Leicester Mercury • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Britain: Pet food firm fined after crushing death
A factory worker was killed when his neck was crushed by a pneumatic hatch on a pet food mixing machine. HG Gladwell and Sons Ltd, which manufactures animal feed and pet food at Copdock Mill just outside Ipswich, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to ensure the sliding hatch on the top of the machine was safe.
HSE news release and manufacturing webpages • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Cambodia: Mass fainting follows use of insecticide
The latest mass fainting incident at a Cambodian factory supplying major high street stores has been linked to the use of an insecticide. More than 100 workers collapsed at the Anful Garments Factory in Kampong Speu on 24 October after the cloth they were working with was sprayed with insecticide the previous day, a senior provincial health official said.
Phnom Penh Post • Risks 530 • 5 November 2011

Hazards news, 29 October 2011

Britain: TUC warning on Clegg’s call for inspection cuts
A new system of regulation which could cap the number of workplace inspections of small businesses has been criticised by the TUC as dangerous and unwanted. Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced this week that the government is set to cap workplace inspections for small companies to just two a year to cut back on ‘red tape’.
Deputy Prime Minister’s news release and speech extracts • TUC news release •
SME Business Barometer, BIS, October 2011 and related TUC Touchstone blog posting • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

USA: Union accuses mine firm of ‘industrial homicide’
The US mine workers’ union UMWA has accused Massey Energy Co and its managers of ‘industrial homicide’ for creating the conditions behind the 5 April 2010 explosion that killed 29 men at a southern West Virginia coal mine. The union says there were many factors that led up to the deadly blast, but the union’s scathing ‘Industrial Homicide’ report concludes “there is only one source for all of them” - a “rogue corporation” that established conditions “that can only be described as a bomb waiting to go off.”
UMWA news release and full report, Industrial homicide: Report on the Upper Big Branch mine disaster, October 2011 [pdf] • AFL-CIO Now blog • ABC News • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Campaign and safety groups back TUC line
Concerns about the latest government move to reduce workplace inspections and enforcement activity have been echoed by safety groups and campaigners. The union-backed Hazards Campaign accused the deputy prime minister of talking “utter cobblers”. Hazards Campaign news release and We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • Morning Star • SHP Online • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Unions and good jobs delivered Olympic safety
Construction union UCATT has said an official report on safety lessons from the London 2012 construction project has ignored the critical safety factors – the role played by unions and direct employment in delivering an unprecedented safety record. UCATT regional secretary Jerry Swain said: “Direct employment allied with full–time union representation created the environment in which worker involvement could be achieved.”
HSE news release and London 2012 website • UCATT news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

New Zealand: Global backing for safe fishing regulation
A call for a complete overhaul of the way the fishing industry is regulated in New Zealand and beyond is being backed by the global transport workers’ union federation ITF. Unions in the country have been pushing for action following the case of the Oyang 75, a Korean fishing vessel abandoned in Lyttleton, New Zealand, with the Indonesian crew claiming underpayment and physical and verbal abuse.
ITF news report and 'From catcher to counter' campaign. MUNZ news release • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Proposals would leave pilots drunk on fatigue
Proposed European Union flying hours limits would see pilots working with levels of fatigue-related incapacity equivalent to four times the legal alcohol limit for flying, pilots’ union BALPA has warned.
BALPA news release • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Union recipe for a safe journey to work
Retail workers are concerned about the threat to their safety on the journey to and from work, a survey by the union Usdaw has found. The union has developed campaign materials to highlight the problem and to encourage members to turn to the union for help.
Usdaw news release, survey form, poster [pdf], reps leaflet [pdf] and What’s happening on your journey to work? leaflet [pdf] • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: University condemned for safety ‘nuisance’ claims
The University of Sheffield has come under fire after labelling a union’s call for adherence to health and safety regulations as a ‘nuisance’. Lecturers’ union UCU had told its members, who are working to rule as part of a pensions dispute, to be extra vigilant and “to undertake no duties in breach of health and safety policies,” including refusing to use equipment that has not been safety-checked.
UCU News release and Sheffield University guidance • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: UCATT drives safety improvements at Kier
Construction union UCATT this week surveyed over 5,000 workers at housing maintenance specialist Kier’s about their safety concerns. The activity on 26 October - National Inspection Day - is part of a long running campaign by the union.
UCATT news release • Morning Star • TUC National Inspection Day inspection guide [pdf] • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Occupational dermatitis led to lower paid job
A manual worker who developed a painful skin condition after being exposed to skin allergens at work has received £75,000 in compensation. Unite member Gary Rigby, 50, has had to move into a much lower paid job after being exposed to hexamine, a type of resin coated sand, in his job at pipe fitting manufacturer St Gobain PAM UK.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: RMT to take action over Tube train safety
Tube train drivers are to refuse to follow what the union RMT considers to be “cost-led” and dangerous new instructions from London Underground Limited (LUL). The decision came when members voted by a margin of four to one for industrial action over train safety.
RMT news release • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Tube blueprint for ‘safety carnage’
A leaked London Underground report is “a blueprint for jobs and safety carnage,” the rail union RMT has said. The union said the confidential “Operational Strategy” paper spells out cuts-led proposals that include the axing of more than 1,500 jobs and the introduction of automated, driverless trains.
RMT news release • Morning Star • BBC News Online • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Save our railways campaign goes to parliament
Rail unions, passenger groups and community supporters descended on parliament on 25 October as part of a national campaign to stop the government from implementing the cost- and job-cutting recommendations of the McNulty Rail Review.
RMT news release • TSSA news release • Morning Star • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Bladder cancer strikes 30 years after exposure ends
A man from Yorkshire developed occupational bladder cancer three decades after being exposed to dangerous chemicals at work. The 57-year-old from Leeds, whose name has not been released, was exposed to harmful chemicals whilst working for Hickson and Welsh, a chemical manufacturer in Castleford.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Global Unions zero cancer campaign • HSE cancer statistics • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Vital clues sought in PVC cancer death
A widow is appealing for her late husband’s former work colleagues to come forward and help with an investigation after he died of a cancer linked to exposure to chemicals used when making PVC. Geoffrey Osborne died on 1 August 2010 after a battle with angiosarcoma of the liver, aged 58.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Anyone who is able to help should email Denis O’Gorman (or telephone 0870 1500 300) • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Seven years after Morecambe Bay, cocklers still at risk
Cocklers have had to be rescued from the Ribble estuary in Lancashire 23 times since its cocklebeds were opened in September. Fylde Conservative MP Mark Menzies this week called for cockling in the estuary to be banned unless greater controls are introduced. 
BBC News Online, report on the GLA investigation and related earlier report • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Bad bosses are bad for business
Employers that neglect concerns about trust in senior leaders, stress in the workplace or job satisfaction risk losing key staff, new research has concluded. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD) quarterly Employee Outlook survey has found that employees are much more likely to be among the 22 per cent currently looking for a new employer if they express low trust in their senior managers, are dissatisfied with their job or are under excessive pressure every day.
CIPD news release • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Firm failed to protect workers from asthma risk
A South Tyneside company has been prosecuted for putting workers' health at risk by exposing them to a potent cause of occupational asthma. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation at Variable Message Signs Limited after an inspector visited the company's premises in Hebburn and identified serious failings in the way the company was controlling the risk of employees developing occupational asthma during soldering work.
HSE news release • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: TV stonemason is done for dust
A stonemasonry business has been fined for exposing workers to potentially deadly stone dust after a viewer spotted its dangerous practices on a BBC television programme. Atelier 109 Limited featured in March 2010 in the BBC2 series Mastercrafts, presented by Monty Don.
HSE news release • Peterborough Today • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Chicken firm’s safety bypass led to injuries
A major European food business producing raw and prepared chicken products has been fined after two incidents at its Suffolk factory, one of which led to an employee losing his right hand. At Norwich Crown Court, 2 Sisters Food Group admitted two criminal safety offences including bypassing safety systems and was fined £230,000 and ordered to pay costs of £24,350.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Food worker injured in unguarded machine
A food processing firm has been fined £10,000 after one of its employees suffered serious injuries in a machine that had gone unguarded for more than a decade. The worker, who has asked not to be named, needed a metal plate in her left arm after it became caught in a potato blanching machine at the Bakkavor Foods Ltd plant in Ince, where the multinational packages salads and fresh vegetables for major supermarket chains.
HSE news release • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Britain: Knee-kicker damaged carpet fitter’s knee
A carpet fitter who has had to give up his job after suffering an occupational knee injury has received compensation. He required surgery for pre-patellar tendonitis in his right knee as a result of using a ‘knee-kicker’, a standard piece of equipment used to stretch and fit carpets.
Simpson Millar Solicitors news release • Risks 529 • 29 October 2011

Hazards news, 22 October 2011

Britain: Union reps make business sense
Union reps are not a business cost item, but an important resource for employers in both the public and private sector, according to a new paper from the TUC. And, suggests the extensively referenced document on the provision of facilities and facility time for union reps, there’s no clearer indication of this effect than the livesaving, money-saving role of union safety reps.
Stronger Unions • TUC news release and full paper, The Facts about Facility Time for Union Reps [pdf] •The Union Effect - How unions make a difference to health and safety, TUC, July 2011 • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

USA: Study shows safety inspections pay off
Official workplace safety inspections lead to dramatically reduced injury rates and big savings for firms, a US study has found. The findings come in an analysis of a decade’s worth of data on safety inspections by the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) in Washington State.
L&I news release. The Effect of DOSH Enforcement and Consultation Activity on the Compensable Claims Rates in Washington State, 1999-2008, Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 2011 [executive summary, pdf] • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Unite alert on accident reports
Safety reps should make sure all workplace injuries and dangerous incidents are reported to employers and that the correct recording systems are in operation, the union Unite has said. An alert from the union says it has received reports that some employers wrongly believe official reporting rules have been relaxed.
UNITE alert • HSE Q&A on the closure of Infoline • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

USA: The deadly Big Business ‘four dog defense’
The ruses used by Big Business to frustrate, evade and stall regulation on toxic chemicals have been exposed in a new report. ‘The chemical industry delay game’, published by the Washington DC-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), uses three case histories - formaldehyde, trichloroethylene (TCE) and styrene – which it says illustrate a larger systemic breakdown in desperate need of a fix.
NRDC blog • The Chemical Industry Delay Game : How the Chemical Industry Ducks Regulation of the Most Toxic Substances, NRDC, October 2011 • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Unions raise concerns over HSE charging scheme
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) fundraising scheme due to be come into effect next year must be fair, unions have said. In response to HSE’s plans for a comprehensive cost recovery scheme, where safety breaches uncovered by the watchdog would trigger a series of charges, both Prospect and UNISON say a cash-strapped HSE has no option but to raise extra cash but warn that a flat rate scheme would be disproportionately hard on smaller firms.
Prospect news release and full response • UNISON response [pdf] • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: RMT anger at plan to slash Tube safety checks
Tube union RMT has demanded London Underground abandon a plan to reduce the inspection frequency on key fail-safe safety equipment from daily to every 60 days. The union was responding to a decision by the Directors Risk and Assurance Change Control Committee (DRACC) to reduce the frequency of tripcock testing on parts of the Tube fleet from daily to once every 15,000 kilometres - equating to an average running period of 60 days.
RMT news release • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011 

Britain: Lobby to highlight rail safety concerns
Rail unions will join up with passenger groups and community supporters for a mass rally and lobby of parliament next Tuesday - 25 October - as part of the national campaign to stop the government from implementing the recommendations of the McNulty Rail Review.
RMT news release • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Global: Union safety deal with food giant Danone
Global union federation IUF has signed a wide-ranging health and safety agreement with Danone, the giant international food firm. The new document, signed this month by IUF general secretary Ron Oswald and Danone CEO Frank Riboud, covers workplace health, safety, working conditions and stress.
IUF news release and new IUF/Danone health and safety agreement [pdf] • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Austerity measures ‘may increase suicide rates’
The government’s austerity measures could lead to an increase in suicides, Unite has said. In response to an official consultation, ‘Preventing suicide in England: a cross-government outcomes strategy to save lives’, the union draws parallels with the Greek economic meltdown which led to a reported 40 per cent rise in suicides in the first half of this year, compared with the same period in 2010.
Unite news release • More on work-related suicide • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Safety minister was part of Fox’s organisation
Health and safety has been sucked into a scandal which has seen the prime minister accused of letting a secret rightwing, business-driven deregulatory agenda flourish within the highest levels of his party. Atlantic Bridge, an organisation created by former defence secretary Liam Fox which was wound up last year following a critical Charity Commission report, formed a partnership with an organisation called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
FACK letter • The Guardian and related article on Tory links to ALEC • The Observer • Background on ALEC • We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: UK Coal families told to expect low death fines
A judge has indicated he will not impose heavy fines on UK Coal after four miners died following criminal safety breaches at what is the UK’s biggest mining firm. Justice Alistair MacDuff adjourned sentencing of UK Coal, which admitted offences under health and safety laws in relation to the deaths of Trevor Steeples, Paul Hunt, Anthony Garrigan and Paul Milner.
BBC News Online • Morning Star • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Europe: Draft EMF law not good enough
A draft law to protect workers from electromagnetic fields (EMF) could leave workers at deadly risk, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has warned. The European Commission’s draft directive, published in June, is “short-changing workers” ETUC has charged and only looks at short-term effects of the possibly cancer causing exposures.
ETUI news release • ETUC response to the consultation [pdf] • ETUI’s new health and safety webpages • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Mine manager held on suspicion of manslaughter
A pit manager who survived a flooding incident in which four miners died has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. Malcolm Fyfield, 55, was held by officers from South Wales Police investigating the tragedy at the Gleision Colliery near Swansea last month.
South Wales Police news release • Morning Star • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Phurnacite workers start legal fight
Around 300 former workers at a smokeless fuel plant in south Wales have started a joint compensation claim for the ill-health they say was caused by their job. They claim making the fuel at the Phurnacite plant at Abercwmboi near Mountain Ash left them with cancer and respiratory disease.
Hugh James Solicitors news release • BBC News Online • Wales Online • OH-World blog • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: BP’s repeated offshore safety failures revealed
The British oil giant BP has repeatedly breached criminal safety regulations on all its rigs in the North Sea over the last year, according to the government watchdog, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The multinational company has kept failing to comply with the HSE’s statutory instructions to improve risk assessments after a series of alarming near-misses on several oil platforms.
Robedwards.com • CPR Blog • Hazards magazine • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Campaign slams ‘devastating’ schools asbestos findings
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been criticised for putting a positive spin on the “devastating” findings of its investigation into asbestos management in independent, voluntary aided and foundation schools and academies.
HSE news release, list of inspected schools and inspection outcomes and asbestos management webpages • Asbestos in Schools campaign, news release [pdf] and summary of HSE study [pdf] • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Questions remain about work cyanide death
Lawyers representing the devastated daughter of a man killed by exposure to cyanide at a major chemical firm have called for lessons to be learned. At the inquest into the death of Lucite International employee Steven Murtagh, 52, a jury returned an open verdict, but confirmed the cause of the death on 7 September 2009 was cyanide poisoning.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Cemex fined after man killed in explosion
A multinational cement firm has been fined £200,000 following the death of a worker in an explosion at its Rugby premises. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Cemex UK Operations Ltd, which makes cement and building products, after the death of 28-year-old Peter Reynolds on 15 January 2008.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: CPS apologises to workplace victim's family
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has apologised to the family of a man killed at work, after admitting a catalogue of failings in its investigation into the death which meant manslaughter charges could not be brought. Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer issued an unreserved apology to the family of Mark Wright, who died in March 2005 at the Deeside Metal site near Chester after aerosols he had been ordered to crush exploded.
Katy Clark MP news release • Morning Star • More on the Mark Wright case • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Thor hammered over major chemical incident
A multinational chemical manufacturer has been fined after a major incident at its factory in Cheshire put workers’ lives in danger. Thor Specialities (UK) Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a chemical reaction got out of control at its plant in Northwich, releasing toxic and flammable substances into the production area.
HSE news release and chemicals webpages • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

European Week for Safety and Health at Work, 24 -28 October
European Week for Safety and Health at Work, 24 -28 October, is here. 'National inspection day', which has been strongly promoted by the TUC and has in recent years spurred a mass outbreak of workplace inspections by union safety reps countrywide, is on 26 October.
TUC maintenance briefing and National Inspection Day inspection guide [pdf] • Unite European Week resources • European Agency maintenance guide and related Euroweek resources • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Britain: Union to Union support for banana workers
There are a lot of hazards in banana production, from the liberal use of pesticides to the less than liberal employment practices pursued in the banana production supply chains. Banana Link supports the lobbying and advocacy work of eight Latin American union partners as well as developing and strengthening links with new union contacts in Cameroon, Ghana and the Ivory Coast – but it urgently needs funds to continue the work.
Banana Link ‘Union to Union’ appeal • Risks 528 • 22 October 2011

Hazards news, 15 October 2011

Britain: Insurance industry slammed
The TUC has attacked the insurance industry for trying to stop workers or their dependants from claiming compensation after they are injured or made ill as a result of their employer's negligence.
Independent on Sunday • Guardian article • Touchstone blog • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Britain: Bid to cut asbestos compensation fails
The Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by the insurance industry to overturn the right of people in Scotland to claim compensation for pleural plaques. The House of Lords backed a previous attempt by the insurance industry to prevent damages being claimed by victims of pleural plaques but, unlike in England and Wales, the Scottish Government introduced legislation to restore this right on the grounds that pleural plaques could give rise to more serious conditions, like lung cancer, mesothelioma or asbestosis.
STUC press release • UCATT press release • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Australia: Tribunal backs compulsory drug testing
Unions and drug support organisations in the Australian state of Victoria have reacted angrily to a ruling by Fair Work Australia, the national workplace relations tribunal, that found that requiring drug and alcohol tests was a 'reasonable request from an employer'.
CFMEU guidance • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Britain: STUC names and shames insurance giants
The Scottish TUC has named and shamed the five insurance giants who went to the Supreme Court to try to overturn Scottish legislation giving pleural plaques sufferers a right to compensation. The five culprits have been named as AXA General Insurance Limited, AXA Insurance UK plc, which operates companies like Swiftcover.com, Norwich Union Insurance Limited (Aviva), Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance plc and Zurich Insurance plc.
STUC press release • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Britain: Union mulls action on piracy
The Nautilus International trade union are considering calling for a boycott of those areas where seafarers are most at risk.
Nautilus press release • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

USA: Union backs working time restrictions
The Teamsters Union have joined a campaign to support the proposed Hours of Service (HOS) rule proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that will limit consecutive driving hours and prevent abuse of the current regulations. Unions and safety organisations claim that the proposed rule will save the American public more than $2 billion and create nearly 40,000 jobs in the trucking industry.
The trucker • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Britain: Cuts hit mental health services
The TUC has warned that the government's spending cuts risk reversing vital progress made in the recognition and treatment of mental health issues in the UK. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The TUC fears that the government's spending cuts are undermining the increasing recognition of the extent of mental ill health problems we have seen in the workplace and beyond in recent years, and the measures that have been taken in response.”
TUC press release • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

South African: Mine workers strike for safety
Thousands of South African miners took strike action on 4 October to protest against the conditions in South African mines. South African mines have a very poor safety record and there are around 100 deaths from injuries every year.
ICEM press release • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Britain: New fire engines unsafe says union
The Fire Brigades Union in South Yorkshire have claimed that four fire engines costing £2m are unsafe and unreliable, and may lead to a loss of life. A wide range of problems have been reported with the Combined Aerial Rescue Pumps (CARP) vehicles, including being too heavy for UK roads, frequent mechanical problems, incidents of the vehicles catching fire and needing their own crews to deal with the flames and the platform on the vehicles becoming jammed both on exercise and at incidents.
BBC report • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Britain: Rail union calls for reinstatement of sick worker
The transport union RMT has called for the reinstatement of a tube driver who was sacked after being sent back to driving duties against medical advice. The dismissal happened after James Masango returned to work after a period of sick leave.
RMT press release • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Britain: Behavioural safety theories challenged
Criticism by the TUC of the use of behavioural safety methods to control workplace hazards were given a boost by a report by the influential US National Safety Council (NSC). Behavioural safety is based on the theories of Herbert Heinrich whose work forms the basis for behaviour-based safety, an approach that focuses on identifying and changing unsafe worker behaviours.
NSC article. TUC guidance • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Canada: Authorities use health and safety to stop strike
The Canadian Government has asked the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to halt a proposed strike by Air Canada cabin crew on the grounds of health and safety. The CIRB has temporarily suspended the strike while they review the dispute.
CUPE press release • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Britain: Fine for company that risks workers lives
A building contractor from South East London has been fined £19,300 and ordered to pay costs of £7,654 for running a construction site which led to workers being exposed to asbestos-containing materials. Fadil Adil of Bromley was in charge of a construction site on which a building was demolished using sledgehammers and hand-operated breakers.
HSE press notice • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Britain: Head injury worker gets compensation
A member of Unite the union has received compensation with the support of his union after he ended up with a 15 centimetre scar on his scalp because he wasn't provided with suitable head protection by his employer, a beer can manufacturer. The 46-year-old from Carlisle was checking if a can coating machine was working correctly while wearing only a baseball-style cap for protection as he had not been provided with a hard hat. Thompsons press release • Risks 527 • 15 October 2011

Hazards news, 8 October 2011

Britain: Coastguards believe government cuts risk safety
Coastguard staff believe the government's latest bid to cut their jobs and close stations will put the public at risk. In a consultative ballot of the union PCS’s 570 members in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), 86 per cent of respondents said they had no confidence the proposals will protect the public's safety.
PCS news release • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

USA: When they slam ‘regulations’, they mean ‘safety’
US Republicans are putting the blame for the country’s faltering economy at the door of ‘regulations’. Steve Benen, writing in the Washington Monthly, concludes: “What, in Republican lawmakers’ eyes, will boost the economy? Workplaces in which Americans are more likely to be injured. That’s the plan.”
Washington Monthly • New York Times • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Warning on ‘dangerous and unregulated’ site work
Almost one in every five workers is now classified as ‘vulnerable’, a report for construction union UCATT has found. Based on a review of the current enforcement regime and interviews with construction workers, ‘The hidden workforce building Britain’ says many are working in “slavery like” conditions, wait in car parks to get work as day labourers and are typically employed in dangerous and unregulated work.
UCATT news release and the full report, The hidden workforce building Britain: Exposing exploitation and protecting vulnerable workers in construction [pdf] • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Union support for piracy victims
A support organisation for victims of piracy at sea has been launched, thanks to major backing from a UK-based trade union charity. The new Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) is intended to help seafarers and families cope with the physical and mental trauma caused by torture and abuse at the hands of pirates.
ITF news release • MPHRP website • ITF Seafarers’ Trust • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Japan: Overwork suicide payout is upheld
Japan’s Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by two companies against a work-related suicide compensation award. A court order now requires camera and optical products giant Nikon Corp and a Nagoya-based temp agency to pay compensation of over £0.5m for the 1999 death of 23-year-old temporary worker Yuji Uendan, who killed himself because of overwork-induced depression.
Japan Times • Japan and Tokyo News • More on work-related suicide • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Sellafield worker injured by faulty equipment
A nuclear power worker needed surgery for a knee injury caused by a piece of faulty equipment at work at the Sellafield Nuclear Reprocessing Facility. Unite member Peter Straughton, 39, suffered the injury on a turnstile at the Seascale plant that management knew was broken, but had failed to repair.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Work stress soars with job insecurity
Stress is now the number one cause of long-term absence across a workforce increasingly affected by job insecurity, a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) survey has found. The CIPD/Simplyhealth Absence Management survey concludes that for the first time stress is the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and non-manual employees.
CIPD news release • TUC news release • Daily Mail • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

China: Seventeen die in coal mine blast
At least 17 workers have died in a coal mine explosion in southwestern China. The official Xinhua News Agency says 28 miners were in the shaft when the blast occurred at 7.53 am on 4 October at the Anping Coal Mine, the Lihua Township in the county of Libo, Guizhou province.
Xinhua • Time • Shanghai Daily • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Global: Secretive PR firm pushes asbestos
A major US public relations company is attempting to derail a move to ban asbestos in Malaysia, but has refused to reveal who is funding its activities. Washington DC-based APCO Worldwide, whose previous credits including working for the tobacco industry to frustrate US government cancer prevention efforts, “is seeking to undermine an initiative to protect people in Malaysia from cancer caused by asbestos,” said Kelle Louaillier, president of Corporate Accountability International.
RightonCanada news release • Letter sent to Margery Kraus, President & CEO, APCO Worldwide, Washington, DC: Disassociate yourself from the discredited and deadly propaganda of the asbestos industry, health defenders tell APCO Worldwide. Montreal Gazette • Vancouver Sun • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: New warning on upwards work deaths trend
Last year’s sharp increase in deaths at work looks set to continue and could be accelerating, latest Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics suggest. HSE figures published online show 51 people died at work across the UK from April to June 2011, up 20 per cent on the quarterly average in 2010/2011.
Irwin Mitchell news release • HSE statistical summary April-June 2011 • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Cameron makes safety his whipping boy again
The prime minister’s inclination to blame safety for the ills of the economy and society has surfaced yet again. After first blaming health and safety for August’s riots, David Cameron has now decided “the shadow of health and safety” is holding back Britain.
David Cameron’s 5 October 2011 speech to the Conservative Party Conference • TUC news release • SHP Online • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Safety minister again snubs safety victims
The government’s health and safety minister has been accused of treating the families of those killed at work with contempt as he yet again ignored a request to meet them. Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) has requested meetings with DWP minister Chris Grayling three times in recent months so it can explain its grave concerns over cuts to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the government’s push to further reduce regulation and enforcement.
FACK news release • Morning Star • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Oil giant Talisman challenges official safety notice
A North Sea oil company is challenging a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) improvement notice issued because the safety watchdog said workers were living in overcrowded conditions on an offshore platform. The improvement notice was issued to Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd after an inspection of the Tartan Alpha platform.
BBC News Online • HSE notices issued to Talisman • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Three seriously hurt in recycling firm blast
Eight people were injured in a blaze at Hobbs industrial estate in Newchapel, near Lingfield, on 3 October. The fire is believed to have started in a unit which recycles IT and electrical items and printer ink cartridges, and spread to neighbouring units.
Surrey Police news release • BBC News Online • Surrey Advertiser • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Waitress suffers fractured pelvis
A waitress broke her pelvis after she slipped on a wet restaurant floor. The 26-year-old from Basildon was finishing her shift at an Outback Steakhouse in October 2007 when she slipped on water on the floor near the restaurant’s dishwasher.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

European Week for Safety and Health at Work, 24 -28 October
European Week for Safety and Health at Work, 24 -28 October, is edging closer. For a second consecutive year, the theme is maintenance work. ‘National inspection day’, which has been strongly promoted by the TUC and has in recent years spurred a mass outbreak of workplace inspections by union safety reps countrywide, is on 26 October.
TUC maintenance briefing and National Inspection Day inspection guide [pdf] • Unite European Week resources • European Agency maintenance guide and related Euroweek resources • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Site firm pays £318,000 for asbestos death
The widow and family of a victim of an asbestos cancer have been awarded personal injury compensation of £318,000. Elizabeth Wolff, 69, from Kilmarnock, lodged a claim for damages after her former construction worker husband William, 66, died from mesothelioma in March 2007. Scotsman • Construction Enquirer • BBC News Online • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Car parts firm guilty after crushing death
A County Durham engineering firm has been fined £100,000 after a worker was crushed to death while clearing a jam on a production line. Father-of-two Paul Clark, 52, was a multi-skilled fitter at Tallent Automotive Ltd-Gestamp Automoción, where he died after becoming trapped between a moving carriage and its tracks.
HSE news release • Northern Echo • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Forklift fall could have killed
A Serviceplan Contracts Ltd employee could have been killed when he fell off a forklift truck while trying to climb onto its roof, a court has heard. The 29-year-old man from Tyldesley, who has asked not to be named, struck his head on the ground and was knocked unconscious for several minutes in the incident at Moss Industrial Estate in Leigh.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Britain: Box factory fall caused severe head injuries
A cardboard box manufacturer in Kent has been fined after an incident in which a delivery driver suffered severe head injuries in a fall from his vehicle. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution against WE Roberts (Corrugated) Ltd.
HSE news release • The Argus • Risks 526 • 8 October 2011

Hazards news, 1 October 2011

Britain: New rights for agency workers
Hundreds of thousands of agency workers across the UK will benefit from improved working conditions as a result of new equal treatment rights for temps. Although general health and safety laws apply to all workers regardless of their employment status, the new law will deliver some new rights on working hours and facilities that do fall in part under a workplace safety heading.
TUC news release and agency worker advice • CWU news release • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

USA: Refinery union gives safety strikes warning
The union representing employees at 69 US oil refineries is prepared to strike if companies don’t agree to stricter safety procedures. The union says process safety “the main issue” during this bargaining round, with Gary Beevers, who heads USW’s oil bargaining programme, commenting: “I’ve been to a lot of memorial services in my career, but I’ve never been to one for a CEO.”
USW news release • Bloomberg • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Many offshore firms still fail to consult workers
Offshore workers’ union RMT has criticised oil companies for “fundamentally failing” to involve workers in health and safety matters on rigs and has demanded improvements. The union was commenting after the publication of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) review of the effectiveness of the offshore safety representatives and safety committees regulations.
RMT news release • HSE offshore worker involvement webpages • Offshore workforce involvement and consultation. Offshore Installations (Safety Representatives and Safety Committees) Regulations 1989: Compliance Inspection Project, HSE, 2011 [pdf] • STV Scotland • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Thailand: Union leaders fired for safety stand
Thailand’s state railway has dismissed seven union leaders who demanded urgent safety improvements. It follows an earlier ruling by the Thai Labour Court that the sackings could proceed, a decision condemned by union bodies worldwide.
Bangkok Post • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Courts put journalists in danger
Journalists’ union NUJ has condemned the courts for forcing media organisations to supply riot footage and photographs to the police, a move it says could leave journalists at a heightened risk of attack.
NUJ news release • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Union to demand respect for shopworkers
Retail union Usdaw is to undertake nationwide activities to press for an end to violence, threats and abuse directed at shopworkers. The union’s Respect for Shopworkers Week will run from 7-11 November this year.
Usdaw campaign update • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Back injury ended carer’s career
A care worker from Leicestershire was forced was to give up her career after she damaged her back at work. Julie Bowler, 35, from Coalville, has been left unable to lift and suffering from back pain and sciatica after she was injured whilst working for Southern Cross-owned Rowans Nursing Home in 2010, after her requests for turn sheets were ignored.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Unite gears up for asbestos showdown
The union Unite is gearing up for a Supreme Court challenge that could deliver justice for asbestos victims. In December, the union will set out to overturn a Court of Appeal decision, known as the trigger test case.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Evening Chronicle • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Union secures asbestos cancer payout
An electrician diagnosed with the asbestos related cancer mesothelioma has received £140,000 compensation from his former employer. The 71-year-old Unite member from Birmingham was diagnosed in 2009 with mesothelioma, an aggressive and deadly cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

China: Watchdog threatens to close dusty gold mines
China’s top work safety watchdog has threatened to close down dangerously dusty gold mines after discovering that 95 per cent of mines surveyed violated national safety standards. The State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) has ordered state-owned gold mines to take concrete measures to improve safety and curb emissions by August 2012 or face closure.
China Labour Bulletin • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: MP calls for an inquiry into pit safety
A Labour MP is calling for an independent inquiry into safety at Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire following the death of a miner, the third to die at the colliery in four years. Gerry Gibson was killed on 27 September and a colleague was injured when a roof collapsed.
NUM statement. UK Coal statement [pdf] • BBC News Online and related article • Morning Star • Daily Mail • The Independent • Financial Times • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: HSE safety alert after Gleision mine deaths
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a safety alert warning mine companies of the danger of an inrush of water at underground mines. The move came as inquests opened on the four miners who died after being trapped in a flooded Swansea Valley mine.
Preventing inrushes at underground mines • HSE guidance and Approved Code of Practice to the 1979 regulations • BBC News Online • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Lib Dems hypocrisy on work well-being
Large employers should be required to report on “employee satisfaction” levels, with directors struck off where there is a “serious failure to protect employees’ wellbeing”, the Liberal Democrats have said. The policy recommendations in a Quality of Life Policy Paper also call for a new National Institute for Wellbeing – but come as the coalition government guts the Health and Safety Executive and stages an unprecedented attack on safety regulations and enforcement.
A new purpose for politics: Quality of life. Policy Paper 102, Liberal Democrats, September 2011 [pdf] • Simon Hughes MP news release • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Pub landlords failed to insure safety
The former landlords of a Chorley pub have been convicted after they failed to buy insurance to protect their employees. Stephen and Karen Martin were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after they employed staff at the Hinds Head pub in Charnock Richard without purchasing the legally required Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance.
HSE news release • Lancashire Evening Post • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Unapologetic M&S fined £1m for asbestos crimes
Marks and Spencer plc and three of its contractors have been fined after putting members of the public, staff and construction workers at risk of exposure to asbestos-containing materials during the refurbishment of M&S stores.
HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Daily Telegraph • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Cambodia: Union members ‘dismissed’ over safety fears
A garment factory hit by two mass fainting incidents in August has been accused of trying to get rid of workers who subsequently joined the Free Trade Union to push for better working conditions. FTU president Chea Mony has written to the Ministry of Labour alleging that 20 employees who had joined the union at the M&V factory in Kampong Chhnang province had been told their contracts were expiring at the end of September. Phnom Penh Post and related story • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Firm fined over cooling tower drowning
Scottish maintenance contractor Epsco has been fined £35,000 after a man drowned in a water filled sump at a North Wales power station. Employee Michael Benn, 37, was one of a team of three working to remove sludge and debris from part of a cooling tower at Connah's Quay Power Station on 27 August 2007.
HSE news release • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Head blow changed worker’s personality
A 56-year-old self-employed construction worker suffered permanent personality changes after a 10kg stone fell nearly three metres and hit him on the head. Paul Hinton had been hired by Elegance Building Contractors Ltd to work at a domestic property, which did not have brick guards on the scaffolding to stop materials falling below.
HSE news release and working at height on site webpage • Construction Enquirer • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Britain: Builder thrown from telehandler bucket
A construction worker was severely injured when he was catapulted from a telehandler bucket while dismantling a redundant aerial mast. David Thomson, 22, was working as part of a Ness Engineering team removing the mast at the former RAF remote radar installation at Unst, Shetland, on 23 August 2010.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 525 • 1 October 2011

Hazards news, 24 September 2011

Britain: Unions will fight safety cuts
Unions have reaffirmed their commitment to fight cuts in the Health and Safety Executive and attacks on safety laws. Delegates to TUC’s Congress called on the the TUC to “continue to be actively involved in campaigning with all affiliates affected by any watering down of health and safety imposed through the government’s health and safety reform” and to do the groundwork on a legal challenge to “prevent harm” prior to any damaging policies being implemented.
UCATT news release • Health and safety motion carried at TUC Congress 2011 • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

USA: Cutting regulations shortens lives
US conservatives have stoked their war against “big government”, bidding to freeze federal actions to protect the public by introducing an anti-regulation regulation. According to award-winning journalist Michelle Chen: “The proposed ‘Regulatory Time-Out Act,’ which would impose a one-year moratorium on ‘significant’ new regulations, takes aim at regulations that keep industry from dumping poison in rivers or accidentally blowing up factory workers—in other words, policies that capitalists call ‘job killers’.”
In These Times • Related information: We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Union calls for tighter regulations after mine deaths
The National Union of Miners (NUM) has called for tighter health and safety regulations in the mining industry following the death of four workers at a South Wales mine. South Wales Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have launched an investigation, with oversight from the Wales Office, into the flooding at Gleision drift mine at Cilybebyll in the Swansea valley.
Wales Office/HSE joint statement • Morning Star • BBC News Online • Hazards magazine • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Rail cuts heighten terror ‘threat’
Rail union RMT has called on the government to “wholly reject” the McNulty Rail Review proposals to axe station-based staff and guards on trains in the light of a warning that the railway system faces a “substantial” terrorist threat. RMT says a “stark intelligence report” from Southeastern Railways setting out a strategy for dealing with a Mumbai or Norway style “Active Shooter” attack on the railways includes a warning that such an attack is a “strong possibility.”
RMT news release • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

USA: Food giant pays for PPE time robbery
More than 17,000 Tyson poultry workers in 41 US plants have won a $32 million (£20.7m) lawsuit after a 12-year struggle to get paid for the time they spent donning essential protective clothing. Foodworkers’ union UFCW initiated the suit, which was approved by the United States District Court in Georgia.
UFCW news release • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Unions condemn axing of marine safety units
The government’s decision to axe two key maritime safety services has been condemned as “short-sighted” and “dangerous” by unions. TUC and Nautilus were responding to the announcement by shipping minister Mike Penning that the government will stop funding the Maritime Incident Response Group (MIRG) and the Emergency Towing Vessel Service (ETV), which were set up to ensure an effective response to serious incidents at sea.
TUC news release • Nautilus news release • DfT statement • BBC News Online •
The Coastguard, Emergency Towing Vessels and the Maritime Incident Response Group: Government Response to the Committee's Sixth Report of Session 2010-12 [pdf] • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Journalists must be protected from attacks
Journalists must be protected from violent attacks from groups like the English Defence League (EDL), unions have said. Delegates to TUC’s annual congress, held this month in London, supported an emergency motion presented by National Union of Journalists (NUJ) executive member Anita Halpin, who explained how journalists going about their jobs had been abused and assaulted by members of the far-right organisation.
Morning Star • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: FBU criticises dangerous riot report
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has criticised a report by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) which claims it had enough resources to cope during last month’s riots. The union’s regional secretary, Joe MacVeigh, said: “Publishing one-sided, self-congratulating and disingenuous reports is neither in the interests of Londoners nor firefighters who too often during the riots were exposed to real dangers because of a lack of resources.”
FBU news release • LFB news release and full report [pdf] • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Lack of resources not safety hampers schools
School students are missing out on science practicals and school trips because of a lack of resources and appropriately trained staff and not because of safety concerns, the Commons Science and Technology Committee has concluded. The committee found there “was no credible evidence” that safety concerns were contributing to a decline in practicals and school trips.
Commons Science and Technology Committee news release and full report [pdf] • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Worker exposed to high levels of blue asbestos
A company in Bath has been fined £600 with £6,013.45 costs after a builder was exposed to high levels of deadly blue asbestos. Jonathan Arnold, 49, was fitting pipework for a new central heating system at Oxford House, in Combe Down, Bath when he was exposed to high levels of loose-fill blue asbestos, also known as crocidolite.
HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Tory MPs rebuked for asbestos ‘contempt’
A support group for sufferers of asbestos related diseases has condemned the behaviour of two Tory MPs during a committee debate on the impact of legal aid cuts. The group, which attended a hearing of the public bill committee on 13 September to hear the debate on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Prosecution of Offenders Bill, said that Conservative MPs Ben Wallace and Ben Gummer had behaved like “rowdy public schoolboy” and displayed “contempt” for working people.
Asbestos Forum news release [pdf] • Morning Star • Public Bill Committee hearing, 13 September • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011Britain: DWP jumps the gun in move to rob the dying
Thousands of terminally-ill people have begun receiving letters warning them their benefits could be cut in next year even though parliament has yet to approve the changes. Under Welfare Reform Bill proposals being scrutinised in the Lords, Contributory Employment Support Allowance (CESA) will be time-limited to 12 months from April 2012.
Disability Alliance news release • BBC News Online • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Colombia: Seven killed in gold mine disaster
Seven miners were killed in a cave-in at a gold mine in a remote area of western Colombia, officials have confirmed. Ingeominas, Colombia's national mining institute, said five of the victims of the 14 September incident were women.
Latin America Herald Tribune • Yahoo News • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Betting shop fined for armed raid dangers
A betting shop that was raided by an armed gang has been fined £10,000 for failing to increase security before the attack – despite being advised by officials to do so. Two female workers were opening a betting shop owned by national chain William Hill in Netherton, Merseyside, on the morning of 17 April last year when a man armed with a knife burst in and ordered the terrified staff to hand over cash.
Liverpool Echo • Crosby Herald • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Site manager ignoring safety notices
A Cardiff construction site manager has been fined after ignoring two legally binding safety orders issued to protect workers from injury. Haider Zaman, 53, trading as Pride Builders, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for ignoring two improvement notices served while he was refurbishing two residential properties.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Contractor convicted over dangerous scaffold
A Hastings scaffolding contractor and erector have both been fined after handing over unsecured scaffolding to a client, putting builders at risk. Totalscaff (GB) Ltd was found guilty and Christian Ball, 35, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, and were £20,000 plus £10,000 costs and £2,500 and £2,274 costs respectively.
HSE news release and working at height in construction webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Australia: Union goes to court after being barred
Australian construction union CFMEU is taking building materials giant Boral to court after union safety specialists were barred from entering a company facility to investigate a complaint. The union claims its officials were locked out of Boral's plasterboard distribution centre in Fyshwick twice in recent months after they tried to investigate worker complaints about the presence of asbestos.
Canberra Times • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Foodie Farm fined over potato harvester horror
Farming partnership GJ Orr has been fined £112,500 after a worker was crushed to death in a potato harvesting machine in Scotland. Keith Wannan, 34, died en route to hospital after he was pulled from the machine, where he had been stuck for up to 30 minutes, at Foodie Farm near Cupar, Fife.
HSE news release and agricultural machinery webpages • The Sun • BBC News Online • The Courier • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011 

Britain: Worker catches on fire on London site
A construction worker sustained serious burns when the top half of his body was set ablaze in an electrical explosion at a poorly managed London building refurbishment. The 35-year-old subcontractor for Pineview Interiors Ltd, whose name has not been released, was injured on 30 April 2010 after cutting through the main 415 volt electrical cable to the construction job with a hammer and chisel.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Britain: Scottish Hazards Conference, Glasgow, 17 November 2011
The 2011 Scottish Hazards Conference will take place in Glasgow on 17 November. This year’s theme is ‘Health and safety – a better way for Scotland’.
Health and safety: A better way for Scotland, 11th Scottish Hazards Conference, STUC, 333 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, Thursday, 17 November 2011. Delegate application form [pdf]. Further details from Kathy Jenkins, Scottish Hazards Campaign, tel: 0131 477 0817. Deadline for booking, 28 October 2011 • Risks 524 • 24 September 2011

Hazards news, 17 September 2011

Britain: Rush job warnings after major site incidents
Three serious incidents as contractors rushed to finish work on a major retail complex have prompted safety warnings from campaigners. Construction union UCATT called for far higher levels of safety awareness on the final stages of major retail projects, following the spate of incidents at London’s Stratford City Shopping Complex, which opened on 13 September.
UCATT news release • The Independent • Construction Enquirer • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Sweden: Paid exercise time works for firms
Businesses are increasingly concerning themselves with the health and well-being of their staff, with a preponderance of lifestyle initiatives urging workers to exercise and eat healthily. But if firms really want to see the benefits of a fitter workforce, they should give them paid time at work to take the exercise, the experience in Sweden suggests. Local Sweden • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: Overheated staff want ministers to ‘cool it!’
The bakery union BFAWU is telling the government to introduce a maximum workplace temperature to protect workers from cooking on the job. The union’s ‘Cool It!’ campaign was launched at the TUC’s Congress in London and saw BFAWU members handing out leaflets to every delegate.
BFAWU news release and campaign materials [pdf] • Early Day Motion (EDM) 2151 • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: Time to change the dangerous dogs law
As MPs return from their summer break, animal charity RSPCA and communications union CWU are calling for urgent changes to dangerous dogs laws. CWU and RSPCA joined a cross-party delegation of MPs to meet Lord Henley, the minister responsible for overseeing related legislation.
CWU news release • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Global: Dramatic rise in work-related deaths
The number of people dying as a result of work-related injuries and diseases has soared, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has found. Although workplace injury deaths had fallen between 2003 and 2008, there had been a dramatic increase in deaths from work-related diseases.
ILO news release and questions and answers on global trends • Full report: Global trends and challenges on occupational safety and health, ILO, September 2011 [pdf] • BWI news release • World Congress on Safety and Health at Work • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: Tetley makes tea bag maker unemployed
Tea giant Tetley has paid compensation to a former employee who suffered a career ending injury at its factory in Stockton on Tees. GMB member Linda Gray, 44, damaged her shoulder lifting a 25kg reel.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: Could union learning nurture safety reps?
Unions continue to play an effective role in representing workers, a report has concluded, with some non-traditional activities like ‘unionlearn’ sometimes acting an incubator for new union safety reps.
What role for unions in the future of workplace relations?, ACAS, September 2011 [pdf]. TUC Stronger Unions blog • Unionlearn guidance on ULRs • The Union Effect - How unions make a difference to health and safety, TUC, 2011 • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

France: Nuke waste recycling blast kills one
An explosion in a nuclear waste recycling plant in the south of France which killed one worker and injured four others has prompted calls for greater transparency and union involvement in devising and implementing safety systems. The blast, close to the Marcoule nuclear power station, near Avignon, was an “industrial accident” and not an explosion in, or near, a nuclear reactor, French authorities said.
S&D news release • The Independent • BBC News Online • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: HSE says talk to the machine
Most workplace injuries and dangerous incidents are no longer reportable by phone - and in a couple of weeks official safety advice will be consigned to the web too. Critics say the move could amplify a ‘digital divide’ on health and safety.
HSE news release and reporting changes Q&A and making complaints guide •   Construction Enquirer • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Europe: MEPs back safer oil rigs with safety reps
Euro-MPs have called for tougher oil rig safety standards, support for elected offshore safety reps and job protection for safety whistleblowers. The overwhelming  602-64 vote of the European Parliament on 13 September also backed a call “on the industry to follow best practice on safety representatives,” adding “employees should be able to elect a safety representative who is involved in safety issues at all levels of the operational and decision-making process.”
European Parliament news release • Peter Skinner MEP news release • The Independent • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

USA: BP disaster report calls for stronger regulation
A US federal government report into the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico has castigated UK multinational BP and its contractors and recommended stronger regulations and more surprise inspections by official safety agencies.
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement news release and final report [pdf] • Deepwater Joint Investigation website • BBC News Online • Wall Street Journal • Montreal Gazette • The Guardian • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: Video adds to rusting rigs fears
Lingering concerns over the state of some of the UK’s oil rigs has been rekindled by video footage showing walkways in a state of near collapse. An offshore worker can be seen in the video, which was filmed on an undisclosed rig last month, easily hammering a hole through the metal walkway of one of the platforms, sending chunks of the metal frame tumbling into the sea below.
Video footage on Facebook • Sunday Express • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: Directors fined for disregarding HSE warnings
The owners of a packaging manufacturer have been fined after deliberately ignoring formal safety warnings for more than three years. Company directors Anthony Smith and Yvonne Barrett were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after failing to install guards on machines used to produce packaging for fast food outlets.
HSE news release • Bolton News • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: Site manager sentenced after forcing drill use
A worker was left with permanent damage to his arm after being instructed by his site manager to use a heavy-duty core drill by hand on a construction site in Huddersfield. The 32-year-old worker from Rochdale, whose name has not been released, was ordered by Matthew Saville to remove a 34 kilogram, one-metre high, diamond core drill from its stand and hand-hold it to tackle a job, even though the drill's instructions specifically prohibit hand-held use.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: Company fined after man dies in machine
A firm which admitted criminal safety failures over the death of a worker at its Slough factory has been fined £200,000. Mitesh Prashar, 24, was killed while operating machinery on a night shift for Manchester-based company Duco International Ltd.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Print Week • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: Garage worker killed by exploding drum
A garage has been fined after an employee was fatally injured when a metal oil drum exploded. Martyn Massie, 23, was cutting a drum that had previously stored used engine oil at the premises of Pitmachie Garage Ltd, in Insch, Scotland.
HSE news release • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: Liverpool dock workers get high voltage shock
Crane maintenance firm Carrylift Materials Handling Ltd has been fined for criminal safety offences after two dock workers suffered injuries in a high voltage electric shock at the Seaforth Container Terminal in Liverpool. One of the men was temporarily blinded and both were burned in the 6,600 volt surge after climbing up a dockside crane to check the electricity supply on 12 March 2008.
HSE news release and electricity webpages • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Global: Nano firms are putting workers at big risk
Many major companies working with nano particles are doing little or nothing to protect their staff - and some are using “safety” measures that are making matters worse, new research suggests. Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) surveyed 78 international companies working with nanoparticles and found many are unsure about the right way to protect those handling the materials, or how to dispose of them.
New Haven Independent • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Britain: International perspectives workshop, Stirling, 27 September 2011
Stirling University’s Occupational and Environmental Health Research Group has organised a free workshop on international perspectives on occupational and environmental health and safety. The 27 September event features big-name speakers from around the world, including Professor Michael Quinlan from Australia, who is an authority on the impact of insecure work on health and safety and on the most effective regulatory approaches to deliver safe work.
International perspectives on occupational and environmental health and safety, Stirling University, 27 September 2011. Contact Professor Andrew Watterson for further details • Risks 523 • 17 September 2011

Hazards news, 10 September 2011

Britain: Unite says ‘no’ to workplace dust
The official limit for workplace dust must be lowered to protect workers from one of the work’s biggest killers, the union Unite has said. Bud Hudspith, Unite national health and safety adviser, commented: “The current dust standards are not good enough and there is strong scientific evidence to prove it.”
Unite news release and TUC dust guide [pdf] • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Don’t make slaves of migrant domestic workers
Government plans to dramatically curtail the rights of migrant domestic workers “will return us to slavery”, campaigners have warned. Workers’ rights groups and unions backed a 4 September rally in London to protest at legal changes outlined in a Home Office consultation document.
TUC Touchstone blog • Unite news release • Kalayaan news release • Home Office consultation • BBC News Online • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

USA: Walkout exposes chocolate maker’s abuses
Over 300 foreign students sat in and then walked off the job at a distribution plant in Palmyra, Pennsylvania in August, bringing into the spotlight a sordid trail of exploitation and abuse leading to premier US chocolate manufacturer Hershey. The students, from countries as diverse as China, Moldova, Nigeria, Turkey and Ukraine, had come to the US on J-1 visas – a programme ostensibly established to enable foreign students to learn about the US through a two-month work and travel programme.
IUF news report • Labor Notes • In These Times • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Health staff urged to get the seasonal flu jab
Health staff should take the opportunity to get the flu jab at work, health service union UNISON has said – and it says health service employers should ensure staff are allowed the time to get vaccinated. The union is supporting a new NHS staff vaccination campaign to be launched across England.
UNISON news release • National NHS Staff Seasonal Flu Vaccination Campaign and NHS flu fighter Facebook page • BBC News Online • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

USA: Higher cancer risk found in 9/11 firefighters
Firefighters who toiled in the wreckage of the World Trade Center in 2001 were 19 per cent more likely to develop cancer than those who were not there, a new study has found. The findings, published in the medical journal The Lancet, came from a study of almost 10,000 New York City firefighters, most of whom were exposed to the dust and smoke created by the fall of the twin towers.
David J Prezant and others. Early assessment of cancer outcomes in New York City firefighters after the 9/11 attacks: an observational cohort study, The Lancet, volume 378, issue 9794, pages 898-905, 3 September 2011. New York Times • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Usdaw reps take on violence
A new union reps’ survey tool aims to address the violence risk to retail staff. The initiative, the latest part of the ‘Freedom From Fear Campaign’ run by shopworkers’ union Usdaw “has been designed to help local Usdaw reps check that the policies and procedures that are meant to protect staff from violence and abuse are in place and are working effectively in their own store.”
Usdaw news release and reps’ survey tool • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011 

Britain: HSE moves to improve weak asbestos law
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is to change the law on asbestos at work, after accepting the current law fails to meet Europe’s minimum requirements. HSE’s admission it had under-implemented the European Commission’s 2003 directive on control of asbestos at work was first revealed by the trade union journal Hazards in April this year.
HSE consultative document [pdf] – response deadline 4 November 2011 • Hazards magazine • HSE news release and training pledge website • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Widow calls for action on asbestos in schools
The widow of a teacher who died after working in asbestos-contaminated schools for more than 20 years is to urge the government to save other families from suffering the same fate. Marilyn Butterfield said losing her husband Graham to the asbestos cancer malignant mesothelioma was “devastating.”
Irwin Mitchell news release • Telegraph and Argus • Morning Star • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Council fined over school asbestos exposures
Birmingham City Council and a Solihull refurbishment company have been fined for exposing three workers to asbestos during work on a school. Solihull Supplies Ltd was contracted by the council to refurbish the reception area at William Cowper Community Primary School, Birmingham, who then sub-contracted another firm to remove ceiling tiles at the school, but failed to carry out a proper risk assessment.
HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Cambodia: Workplace health tops factory failings
Problems with work-related ill-health, work security and overtime continue to plague the garment sector in Cambodia, according to a new study. The findings of a survey of 186 factories by the International Labor Organisation’s ‘Better Factories Cambodia’ project led the labour standards body to conclude problems in the sector will be “difficult” to resolve.
Better Factories Cambodia website • VOA News • Phnon Penh Post • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Law Society slams ‘self-serving’ insurers
Claims the country is in the grip of a 'compensation culture' are a myth, the Law Society has said. Responding to a report from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) that said Britain has a 'have a go' compensation culture, the society said the report “is entirely self-serving to the insurance industry.”
Law Society news release • ABI news release and report [pdf] • Morning Star • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Injury claim referral fees to be banned
The government has confirmed it is to ban referral fees in personal injury claims in an attempt to curb what it says is a “compensation culture”. Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said the fees are “are one symptom of the compensation culture problem and too much money sloshing through the system.”
BBC News Online • Legal Week • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Australia: Work suicide ‘epidemic’ spurs union action
An ‘epidemic’ of work-related suicide affecting construction workers in Australia has prompted a union campaign to extend support to members under strain. CFMEU’s pilot ‘Mates in Construction’ suicide prevention programme trains mentors to pick up warning signs in work colleagues and offer an understanding ear and professional help.
CFMEU news release • ACTU news release • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Man killed himself after jobs fall through
A telecoms worker took his own life after a temporary job failed to turn into long-term work, an inquest has heard. Paul Danson, 43, hoped a temporary job would be made permanent, but this and another job application came to nothing.
News and Star • Hazards magazine on work and suicide • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Firms in the dark on road safety action
Firms should do more to reduce the ‘worrying number’ of work-related road traffic accidents (RTA), the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has said. IOSH made the call after research it commissioned with the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) revealed that many companies have little idea whether their road safety strategies actually work.
IOSH news release • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Power firm fined £300k after worker electrocuted
A national power company has been fined £300,000 for failings which led to the electrocution and death of a poorly trained worker. Father-of-four Jonathan Crosby, 45, was working as an electrical overhead linesman at UK Power Networks, formerly known as EDF Energy Networks Limited, in Diss when the incident happened on 9 November 2007.
HSE news release • Norfolk Eastern Daily Press • Diss Express • Construction Enquirer • BBC News Online • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Boss pays for teen’s lost fingers
A partner in a Somerset firm has been fined after 18-year-old employee Kyle Bishop lost four fingers while working on a milling machine. Nigel Ashley of precision engineering firm Ashley's of Yeovil, appeared at the town’s Magistrates Court in a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
HSE news release • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Britain: Business owner fined over workers' facial burns
The owner of a Liverpool electrical firm has appeared in court after two of his employees suffered facial burns in a flash fire at the city's ferry terminal. Terence Hayes, the owner of Hayes Electrical and Building Services, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found electrical work had been allowed to go ahead without the power being cut.
HSE news release and electricity webpages • Crosby Herald • Construction Enquirer • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

USA: New report shows ‘Prevention Pays’
A new report from a US safety group pulls together arguments demonstrating that good safety standards aren’t just in the interests of workers, there’s a big pay off for employers too. ‘Prevention pays: Solutions to help workers and businesses thrive,’ published by San Francisco-based Worksafe, tallies the costs – human, financial, and social – of failures to protect workers’ health and safety on the job.
Worksafe news release • Prevention pays: Solutions to help workers and businesses thrive [pdf] • Risks 522 • 10 September 2011

Hazards news, 3 September 2011

Britain: TUC demands lower dust exposure ceiling
The TUC is calling for urgent action to reduce dust levels in the workplace, a problem it says is responsible for thousands of deaths in the UK every year. In new guidance sent out to all union safety reps, the TUC argues the current workplace dust exposure standards are “totally inadequate.”
TUC news release • Dust in the workplace, TUC, September 2011 [pdf] • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

USA: Surprises in the deadliest jobs list
Ten occupations in the US have a death risk at least five times the average for all jobs. Fishing tops the deadliest jobs list, with a fatality rate higher than 1 in 1,000. But these jobs did not account for the greatest number of deaths - employment trends mean some of the top slots for overall numbers of fatalities go to jobs traditionally considered “safe”.
Aol News • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: HSE’s draft manufacturing strategy slammed
A dramatically revised Health and Safety Executive (HSE) strategy for the manufacturing sector has been criticised by Unite as an “unfortunate” approach “heavily based” on the government’s cutback, enforcement averse ‘Good health and safety, good for everyone’ blueprint.
Unite news release • Hazards magazine • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Union uncovers oil rig dangers
Poorly managed oil rigs operating in British waters may have come perilously close to catastrophic explosions, documents obtained by an offshore union suggest. RMT’s offshore organiser Jake Molloy said the internal Health and Safety Executive (HSE) documents, obtained by the union in freedom of information (FoI) requests, show the industry is demonstrating “a blatant disregard for workers’ health and safety.”
The Scotsman • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

USA: ‘Stop work’ card works at ArcelorMittal
The use of a ‘stop work’ card at a US steel plant with a terrible safety record has enabled a dramatic improvement in conditions. The LaPlace steel plant in New Orleans was built in 1979 and was bought by global steel giant ArcelorMittal in 2008.
IMF news release • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Council scrimping cost carer her job
A carer was forced to take early retirement because of a severely damaged back suffered after her employer refused to invest in new equipment. The 62-year-old GMB member from Hastings has been left in constant agony after she strained her back attempting to lift a 17-stone patient.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Call for end to ‘reckless’ Tube safety override
Tube union RMT is demanded an end to the “reckless” policy of expecting drivers to override a door failsafe system. The call came after a “potentially fatal” incident in which a passenger jumped from a moving train and another was caught in its open doors.
RMT news release • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Judge backs worker against ‘blacklisting’ Carillion
Former site worker Dave Smith has won the latest stage of his legal battle against construction multinational Carillion. The case could set an important precedent as Mr Smith does not accuse the company of victimising him directly, but of enabling his victimisation by providing critical information to a covert blacklisting organisation.
Blacklist blog • Daily Mirror • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011              

Britain: Politicians not safety prompted the riots
The prime minister’s attempt to link health and safety and human rights to the August riots have been dealt a blow – with politicians themselves put in the frame. Researchers at Essex University and Royal Holloway University of London found instead a major cause of the riots was the bad example set by politicians and bankers.
Sarah Birch and Nicholas Allen, “There will be burning and a-looting tonight”: The social and political correlates of law-breaking, Political Ethics and Integrity project, Essex University/Royal Holloway University, August 2011. The Independent and earlier report • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

China: Disney faces oppressive sweatshop claims
Disney's best-selling Cars toys are being made in a factory in China that uses child labour and forces staff to do three times the amount of overtime allowed by law, according to an investigation. UK paper The Guardian reveals one worker is believed to have killed herself after being repeatedly shouted at by bosses.
The Guardian • SACOM • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Stress and workload linked to suicide death
A council lawyer hanged himself because he was “unable to cope” with his increasing workload and implementing a contentious cuts programme, an inquest has heard. David White, who had worked for the authority for more than 20 years, was found dead in Butley Woods, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, on 4 April.
BBC News Online • Daily Telegraph • The Guardian • Daily Mirror • Hazards work-related suicide webpages • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: England abandons doctors’ hours checks
The NHS in England has abandoned its monitoring of doctors’ working hours in response to a government demand to reduce ‘red tape’. A report in BMJ Careers reveals the “ministerial return” hospital trusts previously submitted on compliance with the 48 hours a week working hours ceiling stipulated in the European Working Time Directive was cancelled in August 2010 “to reduce bureaucracy.”
BMJ Careers • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Bread firm fined £1 after fall death
A London bread wholesaler has been fined £1 after a worker died of injuries sustained when he fell from a stepladder. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Ovenpride Wholesale Ltd and site manager Amjad Mahmood for failing to provide a safe system of work which, led to the death of handyman Rocco Carofalo.
HSE news release • London Evening Standard • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Recycling firm fined after vehicle injury
A County Durham waste and recycling company has been prosecuted after a worker was seriously injured when a vehicle reversed into him. Darren Decosemo was working in a sorting shed at First Skips Ltd in Shotton Colliery when the incident occurred on 8 October 2009.
HSE news release • Northern Echo • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Australia: Firefighters inflamed by drug tests plan
Firefighters in Australia are threatening industrial action over plans to introduce random drug testing in brigades across New South Wales. A new draft drug and alcohol policy developed by Fire and Rescue NSW would require the state's 7,000 full-time and part-time firefighters to give urine samples for alcohol and drug detection.
Sydney Morning Herald • ABC News • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Demolition worker dies dismantling plant
A Glasgow demolition contractor has been fined after a worker was killed when a weight from an excavator fell on him. Bernard McCarroll, 68, was dismantling a hydraulic excavator at the yard of Whiteinch Demolition Limited in Glasgow.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Roof fall results in suspended jail term
A self-employed roofing contractor has been given a suspended prison sentence after a friend fell through the roof of a domestic garage and later died of his injuries. Steve Mason had been contracted to replace a flat roof on a double garage at a house in Essex, and James Waughman was accompanying him.
HSE news release • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Two firms fined over ‘appalling’ building site
Two construction companies have been fined for overseeing “appalling” standards at a London building site. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted principal contractor Kubik Homes Ltd and subcontractor Bellway Developments Ltd after visiting the site in Wimbledon on several occasions.
HSE news release • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Britain: Worker hurt by 600kg bag of fertiliser
A fertiliser company has been fined after a worker was seriously injured when a 600kg bag of ammonium nitrate fell on him. Robert Dearlove, 32, was part of a team clearing up a spillage after several bags of ammonium nitrate fell from a stack at a Fertiliser Solutions Ltd warehouse in Middlesbrough.
HSE news release • Evening Gazette • Risks 521 • 3 September 2011

Hazards news, 27 August 2011

Britain: Unite organises for good, safe work
Improving health and safety at work requires organisation, solidarity and political awareness, the union Unite has said. General secretary Len McCluskey said these “three pillars” apply to all of Unite’s activities.
Unite health and safety guide [pdf] • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Korea: Samsung is ordered to make chip plants safer
Samsung Electronics, the world’s leading maker of computer memory chips, has been ordered by the Korean government to come up with detailed plans to improve safety at its semiconductor production facilities. A report in the Korea Joongang Daily says Samsung is being required to disclose information on toxic chemicals to its employees, as well as hire doctors to deal with workers’ health issues.
Korean Joongang Daily • Stop Samsung campaign • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Global: NUJ welcomes release of Rixos journalists
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has welcomed the release this week of journalists covering the conflict in Libya who had been unable to leave the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli. The union had called on the British Foreign Office and other authorities to assist in safeguarding the journalists, many of them NUJ members, who had been forced to stay in the hotel under the supervision of the Gaddafi regime while covering events in Libya in recent months.
NUJ news release • BBC News Online • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Warning on dangers of rail cable theft
Train drivers’ union ASLEF is warning that the lives of rail workers and passengers are being put at risk as a result of cable theft on the railway system. The union is backing an epetition calling on the government to reform the laws governing the scrap metal trade.
Epetition on Cashless Scrap Metal Trade - Amendment to Scrap Metal Merchants Act 1964 • Network Rail news release and poster • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

China: Firms must keep work health records
Authorities in China have told employers they must retain health records of all employees who are exposed to health hazards. The records, which should show the results of health checks at the beginning of, during, and at the completion of employee contracts, could be used by workers as evidence in occupational disease compensation claims.
China Daily • China Labour Bulletin • The Hard Road: Seeking justice for victims of pneumoconiosis in China, CLB report, 2010 • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Hazards out now…
The new issue of Hazards magazine is out now, and is packed with workplace health and safety news and campaign resources. Want to know about the perils of behavioural safety? It’s in there. Need hard facts to challenge the government’s assault on workplace safety protections? There too. As well as news and features, there’s a photofile on the persistent and deadly menace of child labour, and a stunning pin-up-at-work poster encouraging more women to become union safety reps.
Support Hazards by subscribing • See the latest issue online • Get the ‘Women make great safety reps’ poster • See the updated behavioural safety • women reps’ and organising webpages • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Lifting a box was bad for the back
A garden centre employee who damaged his back at work has warned employers to make sure employees are trained in manual handling techniques. GMB member Mark Lee, 41, was off work a month following the injury suffered while working for Whitleys Garden Centre in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, in 2008.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Office worker laid low by an insect bite
A tax office worker has received compensation after she suffered a septic insect bite at work when her employer failed to keep her office clean. The PCS member from Washington, Tyne and Wear, was forced to take four weeks off work after she was bitten by an unidentified insect whilst working for the HMRC.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Too few fire engines, too much violence
August’s riots left London’s emergency services stretched to breaking point and shopworkers terrified, affected groups have said.
FBU news release • BRC news release • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: TUC concern at HSE’s bizarre bans list
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) list citing the most 'bizarre' uses of 'safety' concerns to cancel activities or events in the past year has prompted a stiff rebuke for the safety watchdog from the TUC. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber responded: “Every listed in the HSE top ten relates to public safety or insurance issues and has nothing to do with health and safety as it applies to workers.”
TUC news release • Top 10 bizarre health and safety “bans” • BBC News Online • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Minister takes workers for a deadly ride
While safety minister Chris Grayling felt no need to comment on a sharp increase in workplace fatalities in his first year at the helm, or this month’s £1 fine for criminal safety failings linked to a worker’s death, or even the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) failure to investigate 95 per cent of all reported major injuries, one thing did compel him to take up the ministerial pen. And that was the decision by holiday firm Butlins to instruct staff to stop customers crashing into each other in dodgem cars. Hazards magazine • Chris Grayling’s letter to Butlins • FACK news release and letter to the minister • Morning Star • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Minister ignores work’s ‘inconvenient corpses’
An investigation by Hazards magazine has discovered the government minister responsible for workplace safety deliberately misled MPs on “the terrible human and economic cost of health and safety failings at work”. The ‘Firm Favourites’ report says Chris Grayling was “spoon-fed” a £20bn figure by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in a “suggested reply” to a parliamentary question but failed to mention the estimate “does not include the costs of long-latency disease” or that “these costs could be considerable.”
Firm favourites: HSE would rather listen to business than reason, Hazards, number 115, 2011 • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Food firm fined for forklift fatality
A food firm has been fined £100,000 after a worker was run over and killed by a forklift truck in West Lothian. George Hardie, 60, died at the Vion Food Group-owned Halls of Broxburn meat factory two years ago after being hit by a badly loaded forklift truck.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Warehouse worker run over twice by forklift
Construction materials giant SIG has been fined after a worker was seriously injured when he was run over twice by a forklift truck. Livingston Sheriff Court heard a SIG Trading Ltd forklift driver needed major surgery after the 31 March 2010 incident, including six pins and two steel plates in his shin, and screws in his ankle and toes. 
HSE news release and workplace transport webpages • Construction Enquirer • STV News • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Timber firm fined for lost thumb
A Lincolnshire timber company has been fined after employee Ben Clipston had part of his left thumb severed while using a circular saw. The injury occurred when the 20-year-old production operative at Kestrel Timber Frame Ltd in Market Deeping was cutting insulation foam.
HSE news release • Lincolnshire Free Press • Construction Enquirer • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Move towards reporting of fewer work injuries
A move proposed by a former Tory cabinet minister to slash the number of workplace injuries employers are required to report has been given the backing of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) board. The seven day plus reporting requirement suggested by Lord Young would reduce the overall number of injuries reported by an estimated 30 per cent.
Outcome of the Consultation on the Common Sense, Common Safety Proposal to Amend the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR), paper to HSE board meeting, August 2011 [pdf] • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Action over radon risks in Scotland
Simple measures to reduced radon exposures in workplaces could save dozens of lives every year, latest figures suggest. The Health Protection Agency says radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas released by certain rocks and which can seep into buildings, accounts for about 1,000 deaths a year in the UK – and almost one in five of these deaths is thought to be linked to exposures in the workplace. 
HPA news release and radon map • The burden of occupational cancer in Great Britain, HSE, 2010 [pdf] • UNISON radon at work guide [pdf] • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Busy mums more stressed out by work commute
Commuting for work is a cause of stress in women not observed in men, even though men typically spend more time getting to and from work. Researchers, who studied data from the British Household Panel Survey, suggest the reason could be that women have more responsibility for day-to-day household tasks, such as childcare and domestic chores.
Jennifer Roberts, Robert Hodgson and Paul Dolan. It's driving her mad: gender differences in the effects of commuting on psychological health, Journal of Health Economics, volume 30, issue 5, 2011 • The Mirror • The Guardian • Marie Claire • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Britain: Coroner criticises recovery trucks dangers
Equipment used by recovery truck drivers should be reviewed after a mechanic was killed trying to restart a car in Hampshire, a coroner has said.  Terry Booth, 58, died when he was hit by a car after he was not able to park his truck in a safe position while using jump leads.
BBC News Online • Risks 520 • 27 August 2011

Hazards news, 20 August 2011

Britain: Union safety demands kill infections
Rates of hospital infections have been reduced dramatically where the union line on prevention has been followed, figures from the UK and USA indicate.
UNISON news release • HPA webpage on healthcare associate infections • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: ‘Intolerable’ safety get-out in Wales NHS
Construction union UCATT believes health service employers in Wales will escape criminal proceedings for safety offences, as a result of legislative errors made in a recent NHS reorganisation.
UCATT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

USA: Report shows safety regulations save lives
Five major US workplace health and safety rules, most of which were initially opposed by industry, have saved thousands of lives, prevented tens of thousands of injuries and in at least one case dramatically improved productivity, a new report has shown. The analysis by thinktank Public Citizen comes as the US business lobby ramps up efforts to gut the USA’s regulatory system.
Public Citizen news release and full report, Regulations at Work: Five rules that save workers’ lives and protect their health • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: The writing’s on the wall for safety
Retail union Usdaw has become the latest to take to the walls in a bid to improve workplace organisation around health and safety. Two new posters present bald messages for the workplace noticeboard: ‘Let’s work together for health and safety’; and ‘Put health and safety first.’
Usdaw resources pages and posters • Check out the Hazards magazine poster gallery • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

New Zealand: Tragedy leads to high hazards action
Unions in New Zealand have welcomed the creation of a new High Hazards Unit in the official health and safety enforcement agency, focusing on petroleum production and mining industries. The Council of Trade Unions (CTU) saying a beefed up inspectorate is absolutely necessary, as has been evident from the first phase of the official inquiry into the November 2010 explosion at Pike River in which 29 miners died.
NZCTU news release • NZ Department of Labour news release and Pike River webpages • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: Hope for swifter justice after work deaths
Moves to speed up the justice system following the death of a worker have been welcomed by construction union UCATT. The union says changes to the Work Related Deaths Protocol (WRDP) to take effect in October 2011 may significantly reduce this time lag.
UCATT news release • Morning Star • HSE guidance on the Work Related Deaths Protocol • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: Prospect slams ‘irresponsible’ government
Health and safety legislation is neither excessive nor damaging to innovation, Prospect has told an independent review ordered by the government. Prospect, which includes 1,500 Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors and specialists in its membership is warning that it is not regulation but non-compliance and poor interpretation of the rules that should be of greatest concern.
Prospect news release and submission to the Löfstedt review • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Global: Unions pact with steel firm saves lives
A safety pact between unions and the world’s largest steel producer has resulted in a dramatic reduction in workplace injuries. A report launched by metals giant ArcelorMittal and union bodies the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF), United Steelworkers (USW), and the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) reviews how unions and management have been working together to deliver better safety results for ArcelorMittal.
IMF news release • joint report and full text of the global health and safety agreement [pdf] • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: Safety should be the top riot concern
The police and employers must ensure that if there is any repeat of last week’s riots the safety of shopworkers, customers and local residents is their number one priority, the retail union Usdaw has said.
Usdaw news release and advice to members • Retail Trust guidance • BRC news release • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: PM’s riot act exposes his anti-safety obsession
The extent of David Cameron’s antipathy to rules protecting people from sometimes deadly injuries and diseases at work has been exposed in a speech. Campaigners have accused the prime minister of being “crass and insulting” after he claimed “health and safety” bore some of the responsibility for this month’s riots.
David Cameron’s speech, 15 August 2011 • Conservative Party news release • Hazards Campaign news release • Morning Star • The Guardian • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Canada: Widow stands firm against government threats
An asbestos widow in Canada has been threatened with legal action after using the logo of the ruling Conservative party in an online advert critical of its support for global asbestos trade. The threatening letter to Michaela Keyserlingk appears to have backfired on the government, and has ensured her crusade against asbestos has become a major news story worldwide
Michaela Keyserlingk’s ban asbestos exports website • Toronto Star • Sierra Club of Canada blog • Global Toronto • Ottawa Citizen • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: Satellite dish firm fined £1 after fatal roof fall
Satellite TV installation firm Foxtel Ltd has been fined £1 following the death of a worker who fell while working on a roof. Engineer Noel Corbin, 29, suffered fatal head injuries after falling 13.5 metres from a four-storey house onto a side patio in Belsize Park, London on 3 February 2008.
HSE news release • Camden New Journal • Construction Enquirer • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: Confectionery death firm maims worker
A major sweet manufacturer that was last year convicted and fined £300,000 after the death of worker has been fined again after an employee had a finger severed. Both Tangerine Confectionery Limited employees were clearing machine blockages.
HSE news release • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: Iraq-Iran war mustard gas caused BBC death
A BBC Newsnight sound recordist died 27 years after inhaling mustard gas while covering the war between Iran and Iraq, an inquest has heard. Cyril Benford had been with colleagues in 1984 when an Iranian soldier opened a shell releasing the gas.
BBC News Online • Daily Telegraph • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Australia: New research explores work bereavement
The impact of workplace fatalities on the families left behind has been considered for the first time by researchers. A team led by Michael Quinlan, a professor in organisation and management at the Australian School of Business, found a significant impact on families, both emotionally and financially.
UNSW Knowledge publication • Workplace Tragedy Family Support Group • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: Handyman cheats death in factory fall
A Burnley handyman escaped with his life when he fell through a fragile roof at a factory in the town. Engineering firm Lupton and Place was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident on 23 September 2010.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: Pork giant fined after worker severs fingers
The UK's biggest producer of pork products has been fined after a worker severed two fingers in an unguarded mixing machine. The 60-year-old, from Branston, Lincolnshire, lost the index and middle fingers on his right hand and damaged his ring finger in the incident at Tulip Ltd's factory in Ruskington on 10 December 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Britain: Recycler fined £80,000 after skips crush worker
A recycling firm that failed to show “basic consideration” for its workforce has been fined £80,000 after an incident where a worker was crushed between two skips. Steven Graham, 46, was trapped between the skips at a recycling centre in Ayr, run by Lowmac Alloys, after an 18-tonne shovel loader hit one of the skips.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Letsrecycle.com • Risks 519 • 20 August 2011

Hazards news, 13 August 2011

Britain: UNISON calls for safety action now
Union members must ‘act now’ to protect workplace health and safety rights and standards from an unprecedented attack, public sector union UNISON has said. Its short guide on ‘The threat to health and safety’ says the system protecting workers “is under greater threat now than at any other time.”
The threat to health and safety: Act now to fight the government cuts, UNISON, August 2011 [pdf] • We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

USA: Green jobs can be just as deadly
A surge in alternative energy projects and employment in the US is seeing inexperienced workers recruited to jobs they do not have the skills, training or supervision to do safely, US reports suggest.
ITUC/Hazards green jobs/safe jobs blog • Los Angeles Times • FairWarning • OSHA green jobs webpages • In These Times • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Journalists targeted in civil unrest
 Journalists covering civil unrest in the UK need to plan accordingly and take appropriate precautions, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has warned. Its guidance came on 9 August, after reports of a number of journalists having been targeted as riots affected several cities.
NUJ news release •  INSI civil disturbance checklist for journalists • The Guardian • Risks 518 •13 August 2011

Britain: FBU calls for an end to attacks on fire crews
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is warning that attacks on fire crews are creating “a very real risk” of deaths. Commenting on 9 August, after three days of riots in a number of cities, FBU assistant general secretary Andy Dark he said: “There is a very real risk that this will result in a significant loss of life if it goes on.”
FBU news release • Risks 518 •13 August 2011

USA: Bad jobs and brain disease in the slaughterhouse
Immigrant workers on poverty wages have been recruited for the dirtiest, most dangerous jobs in the industrial production of Spam – and some developed a deadly work-related brain disease as a result. ‘The Spam Factory's Dirty Secret,’ a feature in the US magazine Mother Jones, relates the recent troubled history of the Hormel Foods plant in Austin, Minnesota.
Mother Jones • In These Times • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Dedicated workers deserve calm, says Unite
Rioting is achieving nothing other than ruining lives and putting workers at risk, the leader of the union Unite has said. Appealing for calm, general secretary Len McCluskey said: “Workers also need to know that they can go about their business in the community in safety, particularly in the transport sector where bus drivers have been placed in the most dreadful and dangerous of situations in recent days.”
Unite news release and related release on transport safety • Morning Star • Risks 518 •13 August 2011

Britain: TUC microsite will help vulnerable workers
A new online resource aims to help ‘vulnerable’ workers obtain details on their employment and safety rights at work. The TUC says it Basic Rights @ Work microsite will introduce these vulnerable workers to information about employment rights in the UK and how to enforce these rights through statutory enforcement bodies.
TUC news release and Basic Rights @ Work microsite, including the health and safety section and HSE video • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Global: Unions target 'most dangerous' fishing sector
A ‘From Catcher to Counter’ programme to build worker representation and improve conditions in the fishing industry worldwide has been launched by global union federations ITF and IUF. The new initiative is designed to cover the whole industry from ‘catcher to counter’ with the aim to increase union membership and power.
ITF news release • IUF news release. and From Catcher to Counter website • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Ladder fall had devastating consequences
An electrician suffered a devastating back injury after falling from a ladder at work. Anthony Smallwood, 66, a Unite member at Technique Projects Ltd, must now use a wheelchair because the fall exacerbated an old back injury.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Third worker dies at Sonae chipboard factory
The third worker to die at the Sonae chipboard factory since December 2010 has been named as demolition worker James Dennis Kay, 62. Local Labour MP George Howarth, an outspoken critic of the factory, commented: “There is still little, if any, evidence that Sonae has resolved the underlying problems with safety and stability at the plant.”
Statement from George Howarth MP • Liverpool Daily Post • BBC News Online • BBC Radio Merseyside • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Quarry job caused disabling lung disease
A former stone mason who contracted a debilitating occupational lung disease caused by breathing stone dust has received a payout from the Bradford quarry where he worked for a decade. The 61-year-old suffers severe breathing difficulties and struggles to walk or climb stairs after contracting silicosis, caused by inhaling silica dust made airborne when working the sandstone quarried by Fagley Quarries Ltd.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Telegraph & Argus • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Brewery in court twice in a day
An international brewery giant has appeared twice in a day before Cannock magistrates for criminal health and safety breaches. Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Ltd said the incidents, when three workers were sprayed with caustic chemicals and one was run over by a forklift, were “a matter of great regret”.
HSE news releases on Burton Brewery caustic soda and forklift injury news releases • Burton Mail • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Unguarded print machine mangled hand
The hand of a print worker was mutilated by an unguarded machine, a court has heard. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation at Ancient House Press found a fixed guard that would have prevented access to the underside of the machine had been removed, and around 20 other guards and safety devices on machines around the factory were also missing or disabled.
HSE news release • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Unguarded bandsaw removed three fingers
A County Durham manufacturing firm has been fined after a contract worker had three fingers severed while using a bandsaw. John Houston, 39, was working as a contractor for Derek Parnaby Cyclones International Ltd, which manufactures and installs mineral processing and effluent treatment systems and equipment.
HSE news release • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Australia: Home improvement shows overlook risks
TV home improvement programmes should include an on-air warning in each show about the dangers of asbestos, a top Australian union body has said. Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon said: “These programmes are wildly popular and present a tremendous opportunity to outline the potential danger of asbestos as part of any home renovation.”
Unions NSW news release • Daily Telegraph • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Worker stung by scorpion at ‘low risk’ grocer
A Scottish shop worker is recovering at home after being stung by a scorpion while opening a box of bananas at a Farmfoods store. It is at least the third time in three years grocery workers in the UK have been confronted by a scorpion at work.
STV News • BBC News Online • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Wrist crushed in defective machine
A metal roofing company has been prosecuted after a Cardiff worker suffered a serious wrist injury while operating defective production line machinery. Darren Gillard, 46, was employed by Euro Clad Ltd to make metal roof panels.
HSE news release • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Lorry cab fell on worker
A Suffolk truck dealership has been fined after a technician was trapped when the cab of a lorry fell on him, causing him to be off work for six weeks. Trevor Muffett, 60, was carrying out a routine vehicle check at Orwell Trucks when a metal prop holding up the cab gave way.
HSE news release • East Anglian Daily News • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Prosecutions over asbestos exposure
A Norfolk company and a contractor from Manchester have been fined after failing to manage asbestos removal work at a renovation site in Great Yarmouth. Mohammed Zahid was employed in May 2009 by Azam Bros Ltd to clear damage caused by a fire at two commercial units.
HSE news release • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Britain: Work stress network conference, Birmingham, 26-27 November 2011
The National Work Stress Network annual conference is to take place in Birmingham on the weekend of 26-27 November. The network says increasing economic and job insecurity is leading to more stress at work.
From recession to depression?, UK Stress Network national conference, Hillscourt Conference Centre, Rednal, near Birmingham, 26-27 November 2011.
UK Work Stress Network website and conference flyer and booking form [pdf] • Risks 518 • 13 August 2011

Hazards news, 6 August 2011

Britain: Safety report damns London fire brigade
London Fire Brigade bosses must demonstrate a greater commitment to the safety of its firefighters, their union FBU has said. The call came after a damning report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified “recommendations for improvements” on 13 key safety failings.
FBU news release • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

USA: Hyatt hotel tries to fry workers
 Late in July, when hotel workers at the Park Hyatt Chicago hotel went on strike after nearly two years of fruitless negotiations, they set up a picket line at the front entrance. That’s when management turned the heat on, literally, by firing up 10 heat lamps in the awning above the entrance - on a day when the National Weather Service had issued an excessive heat warning for temperatures above 100 degrees.
Labor Notes. In These Times • AFL-CIO Now blog • CBS Chicago • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Schools guidance leaves staff at attack risk
Government advice on “use of reasonable force” by school staff to deal with violent pupils is approaching the problem the wrong way and leaving staff at risk, the union GMB has warned.
GMB news release • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Site bosses must act on skin cancer risk
The construction industry must take decisive action to ensure the risk of construction workers developing skin cancer is dramatically reduced, site union UCATT has said. The call came after a July report published by the Society of Occupational Medicine found that some construction workers were nine times more likely to develop skin cancer than other workers from similar social groups.
UCATT news release • Morning Star • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

USA: OSHA plans to protect whistleblowers
Workplace safety whistleblowers will have greater protection from victimisation, the US government safety watchdog OSHA has said. It says new measures will improve investigator training and avoid long delays in completing investigations.
OSHA news release and whistleblower factsheet • FairWarning • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Diabetic stands up to AA ‘intimidation’
A diabetic AA patrolman was singled out for daily performance reviews and pushed to quit in an act of deliberate discrimination, an employment tribunal has ruled. Roadside recovery worker Paul Bailey won his case against the Automobile Association, after alleging that management subjected him to “direct disability discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, harassment and failure to make reasonable adjustments” in the course of his work.
GMB news release • Morning Star • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Caretaker overcome by noxious fumes
A caretaker who was exposed to noxious fumes at work passed out, fracturing his ribs. Unite member Desmond Groom, 44, from Cannock in Walsall struck his side on a sink as he collapsed, after starting to use a new cleaning product supplied by his employer, Burrowes Street Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) Ltd.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Unite seeks justice for growing asbestos toll
Asbestos disease is affecting growing numbers in the North West, figures from the union Unite suggest. Since January 2010, Unite members and their families in the region have received £1.5m asbestos compensation.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: IOSH calls for strong laws and duties on directors
There is “no scope” for cutting laws but safety could be improved if there were “positive directors’ duties”, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has said. The comments came in the IOSH response to the government-commissioned Löfstedt review.
IOSH news release • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Dad-to-be's death exposes safety flaws
A Sheffield crane driver died from massive crush injuries just weeks before he was due to become a father, a court has been told. Alan Winters, 28, was killed when he and colleagues attempted to unload a four-ton crate from a shipping container at the DavyMarkham Ltd factory in Sheffield, on 15 July 2008.
HSE news release • We Didn’t Vote to Die at Work campaign and Want to know about burdens? poster • Sheffield Star • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Firm pays £30,000 for three fingers
A St Helens napkin and tablecloth manufacturer has been fined £30,000 after mother-of-three Cheryl Bridge lost three fingers when her hand was crushed between two printer rollers. Emboss (Europe) Ltd, which produces paper tablecloths, napkins and placemats was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident on 7 January 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Worker was dragged through CD-sized gap
A South Yorkshire engineering firm and a German machine supplier have been sentenced for safety failings after a worker sustained horrific injuries but miraculously escaped with his life after being dragged through a gap no wider than a CD case. Compass Engineering Ltd and Kaltenbach Ltd were jointly prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at the Compass Engineering factory in Barnsley, on 19 December 2008.
HSE news release • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Letwin wants more deadly job insecurity
The government’s policy chief has revealed the government's determination to instil a real “fear” of job losses in public sector workers. The comments from Oliver Letwin, architect of the coalition's plans to reform public services, came as new research highlights the deadly consequences of job insecurity.
The Guardian • Pekka Virtanen, Urban Janlert and Anne Hammarström. Exposure to temporary employment and job insecurity: a longitudinal study of the health effects, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, volume 68, issue 8, pages 570-574, 2011 • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Thailand: ‘Disbelief’ at labour court safety ruling
Unions worldwide have responded with ‘shock and disbelief’ to a Thai Labour Court decision to allow the dismissal of seven leaders of the SRUT railway workers’ trade union for their part in safety-related industrial action two years ago. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “The decision of the Thai Labour Court is a politically motivated attack on a rail union that has done nothing other than fight for safety on their rail network.”
ITF news release and study of safety standards at SRT • ITUC news release • RMT news release • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Government inciting ‘hatred’ of disabled
Over 50 charities have condemned the government for "contributing to hatred towards disabled people" by portraying them as work-shy scroungers. The Disability Benefits Consortium said the government is using “dangerously misleading” statistics to fuel claims that high numbers of benefits claimants are faking.
Disability Benefits Consortium statement • TUC Touchstone blog • Morning Star • Daily Mail • The Sun • Daily Express • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Labourer fell off unguarded stair
A building labourer broke two ribs after falling off the edge of a temporary staircase after a guardrail was removed. David Tourish, 38, was working for Walker Group (Scotland) Ltd on a house build in Edinburgh, when he and a colleague were asked to carry some doors upstairs to keep them out of the way during building work.
HSE news release • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Lorry reversed into worker's head
Tufnells Parcels Express Ltd has been fined £150,000 and ordered to pay £19,000 in court costs after an employee was seriously injured when his skull was crushed by a reversing lorry at the company's depot. Simon Mason, 22, was working the nightshift as a warehouse porter.
HSE news release and workplace transport webpages • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Massive factory blaze put lives at risk
Two firms held criminally responsible for a huge fire which ripped through a factory putting lives at risk have been ordered to pay a total of £224,530 in fines and costs. At its height, the fire at the Greenaway Environmental site in Crewe spread to more than 10,000 square metres - nearly one and a half times the size of a Premiership football pitch.
HSE news release and fire and explosion webpages • Staffordshire Sentinel • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Britain: Site firms fined £300,000 for motorway death
Birse and Serco have been fined a total of £300,000 after a roadworker died as a result of a 12 metres fall while working over the M5 motorway. Cecil Grant, 42, was repairing CCTV cameras used to monitor one lane of the motorway near Clevedon during the night of 24 January 2006, when he fell off a wall into bushes below, suffering serious injuries.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

Japan: Fukushima radiation discovered at lethal levels
Pockets of lethal levels of radiation have been detected at Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in a fresh reminder of the risks faced by workers battling to contain the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
The Guardian and earlier report on heat stress • Risks 517 • 6 August 2011

 

Hazards news, 30 July 2011

Britain: TUC warns that safety must not be undermined
The TUC has said it will “strongly oppose” any government moves to undermine workplace health and safety protection. The statement comes in a written submission to the government commissioned Löfstedt review of workplace health and safety.
TUC submission to the Löfstedt inquiry • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Fit for work tests are about cutting costs
The government is more interested in saving money that providing genuine assistance so those that are sick or have disabilities can move into work, the TUC has said. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The government needs to do much more to help disabled people back into jobs, rather than cracking down on the benefits they get when they are unable to work.”
TUC news release • DWP news release and incapacity benefit and Access to Work figures.  Work and Pensions Committee news release • BBC News Online • The Guardian • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

USA: Watchdog lists 147 ‘severe violators’
Major global companies including Kraft Foods Global are among the 147 employers identified by the US government’s workplace safety watchdog OSHA as “severe violators” of worker health and safety standards. Federal OSHA posted on its website a document listing employers in 30 US states who meet the agency's criteria of “recalcitrant employers who endanger workers by demonstrating indifference to their responsibilities under the law.”
OSHA listing [pdf] • The Pump Handle • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Stop bullying disabled claimants, says PCS
Reports that the vast majority of disabled claimants are fit for work should not be trusted, the union representing workers in the benefits system has said. PCS, which has thousands of members in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), said the tests for claimants fail to address many serious health issues.
PCS news release • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

USA: Union victory at IKEA’s Swedwood plant
Workers at IKEA’s only US factory overwhelmingly voted to unionise amid complaints they have been injured more, paid less, and treated worse than the thousands of Europeans who work for the Swedish furniture giant. The vote among workers at IKEA subsidiary Swedwood in Danville, West Virginia, was 221-69, according to IKEA and the union that will represent them in collective bargaining, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
BWI news release and BWI IKEA webpages • Washington Post • Greenfield Reporter • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Sick worker sacked just before brain surgery
A London refuse worker was fired for “excessive sick leave” just two weeks before he was due to have brain surgery. GMB member Bradley Reay, 41, was fired by Islington council contractor Enterprise.
GMB news release • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Call to axe damaging telecoms equipment  
Communications companies are being urged to withdraw dangerous equipment which is leaving engineers deafened or with hearing damage. It is thought thousands of engineers have been deafened after using British Telecom’s (BT) ‘green set’ and ‘yellow set’ oscillators, which are widely used in the sector.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Trainee furnace worker injured twice
A GMB member who was injured in the workplace twice in a period of weeks has received £8,000 in compensation. The 42-year-old from Brownhills in Walsall, whose name has not been released, had received no manual handling training in his job as a trainee furnace man for Castings plc.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Global: Under fire Versace caves and bans sandblasting
Italian fashion giant Versace has become the latest brand to back a drive to end a deadly sandblasting process that gives denim a fashionable worn look. A succession of major global retailers had already banned the process, after a high profile campaign by workers’ rights groups.
Clean Clothes Campaign news release • Vogue Magazine • Financial Times • The Independent
Sign the Clean Clothes Campaign petition urging Dolce and Gabbana to stop sandblasting • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: RMT anger at return of ‘outrageous’ disaster boss
Rail union RMT has called for tighter regulation of company directors as it emerged that Paris Moayedi, the boss of rail maintenance company Jarvis at the time of the Potters Bar train smash, is floating a new “green energy” company on the stock market. The union says “not a single Jarvis director received any punishment for their role in the seven deaths at Potters Bar even though the company were found partly responsible.” RMT news release • CBI news release • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: RMT pledges to defend signals safety
Confirmation from Network Rail that it intends to reduce dramatically the number of signallers it employs has been met with concern by rail union RMT. The rail firm told the union it is looking to reduce signallers from the current level of 6,000 to 2,000 over the next 30 years.
RMT news release • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: HSE goes fundraising after government cuts
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is seeking views on its proposals for “cost recovery”, the scheme it hopes will help fill the gaping hole in its finances left by a massive government cut. HSE has opened a three-month consultation on how “cost recovery for intervention” will operate, having already agreed the underlying principle with government.
HSE news release and consultation document • Construction Enquirer • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Global: Farms linked to blood cancer risks
Growing up on a livestock farm seems to be linked to an increased risk of developing blood cancers as an adult, new research suggests. The risk of developing a blood cancer was three times as high for those who had grown up on a poultry farm, the study published online in Occupational and Environmental Medicine shows.
Andrea ‘t Mannetje and others. Farming, growing up on a farm, and haematological cancer mortality, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Online First, 27 July 2011; doi 10.1136/oem.2011.065110 [abstract] • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Flame cutter died of work-related lung disease
The widow of a Birmingham worker, who died aged 50 from occupational lung disease, has launched a search for former colleagues who may be able to help in their battle for justice. Flame cutter Timothy Alfred Dawes died on 16 July 2009 after suffering from the chronic lung disease bronchiolitis obliterans.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release. If anyone has any information which may help with Mr Dawes’ case, they can contact Ronan Hynes on 0121 214 5483 • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Skip firm fined over work death
Skip hire company C Bialek Ltd, trading as CB Skips, has been fined £150,000 after one of its employees was killed on his 33rd birthday. Salisbury Crown Court heard how on 12 February 2008, Jozef Trhan, from Slovakia, was fixing the split rim wheel on a large industrial waste removing machine called a loading shovel when the incident happened. HSE news release • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Cambodia: Union calls for probe into fainting episodes
The head of one of Cambodia’s biggest independent union’s has called for a government investigation into the fainting spells that have affected thousands of factory workers this year. Chea Mony, president of the Free Trade Union, sent letters to the ministries of Health, Environment and Labour, requesting they look into conditions at factories that are harming the health of workers.
VOA Khmer • Phnom Penh Post • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Pupils narrowly escape falling roofer
A roofer who plunged through a school roof narrowly avoided landing on pupils who had walked underneath moments earlier. Ploughcroft Building Services was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at Reddish Vale Technology College on 14 June 2010.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Man jailed for attacking nurse
A Carlisle man who punched a nurse while she tried to treat him at the city’s Cumberland Infirmary has been jailed for 90 days. Edward Partridge, 39, was told his behaviour was ‘extremely unpalatable’ and that prison was the only option.
News and Star • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Boss gets home renovation, worker gets hurt
A Somerset firm has been fined after a man broke his back, arm and ribs after falling three metres whilst working on a barn conversion at his boss’ home. Mark Clarke was helping to renovate Heathfield Barn at North Petherton, Bridgwater when the incident occurred on 11 October last year.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Britain: Firms not so bothered by safety regulations
Health and safety and employment laws have dropped down the list of the business lobby’s moans about regulation. The Forum of Private Business (FPB) says its survey found administering tax has become “the top regulatory burden” for small business owners.
FPB news release • Risks 516 • 30 July 2011

Hazards news, 23 July 2011

Britain: Safety concerns remain over new coastguard plans
Watered-down government plans to slash the number of Britain's coastguard centres will still risk lives, unions have warned. But PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “We pay tribute to our coastguard members and people in their communities who have fought so hard to defend what is a vital public service.”
PCS news release • Morning Star • BBC News Online on the revised closure plans in Scotland and Wales • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

USA: Court tells firm to ditch BS
A labour rights court in the US has ruled that a manufacturing company that tried to impose a behavioural safety system broke the law and should have negotiated with the union USW. After the ruling, USW commented: “This win by our union is timely in that some paper companies are trying to go to health and safety programmes that focus on worker behaviour.”
USW news release • NLRB decision • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Government must replace ‘useless’ dogs laws
The government should stop stalling and introduce improved dangerous dogs legislation in England and Wales to replace “a mish-mash of useless laws”, communications union CWU has said.
CWU letter to government minister James Paice, commentary, news on the debate and Dangerous Dogs - Bite Back campaign • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Legal changes will hurt victims
A government shake-up of the legal system will be bad news for many of the hundreds of thousands of people harmed by their work each year. TUC’s Hugh Robertson was commenting as the government confirmed it will press ahead with the reforms to civil compensation, including personal injury claims.
Touchstone blog • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Asbestos killed power station electrician
The family of a South Wales electrician who died from cancer caused by exposure to asbestos at a power station has been awarded “substantial compensation” following a lengthy legal battle. Unite member John Vaughan was 71 when he died from mesothelioma. He was exposed to asbestos while working at Aberthaw Power Station, which at the time was run by the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).
WalesOnline • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

New Zealand: Seafarer abuse an ‘embarrassment’
The New Zealand government has announced an inquiry into the abuse of crews on foreign fishing charter vessels in the country’s waters. Unions said the move was ‘long overdue’, adding ongoing problems with the abuse and underpayment of overseas crews on joint venture vessels in New Zealand waters have become “an international embarrassment.”
MUNZ news release • TVNZ • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Nurse compensated after fall in reception
A nurse who needs risky surgery on her spine after she slipped on a wet floor as she arrived at work has received £17,500 in compensation. The Unite member, a specialist nurse working for an NHS Trust in London, has been told she will need the operation on her back after she fell heavily.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Network Rail still getting it wrong, says regulator
Network Rail has been singled out for stinging criticism in a new report from the rail regulator, labelling its systems “ineffective” and its performance “disappointing”. The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) summarises the rail giant’s performance as: “A disappointing year with clear evidence of a poor safety culture, patchy implementation of procedures and slow progress on some key risks, often requiring formal enforcement.” ORR news release and full report • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Boston fire’s Lithuanian victims identified
Five men killed in an explosion at an industrial unit in Lincolnshire have been identified by police. In response to questions from Hazards magazine, the Health and Safety Executive indicated they were not involved in the investigation and were not treating the incident, involved an industrial process in industrial premises, as an industrial accident because it was a criminal activity.
Lincolnshire Police news release and earlier release • BBC News Online • Hazards magazine • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Offshore improvements need to be faster
The offshore industry needs to “pick up the pace” if it is going to meet its target to reduce potentially catastrophic oil and gas leaks, the offshore regulator has said. The warning came as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) released figures showing the number of offshore oil and gas leaks that could potentially lead to a major incident fell in 2010/11.
HSE news release and Offshore Safety Statistics Bulletin • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: M&S convicted of safety crimes
Marks and Spencer plc and two of its contractors have been convicted for putting members of the public, staff and construction workers at risk of exposure to asbestos-containing materials during the refurbishment of two stores. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the retail giant, Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd and PA Realisations Ltd (formerly Pectel Ltd).
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Workers survive electrical fireball
Global packaging firm Innovia Films Ltd has been fined £90,000 and £26,790 costs after two workers suffered life-threatening injuries when they were engulfed by a fireball at a factory in Cumbria. Gordon Metcalf, 62, and apprentice electrician Raymond Crumpler, were about to clean debris from a damaged fuse box when a ball of fire shot out, setting their clothes alight.
HSE news release • News and Star • Construction Enquirer • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Industrial 'corkscrew' removes arm
A Leicestershire manufacturing firm has been fined after an employee's arm was torn off by a giant industrial 'corkscrew' as he was carrying out repairs. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted London Concrete Ltd after a manager accidentally turned on an auger - a large corkscrew-like machine which moves dry materials from one level to another - while it was being repaired at a factory in Gerrards Cross.
HSE news release • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Worker injured by falling truck
Nottingham cleaning products manufacturer Revelholme Marketing Ltd has been found guilty of criminal safety offences after an employee was seriously injured when a powered industrial truck toppled and fell on him. The worker, who has asked not to be named, suffered a fractured cheekbone, multiple skull injuries and long term impaired vision after the incident, which happened when he was helping load a lorry using a semi-electric stacker truck.
HSE news release • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Skin cancer warning for construction workers
Britain’s 2.4 million construction workers need protection from potentially deadly over-exposure to the sun, the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) has warned. The alert came as new research published in SOM’s journal, Occupational Medicine, suggested skin cancer in construction workers could be as common as asbestos-related disease.
SOM news release • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: Reports highlight growing cancer risk
Two reports have highlighted a growing risk of getting cancer in the UK, as global cancer experts call for urgent measures to address neglected occupational and environmental causes of cancer.
Macmillan Cancer Support news release • CRUK news release and related blog entry •  The Guardian • BBC News Online • Landrigan PJ, Espina C, Neira M. Global prevention of environmental and occupational cancer, Environmental Health Perspectives, volume 119:a280-a281, 2011. doi:10.1289/ehp.1103871 • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Britain: TUC guide to using safety statistics
The TUC has published a short union safety reps’ guide to finding and using safety statistics.  It says a safety rep’s first stop should be with the employer.
Statistics - how to find them and use them: Guidance for health and safety representatives • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Global: WHO backs work-related cancer action call
Urgent action is needed to tackle the occupational and environmental exposures “responsible for a substantial percentage of all cancers,” a new report says. The paper published in the online journal Environmental Health Perspectives, says “credible estimates” suggest these exposures could account for up to 1 in every 5 cancers. Landrigan PJ, Espina C, Neira M. Global prevention of environmental and occupational cancer, Environmental Health Perspectives, volume 119:a280-a281, 2011. doi:10.1289/ehp.1103871. The Asturias Declaration: A call to action [pdf] • Risks 515 • 23 July 2011

Hazards news, 16 July 2011

Britain: Report confirms ‘strong’ union safety effect
Workplace injuries would be slashed ‘at a stroke’ if all workplaces had a union health and safety rep, a new TUC report has concluded. TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson, author the 2011 edition of TUC’s ‘The Union Effect’ report, it “shows that the most effective thing that the government could do to protect workers would be to enforce and strengthen the current consultation regulations.”
The Union Effect - How unions make a difference to health and safety • TUC worker involvement webpages • Stronger Unions • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

USA: Death highlights behavioural safety dangers
Serious safety failings at a DuPont factory in the US which led to a workplace death highlight the dangers of a ‘blame the worker’ system of safety management. The report of a US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) investigation published last week criticised behavioural safety champion DuPont after Carl Fish, 58, died at the company's Belle facility in West Virginia, in January 2010. ThyssenKrupp
CSB news release • Unite news report [pdf] and behavioural safety campaign • Not Walking the Talk: DuPont’s Untold Safety Failures, USW report • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Call for ministers to put safety before profits
The government must not allow workers to die to boost business profits, civil service union PCS has said. The union, which has hundreds of members in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), made the call in responses to government-initiated reviews of health and safety legislation.
PCS news release • We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Labour rights reminder in M&S flashdance
Shareholders attending the London AGM of high street store M&S were greeted with a song and dance protest at the labour abuses at one of its major suppliers. Unite activists reprised a musical number seen recently in flashmobs at M&S stories, drawing attention to low pay and insecure labour at Thanet Earth.
Unite news release and musical protest • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Union warns 1 in 10 firefighters could go
One in ten firefighter jobs nationwide could go because of savage budget cuts, firefighters’ union FBU has said. New research by the union, based on Freedom of Information Act queries, confirms that over 1,000 jobs were lost in the first round of cuts to April 2011.
FBU news release • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Tube Olympics volunteers 'may be lethal'
There could be “lethal consequences” if London Underground (LUL) uses volunteers to guide passengers during the 2012 Olympics, rail union RMT warned. The union said using “non-trained staff” at busy stations was a “recipe for disaster.”
RMT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Romec staff to walk out over bully bosses
Workers at engineering and facilities company Romec will walk out for 48 hours this month because they believe managers are refusing to address bullying allegations. The union CWU said that it had given notice for a national strike at Romec starting on 20 July and involving 550 members.
CWU news release • Morning Star • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Bullying is ‘rife’ at problem council
 Almost 8 out of every 10 workers at Central Bedfordshire Council have been bullied or harassed at work, a union survey suggests, with the problem linked to an attempt to impose a new contract. GMB, which conducted the survey in response to complaints from members, is calling for an immediate halt to the bullying and “a completely independent investigation in to the bullying culture by council management and councillors.”
GMB news release • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Carpenter’s family helps local hospice
The family of a carpenter who died of an asbestos related disease has received a ‘substantial’ sum in compensation and has recovered costs for the hospice that helped him in the final stages of his illness. GMB member Grahame Chiverton from the Isle of Wight died in August 2008, three days before his 50th birthday, after a nine month battle with the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Court rules work toxins caused Parkinsonism
An RAF corporal who was left with a devastating degenerative neurological condition after he was exposed to dangerous chemicals has won a groundbreaking legal victory at the Court of Appeal. Shaun Wood, 52, was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy-P (MSAP), an incurable condition related to Parkinson’s Disease that affects the nervous system, after exposure to organic solvents as a painter and finisher at RAF sites across the world.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Stroke payout after firm insists on stressful work
A worker advised by his doctor not to return to stressful work after suffering a stroke has been awarded nearly £400,000 in compensation after his employer indicated stress and long hours were part of the job. Jonathan Jones, a branch manager in Wales for builders' merchant Jewson, was dismissed on the grounds of incapacity five months after he suffered a stroke in April 2009.
Jackson Osborne news release • Wales Online • Personnel Today • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Europe: Suicide rates 'linked' to financial crisis
The financial crisis “almost certainly” led to an increase in suicides, health experts have concluded. An analysis by US and UK researchers found a rise in suicides was recorded among working age people from 2007 to 2009 in nine of the 10 European nations studied.
David Stuckler and others. Effects of the 2008 recession on health: a first look at European data, The Lancet, Volume 378, Issue 9786, Pages 124 - 125, 9 July 2011. BBC News Online • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: ThyssenKrupp in court again
A global car components manufacturer has been fined after an agency worker fractured and burned a finger while operating a welding machine. Thyssenkrupp Tallent Ltd also currently awaiting a crown court hearing on criminal charges relating to the crushing death on 8 July 2009 of Paul Clark, 52, at its plant in Aycliffe, County Durham and earlier this year its top executive in Italy was jailed for the murder of seven workers in a December 2007 factory fire.
HSE news release • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Third fine after construction death
A defunct building company has been fined after a foreman died when an excavator bucket filled with concrete fell on him at a London construction site. Euro Earthworks Ltd general foreman, Gerry Fox, was crushed by an incorrectly attached excavator bucket in August 2007 when it fell from the arm of the 12 tonne excavator being driven by a colleague.
HSE news release • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Britain: Coach firm fined over drivers’ hours
A Middlesex coach company has been fined £137,500 after being found guilty of abusing drivers’ hour’s regulations. BM Coach and Rental was found guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court of 131 drivers’ hours offences after an investigation by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) in summer 2010.
VOSA news release • Bus and Coach.com • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

New Zealand: Unions call for recovery of mine dead
Unions in New Zealand and worldwide have called for the recovery of the bodies of 29 miners killed in a November 2010 methane gas blast at Pike River Coal Ltd’s colliery. Local union EPMU, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) of Australia and global mining unions’ federation ICEM want the miners’ remains returned to families before New Zealand’s largest underground mine is sold and reopened.
ICEM news report • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

New Zealand: Expert blames safety deregulation
As a Royal Commission began this week into the Pike River mine tragedy, which last year killed 29 workers in New Zealand, a mine safety expert is pointing to the dilution of mine safety rules as a major contributory factor. This included axing the role of workers’ inspectors in mines.
New Zealand Herald • Morning Star • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

USA: Unions push for safe hospitals
A coalition of California hospital workers’ unions is reviving its call for the state to address safety concerns at mental health hospitals. The four unions joined together to form the Safety Now! Coalition after the death of hospital psychiatric technician Donna Gross in October 2010.
Safety Now! Coalition facebook group • Sacramento Bee • Los Angeles Times • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

USA: 'Model' workplaces escape scrutiny then kill
Since 2000, at least 80 workers have died at ‘model workplaces’ the USA’s official safety watchdog OSHA has designated the nation’s safest, and which under the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) it exempts from some inspections. This is the conclusion of an eight month investigation by the Center for Public Integrity that found in 47 of these cases, inspectors subsequently found serious safety violations and, sometimes, tragedies that could have been averted.
i-Watch News and related story • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

USA: Death highlights behavioural safety dangers
Serious safety failings at a DuPont factory in the US which led to a workplace death highlight the dangers of a ‘blame the worker’ system of safety management. The report of a US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) investigation published last week criticised behavioural safety champion DuPont after Carl Fish, 58, died at the company's Belle facility in West Virginia, in January 2010. ThyssenKrupp
CSB news release • Unite news report [pdf] and behavioural safety campaign • Not Walking the Talk: DuPont’s Untold Safety Failures, USW report • Risks 514 • 16 July 2011

Hazards news, 9 July 2011

USA: Lack of nano regulation ‘a danger’
Health is being put at risk by the growing list of products on the market containing nano materials, a new report from the US-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) has warned. It says more than 1,300 products now claim to incorporate engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), but none of these products have undergone a pre-market safety assessment.
IATP news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Unions call for action to cut asbestos deaths
Unions are calling on the government to introduce a requirement on local authorities to give parents and school workers an annual report on the asbestos risk in schools. The Joint Union Asbestos Campaign (JUAC) says although every year asbestos-related mesothelioma claims the lives of 16 UK teachers, schools will no longer be “proactively” inspected, even though HSE knows a significant proportion of local authorities have serious flaws in the asbestos management systems.
UNISON news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Unite demands investment in asbestos treatment
The union Unite says the UK government must provide funds to investigate effective treatments for mesothelioma, the asbestos related cancer. Speaking on 1 July, Action Mesothelioma Day, Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail, said: “The coalition needs to provide funds for greater investment into understanding and treating this terrible disease that kills 2,000 people a year… many of them working in the construction, engineering, ship building and rail industries.”
Unite news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

USA: Second set of books hid mine dangers
Massey Energy managers hid serious safety problems at a deadly mine from US federal mine safety officials by keeping two sets of records, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) officials have revealed. A 5 April 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia’s coal belt killed 29 miners.
UMWA statement • AFL-CIO blog • Common Dream • Fairwarning • The Charleston Gazette • The New York Times • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Global: GMB slams Canada’s asbestos promotion
The UK union GMB has condemned Canada’s continuing defence of unfettered global asbestos trade. The union was speaking out on 1 July, which is both Canada Day and Action Mesothelioma Day.
GMB news release •  Montreal Gazette • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Union warning on fire firm collapse
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has demanded that London Fire Brigade managers disclose the contingency plans in place should the private company which owns and maintains the capital’s fleet of fire engines go out of business. The demand came as it was revealed that AssetCo – which was handed the multi-million 20-year contract in 2001 – has applied formally for an administration order.
FBU news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

USA: Deadly gunpowder maker agrees to quit
The head of a US gunpowder company that shut down after two of its workers were killed last year in an explosion has agreed never to return to the explosives business. The unusual enforcement pact was reached between Craig Sanborn, the Vermont-based president of Black Mag LLC, and the US government’s safety enforcement agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
OSHA news release • Fairwarning • Union Leader • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

USA: Extended Honeywell lockout threatens safety
With collective bargaining set to resume later this month, Honeywell Inc “continues to place the residents of Metropolis, Illinois, at risk by operating a uranium conversion plant with inexperienced scab workers,” reports global union federation ICEM. The union body says the year old lockout would have been resolved in June, until Honeywell rescinded contract provisions immediately after agreeing to them.
ICEM news report • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Unions criticise change in school trip guidance
Teaching unions have warned that changes to official guidance on school trips could lead to more accidents. The unions were speaking out after the Department for Education published new guidance, cutting 150 pages of guidelines to eight.
Department for Education advice [pdf]. HSE news release and consultation document • BBC News Online • The Independent. Daily Telegraph • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Gloves off in cleaner’s dermatitis case
A London Underground station cleaner developed a severe skin condition after his employer introduced an industrial cleaning chemical and took away his protective gloves. The Unite member lost his eyebrows, developed hypo-pigmentation on his face and had black patches on his hands after using the product Traffic Film in his job as a cleaner at Piccadilly tube station.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Europe: Blacklisting campaign goes Europe-wide
UK anti-blacklisting campaigners believe a Europe-wide law banning the practice could have moved a step closer, after a top level meeting with European officials and politicians. A delegation of blacklisted trade unionists and safety representatives from the Blacklist Support Group held private talks in Brussels last week with EU commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion László Andor.
BSG news release • Blacklist blog • Morning Star • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Manslaughter charges after roof fall death
Three company directors have been charged with manslaughter after an employee fell through a roof in Greater Manchester. Steven Berry, 45, died following the fall at Lion Steel Equipment Ltd in Hyde in May 2008.
CPS news release • Greater Manchester Police news release • BBC News Online • Manchester Evening News • Bearsden Herald • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Oil giant INEOS fined £100,000 for leak
INEOS Manufacturing Scotland Limited has been fined £100,000 following an uncontrolled release of crude oil at its Grangemouth refinery in May 2008. The incident happened when a pipeline containing crude oil became over pressurised as a result of a process known as thermal expansion.
HSE news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Chemical giant enforced dangerous practices
Global chemical firm INEOS has been prosecuted after using disciplinary measures to enforce unsafe practices, leading to a worker suffering a serious injury. The 58-year-old worker, who has asked not to be named, lost his ring finger and suffered damage to his middle and little finger after his gloved hand was pulled into machinery. HSE news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Companies fined for fish farm deaths
Two companies have been fined a total of £640,000 following the death of two fish farm workers while trying to rescue a colleague who has passed out in an oxygen poor chamber in a barge.
HSE news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Poorly trained teen severs hand
A teenage novice severed part of his hand while operating a vertical panel saw on which he had received little training. Lewis Maker, who was 18-years-old at the time of the incident, was using the panel saw to cut a piece of board, when his hand got dragged into the blade and the top half was cut off.
HSE news release and woodworking machinery webpages • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Britain: Two injured as scissor lift overturns
Specialist plastering contractor Clark & Fenn Skanska Ltd has been fined after two workers were seriously injured during construction of a Derby shopping centre. The workers, who did not wish to be named, fell around seven metres when the scissor lift they were using to transport plasterboard between floor levels overturned.
HSE news release • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

USA: BP faces renewed blast criticism
BP and its former chief executive Tony Hayward are facing further accusations of insensitivity regarding the victims of the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico disaster. A videotaped deposition deposition includes details of a legal pleading filed by BP referring to the 11 victims as “callous, indifferent and grossly negligent in causing this explosion.”
Daily Caller • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Australia: Move to recognise firefighters' cancers
A push to compensate Australian firefighters who develop certain types of cancer has received a significant boost, with federal backbenchers from both major parties pledging to back legislation introduced. The bill introduced by Greens MP Adam Bandt will reverse the onus of proof for certain types of cancers, and will presume them to be work-related.
The Age • Risks 513 • 9 July 2011

Italy: Call for 20 years jail for asbestos magnates
A public prosecutor has called for 20 year prison terms for two asbestos magnates charged with a wilful failure to protect worker and the public from the deadly fibre, resulting in thousands of deaths. At a criminal trial in Turin, prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello this week delivered a closing statement in the trial of Eternit’s Stephan Schmidheiny and Belgian Baron Jean Louis Marie Ghislain De Cartier de Marchienne.
Asbestos in the Dock report • Yahoo News • Risks 513 • 9 July 201

Hazards news, 2 July 2011

Britain: TUC concern over sharp rise in deaths at work
There has been a dramatic upturn in the number of workplace fatalities, new official statistics show. Figures published on 28 June by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveal the number of workers killed in Britain in 2010/11 was over 16 per cent up on the previous year.
HSE news release and fatal injury statistics • TUC news release • STUC news release • Irwin Mitchell news release • Morning Star • BBC News Online • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

USA: Honeywell lockout a serious safety concern
When union workers were locked out over a year ago at the Honeywell uranium facility in Metropolis, Illinois, they warned that the unskilled replacement workers bussed into the plant did not have the experience to operate the uranium enrichment facility safely. Now the safety fears raised by the locked out members of the steelworkers’ union USW have been confirmed, after the federal safety agency OSHA cited Honeywell for 17 separate “serious violations” that could have resulted in death or serious harm.
OSHA news release • USW news release • In These Times • USW TMC blog • USW news report • ICEM news report • Sign the petition calling on Honeywell to end the lockout • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Cuts mean there could be worse to come
The sharp increase in workplace fatalities show the government must reverse it attack on workplace regulation and enforcement, unions have said. Prospect, whose members include staff in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said the government must now rethink plans to cut the safety body’s budget by 35 per cent.
Prospect news release • Unite news release • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Unions denounce safety red tape ‘sham’
The increasingly desperate tone and tactics employed by the government in its attempts to justify the removal of safety protection at work have been described by unions as a ‘sham’ bordering on ‘reality TV show’ banality. In a 27 June news release issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), employment minister said the government’s Red Tape Challenge on health and safety regulations, which will run from 30 June to 21 July, “is the opportunity that every beleaguered business leader, incredulous community group or outraged newspaper reader has been waiting for - a chance to directly change the laws underpinning Britain's health and safety culture.”
HSE news release • Unite news release • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011
If you think it is a good idea to have strong regulations properly enforced to protect your health and safety at work, you can tell the government this on its Red Tape Challenge webpages

India: New occupational lung disease identified
 A new deadly occupational lung disease caused by inhaling plastic dust may have been discovered. Health experts in India have identified four workers at a single Corel Pharma Chem’s factory developed a serious respiratory disease within a year of starting work.
Indian Express • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Expert slams government’s safe jobs ‘fantasy’
Cuts to safety enforcement, regulation and budgets are being justified with government ‘lies’, UNISON members have been told. Addressing 150 concerned workers at a fringe meeting of the union’s annual conference, Hazards Campaign spokesperson Hilda Palmer ripped into the cut price, cut back health and safety strategy which will see most workers in ‘low risk’ workplaces shunted off the official enforcement radar.
Morning Star. We didn't vote to die at work facebook group and webpage • Campaign resources: T-shirts - Adult sizes s, m, l, xl, xxl, xxxl: £6 (UK postage free), Child (ages 5-13): £4. Posters 'Job killer' and 'We didn't vote to die at work' (free) • Details from the Hazards Campaign, Windrush Millennium Centre, 70 Alexandra Road, Manchester M16 7WD, UK.
'We didn't vote to die at work' meeting, 6.30pm, Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester, 12 July [meeting flyer] • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: ‘Massive campaign’ to protect rail services
Rail union RMT will run a ‘massive national campaign’ in a bid to head off what it says is a dangerous assault on UK railways. The union’s annual meeting endorsed the campaign strategy, which includes a cross-industry strike ballot “if necessary.”
RMT news release • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Ford forced to up rotting flesh payout
A Ford worker who was offered just £2,000 after developing occupational dermatitis which left his flesh ‘rotting’ has received £24,000 with the help of union lawyers. The 41-year-old Unite member, whose name has been withheld, developed the painful skin condition after he was exposed to a rubber lubricant used while building engines at the Ford plant in Dagenham.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Council job caused deafness
A council driver was made deaf by exposure to dangerous levels of noise at work. GMB member David Carr, 65, from Rotherham has received £6,000 in damages after developing noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus while working for Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council during the 1960s and 1970s.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Waste and recycling up to 15 times more deadly
New official statistics show the number of workers killed in Britain's waste and recycling industry has sharply increased and now has a fatality rate nearly 15 times the average for all workers.
HSE news release • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Agriculture deaths still over 13 times higher
The number of workers killed in the agricultural industry last year decreased slightly, but the overall fatality rate remains over 13 times the average for all workplaces. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provisional data for the year April 2010 to March 2011 reveals 34 workers were killed - a decrease on the previous year when 39 died.
HSE news release • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Construction deaths up by 22 per cent
Site fatalities have risen by 22 per cent, ending a four-year period of declining deaths in the construction industry. The latest provisional figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveal the number of construction deaths rose to 50 last year, up from 41 the year before - the latest figures reveal a death rate in construction four times the all industry average.
HSE news release • UCATT news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Korea: Leukaemia linked to semiconductor work
Authorities in Korea have for the first time accepted cancer among workers in the semiconductor industry as an occupational disease. On 23 June, the Seoul Administrative Court ordered Samsung Electronics to compensate the families of two workers, Hwang Yumi and Lee Sookyoung, who died of acute myeloid leukaemia, a white blood cell cancer.
SHARPS news report • IMF news report • Korea Herald • Korea Times • Washington Post • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Warning on deadly ‘asbestos protection crisis’
There is an ‘asbestos protection crisis’ throughout the UK as a result of government cut backs on safety campaigns, enforcement and resources, a victims’ advocacy group has said. The warning came on 1 July as hundreds of sufferers of the aggressive and deadly cancer mesothelioma and their families gathered to mark Action Mesothelioma Day.
AVSGF news release [pdf] • HSE’s shelved ‘Hidden Killer’ campaign • Plymouth Herald • Telegraph and Argus • Action Mesothelioma Day • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Spain: Boring jobs can cause burnout
Boring, ‘under-challenging’, administrative and service jobs can lead to exhaustion and burnout, new research has found. A survey of 400 university employees found undertaking ‘monotonous and unstimulating’ tasks can lead to disenchantment and high stress levels.
Jesús Montero-Marín and others. Sociodemographic and occupational risk factors associated with the development of different burnout types: the cross-sectional University of Zaragoza study, BMC Psychiatry, volume 11, number 49, 2011 [abstract and full text] • The Telegraph • The Guardian • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Marine company put diver's life at risk
The owner of a Cornish marine company has been fined £10,000 plus costs of £2,000 for safety breaches which put a diver's life at serious risk. Kenneth Dunstan, owner of Mylor Marine Maintenance of Marlowe Bridge, pleaded guilty to breaching four diving safety regulations after using incorrect equipment and an unqualified diver.
HSE news release and diving webpages • BBC News Online • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Fines after worker left with brain damage
Construction worker Richard Chodkiewicz was left fighting for his life after he was hit on the head by a 7lb piece of scaffold tube that fell 18 floors, a court has heard. Bristol Crown Court fined main contractor Miller Construction £40,000 and £17,232 costs and specialist lift company Hoistway Ltd £70,000 and £14,616 costs for criminal safety breaches.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • HSE news release and construction webpages • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Two firms guilty over Legionella risk
Fines and costs totalling nearly £250,000 have been imposed on two firms after workers and members of the public were put at risk of exposure to the potentially fatal Legionnaires' disease. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted multinational automotive parts manufacturer Eaton Ltd and water treatment services provider Aegis Ltd after an investigation in 2006.
HSE news release and Legionnaires' disease webpages • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Britain: Managing presenteeism pays off
Employers can save money and improve the health of their staff if they manage presenteeism alongside sickness absence, according to a discussion paper produced by Business in the Community (BITC) and Centre for Mental Health. ‘Managing Presenteeism’ examines how employers can deal with reduced productivity among people who come to work and are not fully engaged or perform at lower levels as a result of ill-health.
Centre for Mental Health news release, presenteeism resources page, and Managing Presenteeism discussion paper • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Canada: Unions appalled’ at asbestos crassness
Canada’s top union leader has said he is ‘appalled’ the Canadian government has blocked an international effort to list chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous substance. The Rotterdam Convention meeting concluded on 24 June, with Canada having stepped in to block listing when it appeared a consensus might be reached on adding the cancer causing fibre to the ‘Prior Informed Consent’ list.
CLC news release and Ken Georgetti’s June 16, 2011 letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper • Montreal Gazette and related story • The Tyee • Yukon News • The Province • Risks 512 • 2 July 2011

Hazards news, 25 June 2011

Global: UK union calls for global piracy offensive
UK seafarers’ union Nautilus is calling on unions worldwide to prepare for an international boycott of high risk piracy areas. The union was commenting following fresh evidence that the threat to merchant ships and seafarers is increasing.
Nautilus news release • ITF/SOS Save Our Seafarers news release • SOS Save Our Seafarers campaign • Support the Save Our Seafarers campaign • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Global: Hotels told to disclose harassment rules
Hotel operators worldwide are being asked to show they are taking serious measures to protect staff from sexual harassment at work. IUF, the global union federation for sector, has written to major international hotel chains including Intercontinental, Wyndham Hotels, Marriott, Hilton, Accor, Hyatt, Rezidor, Starwood, Carlson Hotels, and Melia to highlight the vulnerable situation of hotel housekeepers.
IUF news release • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: MPs echo union warning on coastguard plans
Unions are calling on the government to rethink a move to cut coastguard stations and jobs after the plans received withering criticism from an influential committee of MPs. The Commons transport committee report said the government plans raise “serious safety concerns”.
Commons transport select committee news release • BBC News Online • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Fatal firm hit by fine and family payout
A south Wales firm that faced criminal and civil court proceedings after the death of at work of a father of three and been hit with a fines and compensation bill of £235,000. Unite member Paul Thorngate, 44, from Porth, was crushed to death when a metal rope gave way and sent 1,600lbs of aluminium car parts crashing down on top of him in November 2006.
HSE news release and risk assessments guide • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Global: Project links safety with business survival
Safety professionals’ organisations in the US and UK have joined forced to “raise awareness of the ways health and safety can secure the future of businesses, making them more sustainable for the future.” The Center for Safety and Health Sustainability (CSHS) was created by the UK-based Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA).
AIHA news release [pdf] • IOSH news release • Center for Safety and Health in Sustainability (CSHS) • GRI webpage • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Worker crushed by red hot two tonne pole
A factory worker who was saved from being burnt alive when he was trapped by a filing cabinet as fires broke out around him has received compensation for his injuries. The GMB member from Kidderminster, whose name has not been released, was injured at Somers Forge Ltd in Halesowen.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Smoke alarms can’t put out fires or rescue you
There is no substitute for the lifesaving role of properly resourced firefighters, the union FBU has said. The union was responding to a BBC 5 Live Breakfast investigation into smoke alarms, which confirmed they don’t prevent fires, put them out or rescue people.
FBU news release • BBC News Online • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Global: Gerdau workers hold minute of silence
Workers at Spanish steel multinational Gerdau have walked out after the latest death at a company plant. The Gerdau Workers' World Council also called for a minute’s silence on 20 June at all Gerdau plants worldwide, in memory of all those killed at work.
IMF news release • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Victims made to pay in new offenders bill
Victims of occupational injuries or diseases will be unable to afford a compensation claim or will have to pay the legal costs as a result of a proposed law introduced by the government. The TUC says provisions in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill to switch the cost on personal injury cases from those who negligence caused the problem to the victims will not deliver a saving to the government but “will simply line the pockets of insurers.”
Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill [pdf] • Prime minister’s office news release and transcript of related press conference • ASGVF news release [pdf] • Unite news release • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Simpson Millar Solicitors news release • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Minister’s snub to bereaved families
Employment minister Chris Grayling, who pushed through unprecedented funding cuts to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and demanded a dramatic reduction in proactive enforcement by the safety watchdog, has rejected requests for a meeting from Families Against Corporate Killing (FACK), to hear their views about his workplace safety strategy. FACK founder Linzi Herbertson said the minister was more interested in “listening to the false accounting of the business lobby.”
Morning Star • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Worker dies after fall from Shell oil rig
An experienced oil worker has died after he plunged from a North Sea oil rig. Lee Bertram, from Northumberland, fell from Shell’s Brent Charlie platform – about 120 miles north east of Lerwick in Shetland – on 16 June.
The Journal • STV News • Daily Record • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Shell ignored warnings before blast
Oil multinational Shell UK ignored safety warnings from its staff before a gas terminal blast that could have killed, a court has heard. The company was fined £1m plus £242,000 costs at Norwich Crown Court after admitted seven safety and pollution offences following the explosion and fire at the Bacton terminal in Norfolk in February 2008.
Environment Agency news release • BBC News Online • Norwich Advertiser • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: HSE alert after shellfish diver deaths
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a safety alert after two shellfish divers died in separate incidents in inshore waters in Scotland.
HSE news release • STV News • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Gas cylinder explosion kills worker
A London supplier of high pressure gas has been fined after an explosion killed a worker and severely injured a member of the public. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Oak Farm Gas Company Ltd, (trading as Mr Fizz), after the incident at a site in New Denham, Buckinghamshire.
HSE news release • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Australia: Dock union wins radiation testing
The Australian authorities have bowed to a dock union’s demand that imported Japanese cars are screened for radiation. “This is a win for workers, and also a win for the Australian public,” said MUA assistant national secretary Warren Smith, adding: “Any risk of radiation is too big a risk to take.”
MUA news release • ABC News • Herald Sun • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: MS ‘needlessly’ cuts careers short
Providing support for workers with multiple sclerosis (MS) would significantly reduce the annual welfare bill and prevent people from missing out on an average of 18 years of their working lives, according to a new report from The Work Foundation. ‘Ready to work: Meeting the employment and career aspirations of people with multiple sclerosis’  concludes that with greater employer awareness and more co-ordinated action, the majority of people with MS who are willing and able to work could be supported to do so.
The Work Foundation news release and report, Ready to work? Meeting the employment and career aspirations of people with Multiple Sclerosis [pdf] • MS Foundation news release • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Employers are failing older workers
Older employees are missing out of training and most say employers are failing to make the adjustments necessary to help them do their jobs, according to a new survey. However, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found workers of the age of 65 also reported better physical and mental health than their younger colleagues.
CIPD news release • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Teacher wins bullying tribunal
A teacher who claimed her boss locked her in a cupboard at an exclusive private school has won an employment tribunal. Fiona Michie said she was bullied and threatened by her department head while working at Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen.
STV News • BBC News Online •  Aberdeen Evening Express • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: Sick former sportsman was unfairly sacking
A former sportsman has been awarded compensation totalling nearly £195,000 under disability discrimination legislation after he was sacked from his job, which meant he was denied access to his company's private health insurance scheme. The tribunal awarded compensation of just under £195,000 to reflect his loss of health and medical insurance benefits, loss of pension entitlements and injury to feelings.
 Bridge McFarland news release • Gainsborough Target • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Britain: ‘We didn't vote to die at work’ meeting, Manchester, 12 July
The latest in a series of ‘We didn't vote to die at work’ campaign meetings will take place in Manchester on the evening of 12 July. Organised by the Hazards Campaign and Families Against Corporate Killers, the event will examine the impact of government cuts and ongoing plans to deregulate health and safety.
‘We didn't vote to die at work’ meeting, 6.30pm, Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester, 12 July [meeting flyer] • Risks 511 • 25 June 2011

Hazards news, 18 June 2011

Britain: Bullying hits hard as cuts bite
Six in ten workers across the UK have been bullied, or witnessed bullying, over the past six months, a survey by the union UNISON has found. The union is warning that government cuts are fuelling workplace bullying and silencing workers fearful for their jobs.
UNISON news release • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Global: Over 100 million children in dangerous jobs
Over 115 million of the world's children and young teenagers, or more than 7 per cent of the total, are engaged in dangerous and life-threatening jobs, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said. Overall, there are 215 million child labourers worldwide, says the global labour standards body.
ILO news release, slideshow and report, Children in hazardous work: what we know, what we need to do • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Engineers walk out on bully bosses
More than 550 engineers at Royal Mail subsidiary Romec have taken to the picket lines following claims of management bullying and ‘Big Brother’ abuses of the company's vehicle tracking systems. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents more than half the firm's technicians, led strike action at mail centres across the country to protest against ill-treatment of its members.
CWU news release • Morning Star • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: GMB concern at contract ‘harassment’
A council trying to impose a new employment contract is bullying and harassing staff to sign, a union has said. GMB says some staff at Central Beds Council report they have been told by managers and councillors their “card will be marked” if they do not sign.
GMB news release • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Global: Move towards a 'sweat-free' Olympics
A new agreement signed in Indonesia between major sportswear brands and textile, clothing and footwear unions in the country has raised hopes that merchandise produced for the London 2012 Games can be produced in factories free from exploitation, the TUC has said.
TUC news release • Playfair 2012 news release • ITGLWF webpage and Protocol on Freedom of Association [pdf] • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Bid to get more women safety reps
Safety enforcers have joined with unions to encourage more women to become workplace health and safety reps. ‘Help make your workplace safer’, a leaflet published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and backed by rail safety regulator ORR, the TUC and individual unions, notes: “European research suggests that women are under-represented in the health and safety decision-making process. In particular, more women are needed to be safety representatives.”
Help make your workplace safer leaflet [pdf] • TUC safety reps webpages. HSE worker involvement and HSE health and safety representatives webpages • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Government must not ignore dog dangers
The government must revise the ‘out-dated’ dangerous dogs law in England and Wales, a union backed coalition has said. The group of 20 animal charities, enforcement agencies and trade unions wants the government to include a Dog Control Bill in next year's Queen's Speech.
CWU news release and joint briefing paper [pdf] • Morning Star • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Rail could become ‘a mugger’s paradise’
Rail union RMT is demanding an urgent meeting with transport secretary Phillip Hammond in a bid to head off proposals that could turn the rail network into ‘a mugger’s paradise’, with safety critical staff slashed on both stations and trains. It says the union’s detailed study of the fine print of the McNulty Rail Review show its recommendations would bring in widespread ticket office closures and reduced opening hours in many that did survive the axe.
RMT news release • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Global: Deadly attacks on unions continue
A ‘grim record of murder and repression’ in Colombia and the Americas means they maintain the lead in a global listing of abuses of trade union rights. The latest ‘Annual Survey of violation of trade union rights’ from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) includes data from 143 countries and “paints a picture of people fighting for greater economic rights and freedom to organise, with many governments and businesses responding with repression, sackings, violence, death threats and murder.”
ITUC news release and Annual Survey of violation of trade union rights • AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Firm was several rungs short of safety
An employer that routinely provided workers with ladders that were too short and failed to train its staff in the safest way to work at height has been forced to stump up compensation after a labourer suffered a hernia. The 49-year-old GMB member from Maryport in Cumbria needed major surgery after suffering the injury as he pulled himself up from a step ladder through a loft while working for Home Group in Whitehaven. Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Ford pays out for double failure
A machine operator at a car manufacturer has received £20,000 compensation after an unsafe storage system led to a workplace injury, which was subsequently aggravated when he fell through a rotten floorboard in the factory toilets. Barry Lester, 64, was forced to take three weeks off work after he strained his groin attempting to lift a box of car parts at Ford Motor Company in Dagenham.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Global: ILO admonishes Canada on asbestos
The Canadian government has been given a sharp warning by the top international standards body about its behaviour on asbestos. The International Labour Organisation has told Canada to adopt better standards to protect workers' health and to review outdated national laws and regulations on asbestos.
CLC presentation to the ILO meeting • IMF new report • A statement on Chrysotile at the Rotterdam Convention meeting • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Commons ‘misled’ on the real cost of unsafe work
Employment minister Chris Grayling ‘misled’ the House of Commons by claiming the costs to society of workplace safety failings are billions less the real figure, a campaign group has charged. The Hazards Campaign is warning that ministers are constructing a job fear smokescreen to justify a drive towards safety lawlessness at work.
Green jobs, safe jobs blog • House of Commons Hansard Debates for 13 Jun 2011: Workplace Health and Safety. HSE interim costs report based on 2001/2002 data, June 2004 [pdf] • Trends in mesothelioma deaths • Morning Star reports on the Commons exchange and the Community conference • We didn’t vote to die at work campaign • 18 June 2011

Britain: The only way isn’t up, says HSE
Major safety successes in which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has played a central role could be a thing of the past for the resource-strapped and hamstrung safety watchdog, a senior official has indicated. HSE principal inspector of construction for London, Mike Williams, said said budget cuts and government-driven changes mean that when it comes to major sites the watchdog will no longer be able to replicate a proactive approach at the Olympics where it had opted  “to get involved early, checking that all the arrangements are there and looking to others in the chain to see what they plan to do.”
SHP Online •   Sypol news report • HSE London Olympics 2012 webpages • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Cable admits Red Tape Challenge has backfired
Business secretary Vince Cable has admitted a ‘red tape challenge’ for the retail sector has “backfired” because the great majority of responses are supportive of regulation. The secretary of state told a British Retail Consortium (BRC) symposium that the website is being targeted by lobby groups who want more regulation, and that retailers “haven’t won the argument” over reducing regulation yet.
Retail Week • 11 May 2011 Speech by George Osborne to IoD • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Peers arrest police safety opt out bid
A bid to exempt police forces from workplace safety law has been dropped. The House of Lords debated an amendment to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill on 9 June 2011 which would have repealed parts of the Police (Health and Safety) Act 1997.
Hansard report of the House of Lords debate, 9 June 2011 • IOSH news release • SHP Online • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Poor wood dust control caused cancer
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is to investigate the occupational risks facing those in the furniture and woodworking industries, more than 10 years after the last checks found the official standard was routinely ignored. The news coincides with a £375,000 compensation payment to the widow of a cabinet maker who died of nasal cancer in 2005.
The Guardian • HSE wood dust survey 2000 [pdf] • HSE news release on the Millbrook prosecution • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Grassroots research uncovers cancer link
A new medical research project is investigating links between the region’s steelworks and bladder cancer, an association first spotted by a groundbreaking grassroots workplace health project. Simon Pickvance said: “I spoke to about 30 different people in five different practices and what transpired immediately was that some of them had worked with dyes
Yorkshire Cancer Research news release • Sheffield Star • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Foreman fined after trench collapse
A site foreman has been fined after labourer Graeme Scott, 30, was killed when a trench collapsed. Cameron and Stevenson (Scotland) Ltd foreman William Parry was fined was fined £240, in the latest in a series of cases where individual workers have been targeted for prosecution, but no action has been taken against company directors, despite HSE finding evidence of negligence on the part of the company.
HSE news release and excavations guide • Construction Enquirer • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Britain: Death due to safety failings at textile firm
A West Yorkshire textile firm has been fined £60,015 after its safety failings ‘led directly’ to a worker being crushed to death in a baling machine. Bradford Crown Court heard that Gary Lee, 40, was cleaning inside the baler at Westwood Yarns, Holmfirth, when it re-started.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Germany: Presenteeism costs twice as sickness leave
Presenteeism, where the working wounded labour on despite being ill, costs twice as much as sickness related absence from work, a German study has found. Researchers from the Felix Burda Foundation also estimated the annual cost to the German economy of worker sickness at 225 billion Euro – 9 per cent of the country’s GDP.
EU-OSHA news report • Risks 510 • 18 June 2011

Hazards news, 11 June 2011

Britain: ‘Beware behavioural safety’, says Unite
Unite has launched a campaign to warn members in the paper and corrugated packaging sector about the dangers of behavioural safety initiatives at work. The union says the approach, which includes a number of different programmes with worker behaviour as the prime target, is a ‘blame the worker’ system that doesn’t work.
Unite news release • Behavioural safety: A briefing for workplace representatives, TUC • Hazards behavioural safety webpages • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

USA: Six figure payout for popcorn lung
A US factory worker has been awarded $814,500 (£496,000) by a court after his lawyers argued successfully he contracted potentially lethal ‘popcorn lung’ from breathing a chemical used to make food taste buttery. A jury had awarded Maryland-resident Brian Hallock $5.4 million (£3.3m) from Polarome International Inc, a New Jersey-based chemical manufacturer and distributor.
Baltimore Sun • More on diacetyl hazards and popcorn lung • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: UNISON pushes organisation on safety
Public sector union UNISON is putting health and safety at the centre of a recruitment and organising drive. General secretary Dave Prentis says the union’s new ‘Organising for health and safety’ guide is part of a strategy “to turn UNISON into a genuinely organising union.”
Organising for health and safety: a UNISON guide [pdf] • TUC health and safety organising pages • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Victimisation is money down the tube
London Underground (LUL) has thrown at least £250,000 down the Tube trying to defend its ‘indefensible’ victimisation of train operator Arwyn Thomas, the union RMT has estimated. Six-figure legal fees, management time spent preparing for and attending six days of tribunals, including senior managers on £600-plus a day, on top of Arwyn’s salary – paid on the orders of an interim hearing in January – add up at least to the cost of employing 20 modern apprentices for a year, the union says.
RMT news release • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Mexico: Union-busting at unsafe Excellon mine
Miners at an unsafe Mexican metals mine have been faced with a mixture of intimidation and bribes by the company in a concerted bid to stop them joining the National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union of Mexico (SNTMMSRM). Management of Excellon Resources Inc at the La Platosa mine in the state of Durango, Mexico started a union-busting drive in November last year after workers at the mine decided democratically to affiliate to the SNTMMSRM.
IMF news release and letter to Excellon Resources [pdf] • ProDESC • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Unite welcomes Crossrail no bogus jobs pledge
A commitment by Crossrail to use a properly trained, directly employed workforce for the construction of the cross-London rail project has been welcomed by Unite, which says it will work with the company to make sure it also has ‘gold standards’ of safety.
Unite news release • Build • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Care worker holed up with attacker
A careworker left alone overnight with a violent patient after being beaten was forced to give up her job as result. UNISON helped support worker Lorraine Morgan, 42, obtain compensation after her bosses ignored the beatings and instead instructed her to hole up overnight, resulting in another assault the following morning.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Bike crash led to months off work
A Unite member who suffered a serious injury requiring months off work after his cycle hit a pothole has received nearly £13,000 in compensation, as a result of court victory obtained with the support of his union. Keen cyclist Martin Bourne, 55, dislocated his shoulder when his bike hit a 10 inch long hole on a busy road.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Chevron refinery blast kills four workers
Three male painting contractors and a female fire-watch officer have died in the huge explosion at the Chevron refinery at Pembroke Dock, south west Wales. The Health and Safety Executive is undertaking a joint investigation with Dyfed Powys Police and other agencies after a large storage tank blew up late on Thursday 2 June during routine maintenance, rocking houses and sending a plume of black smoke into the sky.
Chevron statement • Dyfed Powys Police statements on support for the families and naming of the victims • Multiagency statement on the disaster and update • The Guardian • Western Telegraph • BBC News Online plus coverage of the Terra Nitrogen and Kingsnorth fires • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Relief for man dragged through CD size hole
A plater who suffered a string of serious injuries when an engineering machine dragged him through a hole the size of a CD case says he is “greatly relieved” after his former employer pleaded guilty to a criminal breach of safety regulations. Matthew Lowe, 25, from Barnsley, says he was lucky to even survive a December 2008 incident which left him with a broken arm, nerve damage, a torn bowel, a fractured rib, fractures to his vertebrae and a smashed hip joint.
HSE news release • Irwin Mitchell news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Guatemala: Another union leader murdered
Violence against banana unions in Guatemala is escalating, the global foodworkers’ union federation IUF has warned. The alert came after Idar Joel Hernandez Godoy, finance secretary of the IUF-affiliated banana workers union SITRABI, was shot dead on 26 May by a gunman on a motorcycle while driving through the village of Cristina to the union headquarters in the town of Morales.
IUF news release • ITUC news release and letter to the Guatemalan president •
Send a message to the president of Guatemala • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Risks stacked against new workers
Workers are as likely to suffer a reportable injury in the first six months at a workplace as during the whole of the rest of their working life, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned. The safety watchdog says a number of factors contribute to the excess risk, including lack of experience at or familiarity with the job and workplace.
HSE ‘new to the job’ guide • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Scaffolding death was ‘entirely preventable’
The death of a Scottish worker who fell 30 feet from scaffolding while working with his brother was “entirely preventable”, an official fatal accident inquiry has ruled. Kenneth McLean and his brother Brian McLean were carrying out rough casting at a construction site in Partick in October 2005 when Kenneth fell to his death.
FAI findings • The Scotsman • BBC News Online • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Phoenix firms must face justice
The government must tighten the rules to make sure firms aren't allowed to sidestep justice for health and safety breaches by going into administration, a Labour MP has said. Steve Rotheram has tabled an early day motion calling for a clampdown on so-called phoenix companies, which go into administration to avoid large fines, then re-emerge and begin trading again under a modified name.
Early Day Motion 1834 • Morning Star • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Firms fined after worker killed on M25
Construction firm Carillion Highway Maintenance Limited and its traffic management subcontractor have been fined a total of £202,000 after a worker employed by another subcontractor was killed while working on the M25 motorway. Christopher Lewis was carrying out fencing work on a section of the M25 near Enfield, when he was crushed between a van and a safety barrier after a lorry jack-knifed on the motorway.
HSE news release • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: AMEC and RWE npower guilty over death
Contractor AMEC and energy giant RWE npower have been fined £450,000 after a maintenance worker fell to his death at a South Wales power station. Agency worker Christopher Booker fell 12m through an unprotected opening in a working platform at Aberthaw Power Station in June 2007.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • The Guardian • BBC News Online • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Family firm pays after director’s fatal roof fall
A family firm from Norfolk renting out business units has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), after one of the company’s directors died after falling through a fragile roof at one of its properties. Keith and Nigel Ragan, joint owners of Allenbrooks Developments Ltd, were replacing skylights in the roof of one their units when Keith Ragan fell 10m through the corrugated asbestos cement sheet roof.
HSE news release • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Ex-squaddie loses arm at recycling site
A Hull man, who returned unscathed from active service with the British army in Bosnia, was maimed for life working as a 'civvy' back home, a court has heard. Ray Wright, 34, had his right forearm severed in a baling machine incident while working alone at the Transwaste Recycling site at Hessle Dock in April 2009.
HSE news release • Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR) • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: Worker’s wrists ‘shattered like glass’
A Macclesfield man who plummeted 10ft from a ladder causing his wrists to ‘shatter like glass’, leaving him permanently disabled, has secured a six figure settlement. He fell as he was doing some preparation for plasterwork in his job at a Macclesfield car garage.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Britain: LA inspector oppose relaxed injury reporting
Plans to increase the threshold for reporting workplace injuries from more than three days to more than seven days off work will make it harder to gather evidence on workplace safety, local authority-based workplace safety enforcers have warned.
CIEH news report • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Global: World day against child labour
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is to mark this year’s World Day against Child Labour on 12 June with events in more than 50 countries and the publication of a new report on children in hazardous work. The new resource, ‘Children in hazardous work: what we know, what we need to do’, has been prepared the ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC).
ILO news release and elimination of child labour programme • World Day Against Child Labour, 12 June 2011 • Risks 509 • 11 June 2011

Hazards news, 4 June 2011

Global: Warning on Qatar World Cup exploitation
Unions worldwide have warned against the exploitation of migrant workers on the ‘unsafe and unregulated’ construction sites set to build the facilities for the 2022 football World Cup. With twelve new football stadiums required for the 2022 event in Qatar, unions are pressing FIFA and Qatar 2022 to improve the ‘appalling’ living and working conditions experienced by migrant workers in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
TUC news release • ITUC news release • BWI news release• Hidden faces of the Gulf miracle - full report and short and long versions of the video Hidden faces of the gulf miracle • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Romec off track on tracking technology
Hundreds of CWU engineers working for Romec, the company that maintains premises for Royal Mail, Tesco and other major firms, have taken industrial action in a dispute over “misuse” of tracking technology to “harass and victimise” staff. Intrusive electronic surveillance at work has been linked to problems including increased stress, strain injuries and a drop in productivity.
CWU news release • Guidance for unions on safety and surveillance at work • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

USA: Union protection against sex assaults
A hotel worker who spoke out after an alleged serious sexual assault by former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn  may have been able to do so because she was protected by union membership. The 32-year-old housekeeper, originally from Guinea, was employed at New York’s Sofitel Hotel, where staff are represented by the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council.
New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council editorial • In These Times • Alternet • IPS News • New York Times • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Slip ended driver’s career
A trade union is reminding business owners to keep their premises safe after a driver was forced to give up his job after he slipped on an unsecured mat and broke his ankle. The Unite member from Taunton has needed four operations on his ankle since the incident, which happened in 2006 as he collected a bed settee which was being returned to Argos by the Whitbread run White Lodge public house in Somerset.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Heathrow rail safety risk warning
The union RMT has accused rail bosses of risking safety in a ‘strike-breaking operation’ at Heathrow Express. Ahead of a 48-hour walk out last week, the union said managers at the rail firm were being lined up to drive trains with “wholly inadequate training” for the job.
RMT news release • Morning Star • BBC News Online • Rail.co • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Global: Deregulation is really a death wish
Strong and effective workplace regulations and inspection regimes are necessary to deliver decent employment and safety standards at work, according to new UK and international reports. But the UK-based Hazards magazine and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) both warn that this essential role is being undermined by an erosion of the funding and the function of enforcement agencies.
Body blow, Hazards magazine special report, May 2011. Deregulation is really a workplace death wish, ITUC/Hazards green jobs blog, 30 May 2011 • Labour administration and inspection key to good global governance, ILO, 31 May 2011 • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Businesses overlook injury and illness costs
British businesses are losing their competitive edge because of a failure to tackle the risks of injury and illness in the workplace, a report from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has concluded. Survey findings from the safety professionals’ organisation published show employers are underestimating the economic benefits of worker protection and are placing it low on their list of priorities.
IOSH news release and Life Savings campaign • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Global: Mobiles 'may cause brain cancer'
A United Nations agency has said mobile phone use is “possibly carcinogenic”. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) expert panel this week decided to classify “radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with wireless phone use.”
IARC news release [pdf] • BBC News Online • Washington Post • CNN • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Chief scientist confirms white asbestos risks
White asbestos deserves its top level cancer rating, the government’s chief scientific adviser has told ministers. In a letter to work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, Sir John Beddington said “it is my opinion that on the evidence available there is no justification for an imminent change to the international scientific consensus on the classification of chrysotile as a Class 1 carcinogen.”
BIS webpage on chrysotile asbestos • 11 May 2011 letter from Sir John Beddington to work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith [pdf]. Meeting Notes - GCSA meeting on the Classification and Regulation of Chrysotile Asbestos, 7 March 2011 [pdf] • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

USA: Union mines are substantially safer
Miners in unionised coal mines are far less likely to be killed or injured at work than miners in non-union operations - and this effect may be getting more pronounced, a new study has found. The independent Stanford University research found “overall, unionisation predicts about a 17-33 per cent drop in traumatic injuries and about a 33-72 per cent drop in fatalities.”
Alison D. Morantz. Coal mine safety: Do unions make a difference? ,Stanford Law and Economics Olin Working Paper No. 413, Stanford Law School, 27 May 2011 [pdf] • Stanford webpages on Coal mine safety: Do unions make a difference? • AFL-CIO Now blog • UMWA news release • Charleston Daily Mail • More on the union safety effect • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Plea for asbestos victims 'fund of last resort'
Lawyers acting for people suffering from asbestos-related diseases have renewed their appeal for a ‘fund of last resort’ to step in when a firm’s employers’ liability insurer cannot be found. Claimant lawyers said they had waited more than a year for the results of a consultation on setting up an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau, reports the Law Gazette.
Law Gazette • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Brazilian worker buried alive in basement
A Brazilian construction worker was buried alive while building a basement in London’s Belgravia, one of the wealthiest postcodes in the world. Father-of-nine Arlindo Visentin, 58, died helping three other workers build a basement at the private property when he was crushed by a collapsing wall of gravel and clay weighing between three and five tonnes.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • BBC News Online • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Gear box firm fined over crush death
Gear box manufacturer Renold Power Transmission Ltd has been fined £180,000 over the death of a worker who was crushed by a slab of metal. Father-of-five Nigel Lindley, 47, from Oldham, was putting together a large metal gear case when one of the sides collapsed on him in 2008.
HSE news release and manufacturing webpages • BBC News Online • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Firms fined after worker's electric shock
Two companies, a director and a sub-contractor have been fined a total of £130,000 for health and safety failings after a construction worker suffered serious burns following an electric shock from an overhead power cable.
HSE news release and guidance on working near power lines [pdf] • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

USA: Can the Feds tackle labour trafficking?
Last year, the leaders of the US-based foreign labour supply company Global Horizons were indicted in what the Department of Justice considered the biggest human trafficking case ever brought by the federal government. They were charged with holding 400 Thai guest farm workers in the United States against their will in conditions that essentially amounted to slavery.
In These Times • FLOC • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Packaging firm crushed worker’s arm
A Cambridgeshire company that prints and manufactures pharmaceutical packaging has been fined for criminal safety breaches after an employee's arm was dragged into a machine that makes medicine boxes. John Armstrong suffered severe crush injuries which required almost a hundred stitches to his hand, wrist and arm while working at Firstan Limited in Huntingdon.
HSE news release • Cambridge News and Crier • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Heinz canned for torn off finger
Food manufacturer Heinz has been fined after a worker at its Wigan baked beans factory lost a finger in industrial machinery. The 65-year-old had an index finger torn off while he was making a new part for a packaging machine, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Manchester Evening News • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Japan: Radiation limit scrapped at stricken plant
The government in Japan has decided to abolish the upper cap on radiation exposure for workers at the crippled Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant. The move, which has alarmed workplace safety experts, comes after reports two workers had already exceeded to maximum dose.
Mainichi Daily News • The Independent • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Why safety deregulation will kill – the evidence
New materials have been added to the revamped ‘We didn’t vote to die at work’ campaign pages of the trade union backed health and safety magazine Hazards. Detailed briefings show deregulation of workplace safety is a false economy – it costs money and it costs lives.
We didn’t vote to die at work webpages • latest poster and facebook group • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Put agency workers on fair ground
Retail union Usdaw is campaigning for a fair deal for agency workers. It’s ‘Put Agency Workers on Fair Ground’ campaign says the UK has the highest use of agency workers across all of the major industrial countries – higher than Japan, the USA and the whole of Europe.
Put Agency Workers on Fair Ground website and related facebook group • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Britain: Action Mesothelioma Day, 1 July 2011
Action Mesothelioma Day 2011 is being held on Friday 1 July, with events scheduled countrywide. Details of activities in Chesterfield, Dundee, Merseyside, Leicester, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester and London are already available on the Mesothelioma UK website.
Action Mesothelioma Day, 1 July 2011 [pdf] • Mesothelioma UK • Risks 508 • 4 June 2011

Hazards news, 28 May 2011

Britain: Rail risks of more privatisation and cuts
The government commissioned McNulty review of rail value for money has not grasped the damaging effects on costs and safety of either privatisation or of cutting jobs, unions have said. TUC deputy general secretary Frances O'Grady added: “Breaking up signal and track maintenance, last seen in the days of Railtrack, raises real safety fears”.
TUC news release • ASLEF news release • RMT news release • DfT news release and McNulty report • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

USA: Mine disaster caused by corporate risk-taking
A US mine tragedy happened because a coal giant operated a mine in a “profoundly reckless manner and 29 coal miners paid with their lives for the corporate risk-taking,” according to an independent report. Massey Energy Co’s Upper Big Branch coal mine exploded on 5 April 2010.
AFL-CIO news release • Upper Big Branch. The April 5, 2010, explosion: a failure of basic coal mine safety practices, National Technology Transfer Center, May 2011. Washington Post • iWatch News • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Unite takes on stress epidemic
Workers' mental health is coming under increasing pressure as fears over jobs and cuts take their toll in the workplace, the union Unite has warned. In response, it says it will undertake groundbreaking research to gauge the extent of the stress epidemic and possible solutions.
TUC news release • Mind and Mind’s Taking care of business webpages • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Company's safety award is a 'joke'
Trade unionists have branded as ‘a joke’ the award of a prestigious health and safety prize to construction firm Balfour Beatty. The company received the Sir George Earle Trophy from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) despite being notorious for sacking and blacklisting health and safety reps.
RoSPA news release and Balfour Beatty award citation • Blacklist blog • Morning Star • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Global: Garment trade backs safe denim campaign
Major fashion chains are backing a campaign by unions and labour rights groups to ban the use of a deadly sandblasting process in denim garment manufacture. The joint call from global garment unions’ federation ITGLWF and apparel buyers and manufacturers says the process can “be extremely damaging to the health of workers if proper safeguards are not followed, and can lead to a disabling and potentially fatal lung disease called silicosis.”
ITGLWF news release • BSCI news release and guidance paper • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Sell off threat for London’s fire engines
Firefighters’ union FBU has warned London’s privatised ambulance fleet could be sold off as the contractor responsible fights a winding-up order. AssetCo, the company that owns and leases appliances to London’s fire service, won a 20-year multi-million pound contract to supply the London Fire Brigade with all its appliances - but it has seen its share price collapse amid fears it is running out of money.
FBU news release • The Observer • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Injured driver pays the Asda price
An Asda lorry driver who damaged his knee at work has received a £4,000 payout. Ian Burridge, 42, developed the degenerative condition osteoarthritis between two and five years earlier than he would have due to the injury.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Burnt bike trip leads to broken bones
A council has paid damages to a GMB member who broke his ribs in a nasty fall when he tripped over the burnt out remains of a motorbike on a London estate. The 45-year-old from east London, whose name has not been released, was walking home from work in the dark when he had the bad fall in August 2008.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Business lobby wants ‘race to the bottom’
A report from a business lobby group claiming safety regulations are costing business £355m a year has been dismissed by the TUC as being based on “non-existent burdens.” Commenting on the report from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) A TUC spokesperson said: “Employers have to get real on health and safety regulation and stop complaining about non-existent burdens on business and instead focus on protecting their staff and the public,” adding: “The problem for business is not regulation, but the mind-set that sees the need to protect workers as being a ‘burden’, and it is time that the BCC and the government started addressing that rather than encouraging a race to the bottom.”
BCC news release and report, ‘Health and Safety: a risky business?’ • BBC Five Live • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Government lurch to ‘lawlessness at work’
The government’s new health and safety strategy is propelling the UK towards “lawlessness” at work, a new report has said. Official figures obtained exclusively by Hazards magazine reveal the number of major injuries even investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has slumped to just 1 in 19, and warns other changes mean HSE has been robbed of its resources and robbed of its role.
Screw you: The government’s deadly lurch towards lawlessness at work and Body blow: Government jettisons your safety, sickness, compensation and job rights, Hazards, Number 114, April-June 2011 • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

France: One in six asthma cases work-related
Occupational allergies account for 15 per cent of adult asthma cases, experts in France have concluded. A meeting of lung allergy specialists in Paris heard panellists report the longer work-related allergens are inhaled, the worse the asthma gets, often continuing after occupational exposure has ended.
HESA news report • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Löfstedt review calls for evidence
A government review charged with finding ways to reduce the “burden” of health and safety on business has put out a call for evidence. The Löfstedt review, announced by the government in March (Risks 499), is inviting views “from all interested parties on the scope for reducing the burden of health and safety regulation on UK businesses whilst maintaining health and safety outcomes.”
DWP news release • Call for evidence and final terms of reference for the inquiry • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: ‘Low risk’ strategy is seriously flawed
A government demand that local authorities undertake 65,000 fewer safety inspections each year is “seriously flawed” and will mean “many employers will think they don’t need to bother” with safety, retail union Usdaw has warned. In a statement to Hazards magazine, the union said it is “extremely worried by this government’s continued ideological attack on health and safety… It also ignores solid evidence from the UK and the US that shows that health and safety laws are not a burden on business.”
Hazards magazine • Joint guidance for reduced proactive inspections, Health and Safety Executive and the Local Government Group, May 2011 [pdf] •   Advice/Guidance to Local Authorities on Priority Planning, Health and Safety Executive/Local Authorities Enforcement Liaison Committee (HELA), LA67/2 (rev2), March 2010 • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: No room for complacency in nuke industry
There is no room for complacency in the UK’s nuclear industry, an official review has concluded. An interim assessment of the implications of the nuclear crisis in Japan by the Health and Safety Executive’s top nuclear inspector concludes there is no need to curtail the operations of nuclear plants in the UK, but says lessons should be learnt.
HSE news release and interim report, ‘Japanese earthquake and tsunami: Implications for the UK Nuclear Industry’ • Prospect news release • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Climbdown hint on coastguard closures
Unions have welcomed an anticipated government climbdown on plans to close over half of the UK’s coastguard stations. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said the apparent u-turn was evidence of what can be achieved by “inspirational” community campaigning.
PCS news release • Nautilus news release • BBC News Online • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

China: Group warned of iPad death factory risks
A Hong Kong-based campaign group had in recent weeks warned about deadly dust dangers at a computer factory in China which exploded on 20 May, killing three workers and injuring 15 others. Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) this week released a video revealing the extent of worker exposures to aluminium dust in the polishing department at the Foxconn plant in Chengdu.
SACOM news release, video and report, Foxconn and Apple fail to fulfill promises: Predicaments of workers after the suicides, 6 May 2011 • San Jose Mercury • EDN blog • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Triple prosecution after construction death
A plant hire firm and a plant operator have been fined after foreman Gerry Fox died when an excavator bucket filled with concrete fell on him at a London construction site. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Hydro Plant Ltd, the plant hire company which had provided the excavator and Michael Cunningham, the excavator operator, for safety breaches after the August 2007 incident; Euro Earthworks Ltd, the principal contractor and Mr Cunningham's employer, also faces charges but has entered administration and did not appear at court.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Solvent spill leads to six figure fine
A chemical company has been fined £150,000 after a tank collapsed, releasing a large amount of waste solvents and water at a chemical plant in Rye, East Sussex. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Solvent Resource Management Ltd for breaching health and safety regulations, which led to the incident.
HSE news release • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Firm falls into a bad practice
A clutch manufacturer has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a worker suffered serious injuries in a fall from a roof. After the incident, Raicam Clutch Ltd then sent up a second worker to investigate why his colleague had fallen – without thinking to first introduce necessary safety improvements.
HSE news release and guide on work at heights [pdf] • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Britain: Man loses fingers in cup cake case
A paper firm has been fined after a worker lost fingers in a machine whose safety features had been overridden. Maintenance fitter David Millband, 46, was seriously injured when his right hand was caught in a reel-fed machine at The Crimped Paper Works Limited, which makes paper baking cases.
HSE news release • Risks 507 • 28 May 2011

Hazards news, 21 May 2011

Britain: Top docs back union dust plan
The Institute of Occupational Medicine has backed a union push for a dramatic reduction in the amount of dust allowed in workplace air. Unions have for over two years been pressing an intransigent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to reduce the occupational exposure limit for general workplace dust to a quarter the current level and to run a campaign to raise awareness of dust dangers.
The IOM’s position on occupational exposure limits for dust, May 2011 [pdf] • Delivering for health: HSE action on occupational respiratory disease [pdf], paper to the HSE board meeting, December 2010 [minutes, pdf] • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

USA: New chemical safe law good for jobs
More stringent controls on industrial chemicals could support job creation in the US while protecting health and the environment, a new report has concluded. The study, produced by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and commissioned by the BlueGreen Alliance, shows that innovation in sustainable chemistry can reverse the industry's job shedding trend in a market that increasingly requires cleaner, safer production.
BGA news release and full report, The economic benefits of a green chemical industry in the United States: Renewing manufacturing jobs while protecting health and the environment • In These Times • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Union concern as HSE cuts phone lines
Construction union UCATT has warned workers will be put at risk as a result of cuts to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) information service. The watchdog’s Infoline, which last year dealt with over 200,000 inquiries, will close in October and will not be replaced.
UCATT news release • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Car crash ended nurse’s career
A UNISON member whose nursing career was ended by injuries suffered in a road smash as she travelled to see a patient, has received a £441,227 court payout. She was forced to take the union-backed case to the Royal Courts of Justice (RCJ) after an insurer refused to concede her serious injuries left her unable to work.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Tax office trapped disabled worker
A PCS member with a disability who was injured by a faulty lift in the government building in which she worked has received £3,700 in compensation. The lift had already been reported faulty after closing suddenly on two other employees earlier that day but nothing was done to put it out of action.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

USA: New chemical safe law good for jobs
More stringent controls on industrial chemicals could support job creation in the US while protecting health and the environment, a new report has concluded. The study, produced by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and commissioned by the BlueGreen Alliance, shows that innovation in sustainable chemistry can reverse the industry's job shedding trend in a market that increasingly requires cleaner, safer production.
BGA news release and full report, The economic benefits of a green chemical industry in the United States: Renewing manufacturing jobs while protecting health and the environment • In These Times • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Network Rail fined £3m over train crash
Network Rail has been fined £3 million for safety failings over the Potters Bar train crash.
The rail infrastructure company admitted breaching safety regulations over the May 2002 crash which claimed seven lives.
ORR news release • BBC News Online • Construction Enquirer • The Independent • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Privatisation to blame for rail disaster
Shambolic safety management by Network Rail’s privatised predecessor Railtrack was to blame for the Potters Bar disaster, rail unions have said. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “People need to remember that it was the privatised Railtrack and their contractors who were responsible for the Potters Bar disaster and that Network Rail have been left to sweep up the mess that they inherited from that failed company and that includes paying this fine.”
RMT news release • ASLEF news release • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Finland: Unions track asbestos exposure risks
Unions in Finland are keeping track of workplace asbestos exposures, using a purpose designed “follow-up” card. The say the initiative, which was launched last month by the Breathing Association, the union confederations SAK and STTK, and the trade unions representing metal, electrical, paper and construction workers, will record information on individual worker’s exposures and on possible occupational diseases that could be related to those exposures.
Trade Union News from Finland • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Serial safety offender Celsa fined again
Major steel firm Celsa has extended its unenviable run of prosecutions following serious injuries and criminal safety offences. The latest, after a worker at the Cardiff steel producer had parts of two fingers amputated when his hand was crushed in a rolling mill processing red hot steel, led to a £50,000 fine for the firm.
HSE news release • South Wales Argus • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Contractor fined after brain damage fall
An “incompetent” principal contractor has been fined £2,500 after a boatyard employee suffered devastating brain injuries in a fall from a badly constructed gantry. Kevin Cleightonhills was attempting to push a boat on to the purpose-built loading platform when he fell nearly 3.5 metres.
HSE news release • Isle of Wight Gazette • Old Square Chambers report on the January 2011 compensation settlement • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Woodworking firm ignored dust warning
A Bristol joinery and staircase specialist that ignored an official order to improve control exposures to wood dust has been fined. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector visited the Blackstone Developments (South West) Ltd workshop on 9 February 2011 and found the firm had failed to comply with an official improvement notice issued on 7 October 2010.
HSE news release • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Inspection caught quarry’s crimes
An unannounced Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspection at a Lincolnshire quarry found dangerous equipment with its safety guards removed and in a condition where a worker “could easily have been killed”. The inspection led to the prosecution of Andrew Freeman, who trades under the name Freemac Aggregates at the quarry in Baston.
HSE news release and quarries webpages • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Japan: Worker dies at crippled nuclear plant
A worker at Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has died, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said, bringing the death toll at the complex to three since the massive earthquake and tsunami in March.
Al Jazeera • Daily Mail • Fairwarning • Asahi Shimbun • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Aerospace worker suffers severe hand injuries
An aerospace firm has been fined after a worker suffered severe hand and wrist injuries. Kishor Patel, 53, had to have three fingers and his thumb amputated after his left hand was crushed in a cooling press at Meggitt Aerospace's site in Shepshed, Leicestershire on 10 May 2010.
HSE news release • Leicester Mercury • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Firm fined after engineer loses thumb
A Stourbridge engineering firm has been fined after an employee lost his thumb when it was crushed during a lifting operation. Terence Grove, a 55-year-old mechanical engineer at MI Engineering Company Ltd, was using a rope sling attached to a crane to lift a half-ton angle plate when the sling snapped.
HSE news release • Stourbridge News • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Firm fined £100,000 after death plunge
A steeplejack firm has been fined £100,000 after one worker plunged to his death and another was injured in separate falls within 18 months. Brian Collins was working for Nottingham-based Central (High Rise) on a contract to paint chimneys at Sutton Bridge Power Station in March 2008 when he fell to his death.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • HSE shattered lives campaign • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Firm fined after man crushed by granite slabs
A London granite business and one of its directors have been fined after a man was trapped under a two-and-a-half tonne pack of stone slabs while unloading a truck. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted M&R Granite & Marble Ltd and Monzer Mahmoud Alrayes, a director of the company, over the incident on 21 October 2010.
HSE news release • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Britain: Man loses arm in shop door
Ascot Doors employee Paul McNulty, 34, had been called to repair a mezzanine conveyor belt at a Currys store in Ashton under Lyne, used to carry stock from one floor to another. But while carrying out the repairs, his sleeve became trapped in the belt and his arm was dragged through a set of rollers, requiring an emergency amputation.
Manchester Evening News • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Chile: Unions press for mine safety action
The Chilean government must show a specific commitment to improve the country’s poor mine safety regulation, the global mining union federation ICEM has said. The union body said moves to reform Chile’s “antiquated” workplace health and safety culture, but said the Chilean government must also take explicit measures on mine safety, including ratifying ILO’s Convention 176 on safety and health in mines.
ICEM news release • Risks 506 • 21 May 2011

Hazards news, 14 May 2011

Britain: Campaigners protest at rights erosion
Unions and campaigners joined forces this week to highlight the government’s assault on health and safety legislation and enforcement. A 10 May lobby of parliament, organised by the GMB, heard union leaders warn about the impact of plans to cut life-saving legislation.
Treasury news release. CBI news release. Morning Star. The Guardian. BBC News Online • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

USA: Oil industry shareholders face safety truths
A US union has put its oil industry safety concerns right under the noses of shareholders at major firms. Shareholder resolutions have been filed on USW’s behalf at Marathon Oil, Valero, Tesoro and ConocoPhillips, calling on the companies to improve disclosures on safety at oil refineries. 
USW news release • ICEM news report • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: FBU warns services at breaking point
Firefighters’ union FBU has warned cuts in frontline services are pushing emergency workers to breaking point. The union says the recent spate of wildfires across parts of the UK has highlighted the danger of planned cuts.
FBU news release • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Tube movement as safety rep is reinstated
Tube union RMT has confirmed strike action by London Underground drivers due to commence next week has been suspended. The move follows an agreement with London Underground to re-employ unfairly sacked driver and RMT safety rep Eamonn Lynch, and agreement to hold further discussion aimed at resolving the unfair dismissal of sacked driver Arwyn Thomas in advance of his Employment Tribunal.
RMT news release and earlier release on Eamonn Lynch’s employment tribunal victory • BBC News Online • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

USA: Oil industry shareholders face safety truths
A US union has put its oil industry safety concerns right under the noses of shareholders at major firms. Shareholder resolutions have been filed on USW’s behalf at Marathon Oil, Valero, Tesoro and ConocoPhillips, calling on the companies to improve disclosures on safety at oil refineries. 
USW news release • ICEM news report • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: RMT action call on Jubilee Line safety
Tube union RMT is preparing to ballot drivers on the Jubilee Line for action short of a strike in a dispute over what it describes as attempts by management to “ride roughshod over agreed safety procedures.” The union says Tube bosses are “under instruction from the top to ignore currently agreed safety procedures to try and shortcut the clearage of blockages on the tracks.”
RMT news release • Morning Star • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Unite warning on greenhouse exploitation
Britain’s largest greenhouse complex and the supermarkets it supplies have been warned Unite is prepared to escalate its campaign against exploitation of the workers employed to harvest crops. Kent based agricultural producer Thanet Earth is accused by the union of operating a system of “permanent casualisation”.
Unite news release and Ethical Trading Initiative base code • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Emergency delays on 7/7 'did not cause deaths'
Delays in the emergency services' response to the 7/7 London bombings did not cause the death of any of the 52 people killed, an inquiry has ruled. At the conclusion of the five month hearing, coroner Lady Justice Hallett noted that health and safety legislation, when properly implemented, has played an “invaluable role” in protecting workers from injury, disease and death.
Coroner's Inquests into the London Bombings of the 7 July 2005 • FBU news release. BBC News Online • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Met police chief backs safety laws
Britain’s top police officer has said police must be protected by safety law, after an inquest into the 2005 London bombings concluded delays caused by safety considerations did not contribute to any deaths.  The views of Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson are revealed in a transcript of comments made to a Telegraph journalist, who had misrepresented the police chief’s comments in an article headed “let us risk out lives”.
The Telegraph on the Paul Stephenson interview • The Sun • BBC News Online •
Striking the balance between operational and health and safety duties in the Police Service [pdf] • Related HSE news release, 9 October 2009 • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Mexico: Coal mine explosion kills 14
Fourteen miners have been confirmed dead after their bodies were retrieved from a coal mine in Sabinas, Mexico five days after a 3 May explosion. The methane gas blast at the mine, which employed 25 non-union miners, also resulted in the hospitalisation of a 15-year-old boy, who lost both arms.
IMF news report • ICEM news report • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Accident reports go (mostly) online
Businesses will still be able to notify fatal and major incidents and injuries by phone, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said, but changes mean other officially reportable incidents will soon have to be reported online. Also as part of cutbacks, HSE's Infoline telephone service will end on 30 September 2011.
HSE news release and Q&A on the changes • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Suspended sentence for director after death
Managing director Richard James of Southern Property Maintenance has been fined £120,000 and given a suspended sentence after the death of a young worker. Shane Offer, 21, fell through a skylight at Rosebys in Bognor Regis in June 2009, later dying in hospital of his injuries.
Sussex Police news release • Bearsden Herald • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Cotswold Geotech loses death appeal
Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings has lost an appeal against its conviction for corporate manslaughter. Geologist Alexander Wright, 27, died in September 2008 when a pit he was working in collapsed. 
BBC News Online • Construction Enquirer • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Six figure fine after employee is paralysed
Skanska Rashleigh Weatherfoil Ltd has been fined £120,000 after a worker was left paralysed when he was knocked from a scissor lift. Former cable puller Richard Bradley, 28, severed his spinal cord, broke all of his ribs and punctured both of his lungs after plunging from an eight metre platform as he worked on a site in Crawley, West Sussex, in January 2007.
HSE news release • Uxbridge Gazette • Peterlee Mail • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Firm fined after flange flattens machinist
A machine operative suffered multiple injuries after two quarter tonne steel flange rings fell on him. The 39-year-old from Hitchin, who has not been named, was working at the premises of pipe coupling manufacturer Viking Johnson when the incident happened on 7 May 2009.
HSE news release • The Comet • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Recycling firm convicted after worker's jaw smashed
A skip lorry driver at one of the UK's leading metal recyclers had his jaw shattered by the locking mechanism on a skip. Dean Bridges had his jaw broken in several places and lost three teeth while attempting to open the rear door of the RO-RO (Roll-on Roll-off) container he was driving at Ampthill Metal Company Ltd’s site in Ampthill, Bedfordshire.
HSE news release • Bedford Today • Materials Recycling Week • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: CBI finds sickness absence stays low
Sickness absence in 2010 remained close to the previous year’s record low, employers’ organisation CBI has found. The CBI/Pfizer Absence and Workplace Health Survey reports there were 190 million working days to sickness absence last year, with each employee taking an average of 6.5 days off sick.
CBI news release • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Mental illness and strains top disability list
Mental health problems have overtaken musculoskeletal disorders such as back pain as the main reason people claim benefits because they are unable to work, a study has found. Researchers, writing in the journal Occupational Medicine, looked at new incapacity benefit awards for both kinds of conditions in Britain from 1997 to 2007.
SOM news release • BBC News Online • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Britain: Benefit tests find sick fit to work
People with serious illnesses are being found “fit to work” under new sickness benefits tests, disability charities have warned. The MS Society, Parkinson's UK, National Aids Trust, Arthritis Care, the Forward-ME group and Crohn's and Colitis UK are calling for changes to make the test “fairer” for people with illnesses where symptoms vary over time.
MS Society news release and related report [pdf] • BBC News Online and related story • Morning Star • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

Australia: Rio Tinto faces mine safety protest
Rio Tinto shareholders have been forced to face up to another aspect of the company’s performance at the mining giant’s AGM – the deteriorating safety performance of its coal mines in Australia. The Construction, Forestry, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) delivered its safety rebuke at Rio Tinto’s Perth meeting.
CFMEU news release • ICEM news report • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

China: Campaign exposes hi-tech’s abuses
Labour abuses, suicide deaths and poisonings are continuing in China’s hi-tech factories, campaigners have warned. Hong-Kong based Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour (SACOM), in a report released this week, says a series of safety scandals, including reports of suicides of young workers employed by the multinational tech giant Foxconn, have not been followed by substantive improvements.
SACOM news release and full report [pdf] • Time to Bite Into a Fair Apple campaign • MakeITfair news release • In These Times • Risks 505 • 14 May 2011

 

 

Hazards news, 7 May 2011

Britain: Workers stand up for safety rights
More than one hundred events involving thousands of workers took place around Britain today to commemorate Workers’ Memorial Day. The 28 April event also saw record numbers around the world participate, with over 60 countries having already filed reports.
Unite news release • UNISON news release • GMB news release • Morning Star • Find out what happened around the world on 28 April • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Global: Tobacco workers in campaign breakthrough
The union campaign calling for better working conditions in the tobacco fields of North Carolina took a step forward at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the London-headquartered multinational British American Tobacco (BAT). Union protests at both the 28 April London AGM and in the US led to BAT asking the TUC to organise a meeting, where US unions could get face-to-face with the company’s top brass.
Stronger Unions 28 April and 27 April updates • AFL-CIO Now blog • FLOC • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

USA: Don’t blame the workers
“The Clearwater Paper Corp in Lewistown, Idaho, chose the king cobra to symbolise its workplace safety programme,” writes Leo Gerard, leader of the United Steelworkers union (USW). “A cobra. One of the deadliest snakes on the planet.”
AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Britain: Greenhouse giant probed for 'sweatshop labour'
Working conditions at Britain's largest greenhouse complex Thanet Earth are being investigated by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) after the union Unite claimed agency workers at the vegetable growing site in Kent are being treated like “sweatshop labour.”
Unite news release • BBC News Online • The Guardian • Ethical Trading Initiative base-code • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Europe: Unions take lead on nuclear power standards
British and French trade unions are to push for improved employment conditions for European nuclear workers at a European Union-funded conference in Paris next month. The GMB and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) have invited major nuclear companies to attend.
The Independent • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Britain: Official review aims to help business
A health and safety review to be completed by the autumn will look at “easing unnecessary burdens on business.” The government says the review, to be led by industry-favourite Professor Ragnar Löfstedt of the King’s Centre for Risk Management at King’s College, London, “is part of package of changes to Britain’s health and safety system to support the government’s growth agenda and cut red tape.”
DWP news release and review terms of reference [pdf] • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Britain: UK will tighten too weak asbestos law
The UK version of a European Union-wide law on asbestos safety is to be amended after the European Commission (EC) ruled it is illegally lax. In a 28 April statement to the trade union magazine Hazards, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) “confirmed its agreement” with the EC’s finding that the UK had actually under-implemented Europe’s asbestos law.
Hazards magazine • European Commission news release • HSE asbestos at work regulations webpages and the EC asbestos directive and infringement procedures • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Canada: Top union body slams asbestos trade
The leader of Canada’s national union federation has slammed the country’s prime minister for promoting asbestos in a bid to win votes. In a letter ahead of federal elections, which this week returned Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party with a substantial majority, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) president Kenneth Georgetti condemned the prime minister’s vocal support for asbestos trade in a bid to win votes in Quebec, the region with the asbestos mines.
CLC letter • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Britain: German death firm faces UK charge
Metals multinational ThyssenKrupp, whose top bosses in Italy have just been handed jail terms for murder and manslaughter at a steelworks in the country, are to face Crown Court charges after a death in a UK workplace. On 27 April, the firm was again before the courts, this time in the UK.
Northern Echo September 2010 report on the inquest • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Britain: Worker dies but bosses alone escape the law
A company and a mechanic at a plant hire company have been fined after a forklift truck driver was killed – but those running the firm faced neither a prosecution nor a fine. Morgans Plant Hire Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation into the death of employee Keith Nappin, who died at its site in Thame Road, Buckinghamshire, on 10 April 2007.
HSE news release • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Australia: Unions question business motives
The business lobby in Australia wants to see safety rules relaxed because it doesn’t believe safety is a top priority, unions have charged. Ged Kearney, president of the national union federation ACTU, said unions would resist moves by “self-interested business groups” to water down proposed national health and safety regulations.
ACTU news release • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Britain: Scaffold boss fined £3,000 after death
The boss of a defunct scaffolding firm where a scaffolder fell to his death has been fined £3,000 for criminal safety offences, including making up a job spec after the tragedy. Shaun Stevens, 41, fell 13ft (4m) to his death when dismantling a racking area at Kingswood-based Flook Scaffolding, Bristol Crown Court was told.
HSE news release • Bristol Evening Post • The Breeze • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Britain: Rubber firm fined after fatal head injury
Car mat manufacturer Cannon Automotive has been fined £20,000 after a worker was killed while repairing a rubber-mixing machine. Balbir Rayatt, 55, was hit on the head by the steel beam while repairing the machine at in Tottenham, London.
HSE news release • Tottenham Journal • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Britain: Land Rover fined for vibration crimes
Vehicle manufacturer Land Rover has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for failing to take into account the risks facing workers using vibrating hand tools. Ten workers at its Solihull plant are believed to have developed a vibration related occupational disease as a result.
HSE news release • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Britain: Most claimants denied sickness benefit
Threequarters of sickness benefit claimants are found fit to work or abandon their claims before completing their medical assessment, latest figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have revealed. However, initial assessments of people's fitness to return to the workplace have been overturned in almost four in 10 cases in which individuals appealed.
DWP news release • The Guardian • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

Global: Film to combat urban transport violence
The union fight against workplace violence is being bolstered by a new film. The four-minute YouTube clip, launched as part of global union federation ITF’s Workers’ Memorial Day activities, “aims to empower urban transport workers to say no to violence at work.”
ITF news report and violence film • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

USA: Anti-union Roquette targets victims
Conrad Fedler is suffering from inoperable, terminal lung cancer. He worked at the Roquette USA plant in Keokuk, Iowa from 1996 until June 2010, when his illness forced him onto disability. On 28 September 2010 - the day the company locked out hundreds of BCTGM union members for insisting on their right to negotiate a collective agreement - Roquette raised his health insurance premiums by over $1,000 a month - from $380 (£228) to $1,467 (£880) per month.
IUF action alert • The Hawkeye • Risks 504 • 7 May 2011

You can support the Roquette workers by calling for an end to the lockout and the start of genuine negotiations - send a message to the company

Hazards news, 30 April 2011

Britain: Remembering those killed at work
Unions and campaigners have marked Workers’ Memorial Day this year in record numbers in over 70 countries worldwide. The TUC said the annual 28 April international event is a reminder that around the world more people are killed at work than in wars and conflict; this year it encouraged unions to use 28 April to campaign against the cuts in Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authority funding and enforcement activity.
TUC news release and UK events listing • Hazards Campaign news release • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Global: Unions attacks anti-regulation business
International trade unions are warning of the potentially devastating effect of business lobbying to weaken legal health and safety protection at work. “Business groups and companies in a succession of countries, including some of the world’s largest economies, are pushing to reduce protection from hazards at work,” said Sharan Burrow, head of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
ITUC news release and related RadioLabour interview with the ITUC’s Anabella Rosemberg • ITUC/Hazards global 28 April events listing • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Tube drivers vote to protect union reps
Members of the Tube union RMT have voted by almost two-to-one for strike action in defence of two union reps. The union says safety rep Eamon Lynch and fellow union rep Arwyn Thomas were targeted for their trade union activities, after challenging cuts that could turn the underground system into a “death trap.”
RMT news release • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Paper mill reps win top award
A team of union safety reps have won a top award after shaking up safety at a Scottish paper mill. The eight Unite reps from Tullis Russell (TR) received the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) Safety Rep of Year award after negotiated a new approach centred on a recognition that trade union involvement is crucial to effective health and safety management.
Unite news release • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Cuts and bonuses could cost lives
Government safety cutbacks and a bonus culture in business will lead to more deaths at work, a top union official in Scotland has warned. Grahame Smith, general secretary of Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), said: “We fear that additional lives will be lost through the combination of coalition government attacks on health and safety enforcement, and the drive towards deregulation, and the growing bonus culture.”
STUC news release. Also see STUC Workers’ Memorial Day news release • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Survey reveals schools asbestos peril
Fears about asbestos exposures in schools have been raised after a survey uncovered “worrying shortcomings” in the management of the substance. The nationwide survey of more than 600 union safety representatives in schools “has flatly contradicted” Health and Safety Executive (HSE) claims that the government is meeting its legal obligations to address the issue of asbestos in schools, a trade union campaign group warned.
Unite news release • NUT news release • Asbestos in Schools • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Teaching jobs blighted by bullying
Bullying is widespread in teaching and little is being done to tackle this “appalling” treatment, teaching unions have warned.
NASUWT news release • ATL news release • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Heads not ready to tackle teacher stress
Many headteachers have no idea how to tackle the high level of occupational stress afflicting teachers, the union NUT has warned. Christine Blower, the union’s general secretary, said despite recognition that teaching is “one of the most stressful professions to work in” and “stress is the predominant cause of work-related illness in the education sector,” too little is being done.
NUT news release • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Corus welder gets shin injury payout
A welder left with a large scar on his shin after a workplace incident has received an undisclosed sum in compensation after help from his trade union. GMB member Richard Parry, 45, from Newport has a two inch by one inch scar in the shape of a tick on his shin after lacerating it against the sharp metal framework of a train base whilst working for Corus.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Proposals could hurt accident reporting
Government proposals to reduce injury reporting requirements on firms could make workplaces less safe and could increase the burdens on business, a safety body has warned. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), in its response to a consultation on the future of the RIDDOR accident reporting regulations, is calling for a different, more radical approach to encourage improved reporting.
RoSPA news release • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Firm fined after fitter is crushed to death
A Staffordshire engineering firm has been fined £40,000 after it “took safety risks for granted” and a fitter was crushed to death. Father-of-two Mark Palmer, 46, was crushed by the digger he was working on at a farm near Penkridge on 7 March 2008. HSE news release • Express and Star • Construction Enquirer • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Horrific burns after firm’s safety bypass
A Tamworth firm has been fined £20,000 after a worker suffered horrific burns from a flash fire after opening an oven door with a bypassed safety system. The 24-year-old, who has asked not to be identified, was working Enviro-Strip (UK) Ltd, a firm that strips paint and coatings from metal parts for the automotive industry.
HSE news release • Birmingham Mail • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Britain: Petfood giant fined £50,000 after mass scalding
Petcare giant Nestle Purina has been fined after five workers suffered severe burns when a steam pressure system malfunctioned. The five men were all working on the maintenance of a hydrostat, a high-pressure food-processing machine, when they were hit by an uncontrolled release of steam and boiling water at Nestle Purina's plant in Wisbech.
HSE news release • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Global: Dismay at Canada’s asbestos shame
A major expansion of asbestos production in Canada is to go ahead, after the industry secured official support for a new mine. Global union federation BWI, which represents building workers in the asbestos disease frontline, condemned the decision by the Quebec provincial government to support the Jeffrey asbestos mine.
BWI news release • IBAS commentary • The Cold Truth • CBC News • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Global: ThyssenKrupp execs jailed for deaths
An Italian court has sentenced ThyssenKrupp's top boss in the country, Harald Espenhahn, to 16.5 years in prison for the murder of seven workers who died in a fire at the multinational's steel factory in Turin on 6 December 2007. The incident prompted a strike and demonstrations on the city’s streets, and a nationwide campaign for workplace safety improvements.
IMF news report • Deutsche Welle • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

USA: Transocean 'contributed' to Gulf disaster
A lax safety culture and poorly working kit aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig contributed to last year's explosion, the US Coast Guard has concluded. In a report on the incident, which killed 11 rig workers and caused a massive spill, the agency criticised the practices and training of rig owner Transocean, noting: “Deepwater Horizon and its owner, Transocean, had serious safety management system failures and a poor safety culture.”
US Coast Guard report • BBC News Online • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

USA: Safety laws are good for jobs and workers
Regulations designed to protect workers, consumers and the environment do not have a negative impact on the job market and, in some cases, actually spur job creation, according to new research. The paper from the US Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows that recent criticism surrounding regulations' impact on jobs is misguided and not reflective of economic data.
Regulation, employment, and the economy: Fears of job loss are overblown, EPI, April 2011 • OMB Watch • Risks 503 • 30 April 2011

Hazards news, 16 April 2011

Britain: Union wins protective equipment precedent
A union has won a landmark ruling on the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) at work. Sukhdev Gill of Thompsons Solicitors, who represented Mr Spalding for Unite, said: “The High Court has provided important clarification in the application of the PPE regulations, bearing in mind that PPE should always be a last resort if the risk to health and safety cannot be removed.”
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Warning on government DIY repair scheme
Construction union UCATT has warned that government plans to give social housing tenants responsibility for repairs to their homes could lead to their being exposed to asbestos and other serious risks. It is also “highly concerned” that a parallel “community cashback” scheme to encourage local builders to undertake work currently done by highly skilled, directly employed social housing maintenance workers, could be a recipe for “cowboy practices.”
UCATT news release • DCLG news release • BBC News Online • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Duncan Smith should apologise for sick ‘spin’
Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith should apologise for his ‘outrageous spin’ after it was revealed some jobcentre staff had been being forced to stop people’s benefits to meet targets, civil service union PCS has said. The union’s general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said: “When this story broke Mr Duncan Smith described it as ‘claptrap’ and a ‘conspiracy’, but faced with the overwhelming evidence that these targets are still in place, his department has been forced to backtrack.”
PCS news release • The Guardian • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Olympic site blockaded in blacklist protest
Union protesters blocked the entrance to London’s Olympic site last week in support of victimised construction worker Frank Morris. The Enfield-based electrician was shifted from his job at the prestigious media centre at the Olympic site after blowing the whistle on the use of an illegal blacklist on the construction project.
Blacklist blog • Morning Star • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Tube flooding prompts safety action call
Rail union leaders have called for a safety review after warning an investigation had found a flood at London's Charing Cross Tube station almost ended in “tragedy.” Commenting on London Underground’s (LU) “shambolic management” of the incident, RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “We were just seconds away from a potential tragedy and the LU internal report says clearly that those failures were down to poor communication, lack of appropriate training and an absence of proper command and control.”
RMT news release • BBC News Online • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Foot injury cost two jobs
A retained firefighter whose foot was crushed on duty had to give up two jobs as a result of his injuries. Andrew Murray, 45, was forced to give up not only part-time firefighting but his full-time job as a financial adviser after the incident in Spilsby market place, Lincolnshire, in December 2006.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Family speaks out after work death
The family of Unite member Allan Sanderson, who died after being crushed under workplace machinery, has welcomed crown court sentences for the firms responsible but has said the punishment can never make up for the loss of life.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: HSE chair needs a ‘reality check’, warns union
Construction union UCATT has said the chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ‘needs to take a reality check’ after she revealed the watchdog intention to stray from its exclusive focus on health and safety. George Guy, acting general secretary of UCATT, said: “It is not the HSE’s role to be promoting economic growth, the government has an entire department to undertake that task.”
UCATT news release • Construction Enquirer • BBC News Online • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: When the inspector never calls
A government minister has struggled to defend a new official safety strategy which will see most firms entirely off the Health and Safety Executive’s radar. The issue came to light in a 4 April House of Lords debate, where former Labour safety minister Lord McKenzie raised concern at “this blanket approach to designating great swathes of business as low hazard - effectively no-go areas until something goes wrong.”
House of Lords safety debate, 4 April 2011, Hansard • BIS news release and list of health and safety regulations included in the Red Tape Challenge • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: HSE partnerships undermined by cuts
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) plan to replace inspections with ‘partnerships’ and other informal alternatives to enforcement has been thrown into doubt as the impact of swingeing cuts to its budget become apparent. Environmental Health News, published by the Chartered Institution of Environmental Health, reports that seven out of eight partnership managers have already left HSE.
Environmental Health News • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Family’s low fines fury after crane death
The daughter of a man who was killed when a crane overturned in Liverpool has said the family has received “no justice whatsoever” after the firm responsible received a £4,500 fine. Mark Thornton, 46, was killed instantly in a “wholly avoidable” incident after being struck by a six-ton metal beam which fell after the crane tipped over at Wavertree Technology Park in 2007.
Liverpool Daily Post • BBC News Online • Construction Enquirer • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Asbestos workers poisoned in carbon monoxide
Three asbestos workers were almost overcome by fumes when a decontamination unit began to fill with deadly carbon monoxide. The contractor and owner of the DCU, Newlincs Services Ltd, pleaded guilty to a criminal breach of safety law and was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £3,580 in costs.
HSE news release • Gas Safe Register list of registered gas engineers • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Builder jailed for putting profit before safety
A Bradford builder has been jailed for trying to cut costs by doing his own gas and electric installation in a granny flat. Bradford Magistrates sentenced John Howe to four months after he pleaded guilty to five breaches of health and safety legislation and Gas Safety Regulations
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Six figure fines after labourer's fatal fall
Robertson Construction Central Ltd and Stirling Stone Ltd have been fined a total of £400,000 for breaches of health and safety legislation that resulted in the death of a stonemason's labourer at a Glasgow construction site. James Kelly, a labourer employed by specialist subcontractor Stirling Stone, tell to his death from an unsafe loading platform.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Construction Enquirer • SHP Online • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain; Fabrication firm severed casual worker's hand
A West Yorkshire metal fabrication firm has been fined after a 22-year-old casual worker's hand was severed by a machine. Jamie Raynor's left hand was amputated when the top pressing tool of a hydraulic press brake he was operating at RDB Fabrication and Engineering Ltd came down on his wrist.
HSE news release • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Injury victims face ‘ever tightening screw’
Injured people face an “ever tightening screw”, the head of a top legal body has warned. David Bott, the new president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), told the organisation’s annual conference this week that it is “plain wrong” for injury victims to take a cut of up to 25 per cent of their compensation to meet some legal costs.
APIL news release [pdf] • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Britain: Court upholds Scots pleural plaques payouts
Insurers have lost a legal bid to overturn a law in Scotland giving victims of an asbestos-related condition the right to claim damages. Unions welcomed the Court of Session decision to uphold the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions)(Scotland) Act in 2009 which allows sufferers of pleural plaques, a usually benign scarring of the lungs, to make compensation claims
STUC news release • UCATT news release • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • BBC News Online • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

China: Work disease risk for 200 million
An estimated 200 million workers in China are under threat from occupational diseases, a senior trade union official has warned. Tang Chun, an occupational disease expert with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, said the country had some 16 million business where workers were exposed to hazardous environments.
China Daily • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Global: Finding expected and unexpected cancers
The trade union movement has argued consistently the number of occupational cancers has been systematically under-estimated in studies. Occasionally, though, a study is thorough and independent enough to find the usual suspects and several types of cancer not normally associated with work.
HESA news, 11 April 2011. Eero Pukkala, Jan Ivar Martinsen, Elsebeth Lynge, Holmfridur Kolbrun Gunnarsdottir, Pär Sparén, Laufey Tryggvadottir, Elisabete Weiderpass, Kristina Kjaerheim. Occupation and cancer – follow-up of 15 million people in five Nordic countries, Acta Oncologica, January 2009, vol. 48, No. 5: 646–790 • Accompanying commentary from Aaron Blair • Global Unions occupational cancer campaign • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Japan: Temp workers suffer nuclear fall out
Unions have long contended that precarious workers have higher rates of injuries and illness on the job. Now global union federation IUF is warning precarious work is also the hidden underside of the Japanese nuclear power industry, where contract workers have an average level of radiation exposure 16 times that of the small layer of permanent workers.
IUF news report • New York Times • Asahi Shimbun • BBC News Online •
IMF precarious work webpages • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

USA: Top earners get the sick leave
Workers at the top of the wage scale in the US are more than four times as likely to have paid sick days than workers toiling near the bottom wage scale, according to a new Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report. The Economic Snapshot found just 19 per cent of low wage workers have paid sick days in the US, compared with 86 per cent of high-wage workers.
AFL-CIO Now blog • Economic Policy Institute Economic Snapshot • Risks 502 • 16 April 2011

Hazards news, 9 April 2011

Britain: Make London 2012 'sweat-free'
The London Olympics next year should be ‘sweat free’, a campaign coalition has said. Playfair 2012, which brings together unions and campaigning groups, called on International Olympic Committee (IOC) members to ensure all workplaces in the many Olympic and sportswear supply chains are free from poverty wages, insecure employment and excessive hours, and that the workers are allowed to join unions.
TUC news release • Playfair 2012 • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Dire safety warning as train jobs are cut
The decision by a major rail contractor to slash jobs will jeopardise safety and standards, rail union RMT has warned. The union was speaking out after contractor Thales revealed it is to cut 80 members of staff from its workforce.
RMT news release • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

USA: Deadly mines show need for tougher laws
A year after the deadly blast at a West Virginia coal mine that killed 29 miners, the USA’s top mine safety official called for tougher laws and bigger penalties for safety violators. Republicans voted down a previous effort to introduce improved mine safety laws sought in the wake of the Massey Energy disaster.
AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Strike ballot on safety rep victimisation
Tube union RMT has served notice on London Underground (LU) it intends to ballot for strike action in an escalation of on-going disputes over the victimisation of union activists. One of the affected members, Tube driver Eamon Lynch, is the RMT Bakerloo Line drivers’ health and safety rep.
RMT news release • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: HSE’s no longer all about safety
The Health and Safety Executive is moving away from a dedicated mission seeking “the prevention of death, injury and ill health to those at work and those affected by work activities” and adopting a new plan that also aims to “enable innovation that brings economic growth”. 
HSE Delivery Plan for the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 [pdf] • DWP/HSE framework document spelling out the role of HSE [pdf] • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Korea: Stroke death linked to job fear stress
The family of a worker who died of a stroke can receive industrial disaster compensation since his death was caused by stress arising from a warning of dismissal, a court has ruled. The man, who had worked at the fish processing company since 1998, collapsed at work and died from a cerebral haemorrhage in 2008.
Korea International Labour Foundation news report • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Construction likes safety regulation
Regulations on the design and management of construction projects are cost-effective and beneficial, research for the Health and Safety Executive has found. Over two-thirds of firms questioned (69 per cent) in the evaluation of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM 2007) said the benefits of the regulations were “moderate” or “better than moderate”; almost nine out of 10 (86 per cent) rated the costs of the regulations as “low”, “low to moderate” or “moderate”. 
Evaluation of Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007: Pilot study, Research Report, RR845, HSE, 2011 [pdf] • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Power player heads new nuclear regulator
A former top director in the power industry is to head the new nuclear safety watchdog. Nick Baldwin has been named as chair of the new Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), established as an agency of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE); Baldwin is the former chief executive of Powergen and E.ON – which is now part of Horizon Nuclear Power, one of the major players developing new nuclear power plants in the UK.
HSE news release and ONR webpages • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Backlash on oil spill execs safety bonuses
Executives at Transocean, the multinational offshore drilling contractor at the centre of last year’s deadly Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, have said they will give away bonuses they got for the company’s “exemplary” safety record that year. The decision came just days after the company disclosed the bonuses deep in a submission to a regulator, triggering intense criticism.
Washington Post on the backlash and the Transocean director safety bonuses • OSHA news release • CNN • BBC News Online • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Australia: Work bullies could face 10 years in jail
New penalties for workplace bullying to be introduced by an Australian state government have been welcomed by unions – but they are warning employers must be accountable for providing safe workplaces in which bullying does not occur in the first place. Ged Kearney, president of the national union federation ACTU, said employers, governments and workers had a shared responsibility to make workplaces safe, secure and free of harassment.
ACTU news release • Herald Sun • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Long work hours a heart attack risk
Clocking up extra hours at work can increase markedly the risk of heart disease, UK researchers have found. The research team from University College London warned people who work an 11-hour day compared with those who work a standard seven or eight hours increase their risk of heart disease by 67 per cent.
MRC news release • BBC News Online • Morning Star.
M Kivimäki and others. Using additional information on working hours to predict coronary heart disease: A cohort study, Annals of Internal Medicine, volume 154, number 7, pages 457-463, April 2011 [abstract] • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011 

Britain: Incapacity benefit crackdown begins
Unions and disability groups have warned a nationwide crackdown on incapacity benefit claimants will leave vulnerable people in danger. The one-and-a-half million people who claim incapacity benefit started to receive letters this week requiring them to be tested on their ability to work.
STUC news release • Scope news release • BBC News Online • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Scotland’s work safety needs urgent probe
Scotland's record on workplace injuries is due for a “thorough investigation,” MPs have said. The House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee this week launched an inquiry into the country’s poor health and safety record, amidst concerns about the impact of  government cuts on safety.
Scottish Affairs Committee news release • The Health and Safety Executive’s work in Scotland, NAO, March 2011 [pdf] • Morning Star • BBC News Online • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Suspended sentence for asbestos crimes
A property developer has received community service and a suspended prison sentence after ordering the unsafe removal of asbestos from a former nightclub in Wrexham. Michael Murton, 35, admitted removing the asbestos from Scott's nightclub, endangering workers and the public.
HSE news release • Daily Post • BBC News Online • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Clay company fined after worker flattened
A man employed by a multibillion pound minerals multinational was seriously injured when he was drawn into machinery used to flatten bags. China clay company Imerys Minerals Ltd pleaded guilty to a charge brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after failing to ensure the safety of staff engaged in manually loading bags onto conveyors at the European Milling Centre site at Par Docks.
HSE news release • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Africa: ‘Abusive’ Chinese firms face criticism
The ‘abusive’ behaviour of Chinese firms operating in Africa has stirred new controversy in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Reuters Africa • Google News • NewsDay • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Unsafe Tesco didn’t report injuries
Supermarket firm Tesco has fined £48,000 for safety shortcomings and failing to report injuries to staff. Bracknell Forest Council prosecuted the multi-billion company at Bracknell Magistrates' Court for a string of health and safety offences. 
Bracknell Forest Council news release • Road Transport • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Car parts maker fined over crane injuries
A Cheshire motor component manufacturer has been fined after a worker was injured when a 31-tonne load was dropped from an overhead crane. Mitras Automotive (UK) Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at its factory in Winsford on 21 May 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Britain: Farmworker was unlawfully killed
An inquest jury has returned a verdict of unlawful killing into the death of a farmworker who was crushed by a tractor with a defective handbrake. Father-of-four Tom Phizacklea, 33, was pinned by the wheel of a tractor and a mound at Aurora Park Farm, Scales, near Ulverston on 2 July 2009.
Westmorland Gazette • North West Evening Mail • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Global: Workers’ Memorial Day, Thursday 28 April 2011
Workers’ Memorial Day, the annual 28 April event when union and campaigners highlight workplace health and safety. Unions and campaign groups in the UK and globally are now gearing up for the annual event – the world’s largest annual health and safety activity.
TUC Workers’ Memorial Day webpages • ITUC/Hazards global 28 April webpages.
Resources: Order your Workers’ Memorial Day posters (free), ‘forget-me-knot’ ribbons (£25/100) and ‘Union workplaces are safer workplaces’ car stickers (£1 each) from the Hazards Campaign, c/o GMHC, Windrush Millennium Centre, 70 Alexandra Road, Manchester M16 7WD. Tel: 0161 636 7557 • Risks 501 • 9 April 2011

Hazards news, 2 April 2011

Global: Garment trade’s century of shame
On 25 March 1911, 146 garment workers died in an inferno at a New York factory. Nearly a century later, the same abuses led to another inferno and the deaths of 29 workers in Bangladesh garment factory supplying major US retailers.
ICEM news report • In These Times • Don’t mourn, organise, a collection of essays published by NYCOSH to mark the centenary of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire [pdf] • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Government safety ‘fiction’ condemned
Criticism of the government assault on safety regulation and enforcement has continued. Dave Bennett, health and safety adviser with train drivers’ union ASLEF has prepared a blow-by-blow criticism of the minister’s approach, noting “without regular inspections we will not prevent accidents which can result in injury or death, only fine the guilty parties after the event.”
ASLEF news release • The Guardian • Hazards Campaign We didn't vote to die campaign and facebook group • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Zambia: Four die in Vedanta copper mine
Four miners died on last week at Zambia's Nchanga open pit mine, owned by London-listed Vedanta Resources. The country's mines minister said production was not impacted because the site was not yet pulling copper out of the ground.
Reuters Africa • Mineweb • Zambia Daily Mail • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Shut that door, say shopworkers
The shopworkers’ union Usdaw is backing a ‘Close the door’ campaign that could both save energy and improve conditions for retail staff. The campaign points to independent research from Cambridge University which found many high street shops waste up to 50 per cent of their energy through open door policies and cause severe discomfort for shop staff who are often forced to work in cold, draughty conditions.
Usdaw news release • Close the door campaign • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: RMT warns of Tube cuts carnage
London’s underground system could turn into RMT general secretary Bob Crow countered: “We can expect a threat to hundreds more jobs while maintenance takes another hit, turning the underground into a death trap and a criminals’ paradise.”
RMT news release • TfL news release • BBC News Online • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011
Britain: No defence for MoD’s painful neglect
A civil servant who suffered a serious knee injury when a faulty lift at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) went into free fall has received a £16,500 out-of-court payout. PCS member Velma Williams, 61, was terrified when the lift in the MoD’s Defence Geographic Centre in Feltham fell out of control from the third floor.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

USA: Wal-Mart loses death fine fight
The world’s largest retailer has lost its challenge to a $7,000 fine following the death of shopworker in a customer stampede, after spending $2 million fighting the penalty and sapping thousands of hours of time that safety officials could have spent making workplaces safer. In fighting the fine, the maximum allowed for the violation, Wal-Mart asserted that OSHA was wrongly seeking to define “crowd trampling” as an occupational hazard that retailers must take action to prevent.
OSHRC decision [pdf] • OSHA news release and crowd control factsheet • New York Times • Columbia Journalism Review • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Government to rob injury victims of justice
Government changes to the compensation system will deny thousands of sick and injured workers access to justice, unions and legal experts have warned. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “This is yet another attempt to reduce the rights of those at work to secure justice when employers break the law.”
Conservative Party news release • TUC news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • BBC News Online • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Severe injury payout funds essential rehab
A £340,000 compensation payout to a roofer severely injured in a workplace fall will fund an intensive rehabilitation and physiotherapy programme. Timothy Kirk, 42, fell 45 feet through a skylight while at work. He was knocked unconscious and left in a coma for 11 days after the incident in October 2000, suffering a fractured pelvis, fractured femur and numerous head and facial injuries and having to undergo a tracheotomy to aid his breathing, as well as three operations on his stomach to reduce internal injuries.
Irwin Mitchell news release • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Transocean worker gets £160,000 payout
A UK offshore worker with US multinational Transocean has received a £160,000 payout because he is at a disadvantage in the labour market after being injured on a rig. Martin Brand, 27, had two fingers partially amputated in May 2006 after his right hand was crushed while working on a semi submersible rig in the North Sea.
Scotsman • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: MoD fights degenerative solvent disease ruling
An RAF corporal who was left with a devastating degenerative and incurable neurological condition after he was exposed to dangerous toxins while working in ‘Victorian conditions’ is being forced to again defend his case for compensation, this time in the Court of Appeal. Shaun Wood, 52, was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy-P (MSAP), a Parkinson’s-type condition that affects the nervous system, after exposure to a “lethal cocktail” of solvents as a painter and finisher at RAF sites across the world.
Thompsons Solicitors • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Global: BP executives may face jail for manslaughter
Managers of UK oil multinational BP could face manslaughter charges when prosecutors in the United States finally conclude their criminal investigation into the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 rig workers and triggered the worst oil spill in US history. The possibility that these and other charges may now be on the table at the US Justice Department put new pressure on the shares of the energy giant.
Bloomberg News • The Independent • Daily Mail • Financial Times • The Guardian • IFA Online • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Sick must get up and train, says Grayling
Workers who were on incapacity benefits prior to controversial new health assessments are being told they must attend training course or lose their payments, the government has said. The new rules, which also apply to job seekers, were announced by employment minister Chris Grayling.
DWP news release and skills conditionality consultation • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: An eye for a £14,000 fine
A Cambridge construction company has been fined after one of its employees suffered severe head injuries which blinded him in one eye. On 3 March 2010, builder and fitter John Ingram was using a tower scaffold erected on top of a freight container and fell to the ground while trying to climb down, suffering facial fractures, cuts and bruising and leaving him in a coma for several days.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Swaziland: Still using socks instead of gloves
In Swaziland, a country where human and trade union rights are wanting, health and safety conditions at workplaces “remain worrying” in the construction sector, according to BWI. The global union federation for the sector cites the secretary general of the Swaziland construction union, Mtshali Selby, as proof who said: “We are still using socks instead of gloves”.
BWI news report • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Worker's hand severed in defective machine
A plastics factory has been fined for safety failings after a worker's left hand was severed in a defective mixing machine. Matrix Polymers was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident where Gary McKeown, 42, who had been emptying plastic granules from a hatch at the bottom of a blender, caught his hand in rotating parts and it was sheared off.
HSE news release • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Aerospace firms sentenced over worker's death
Aerospace firms Brookhouse Composites Ltd and Brookhouse Tooling Ltd have been fined a total of £75,000 after a worker was crushed to death at a Lancashire factory. Allan Sanderson and Gerald Powderley were helping to push a trolley carrying more than two tonnes of steel when it collapsed on them; both workers were seriously injured and Mr Sanderson, a father of two and grandfather of one, later died in hospital.
HSE news release • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Site firms fined for asbestos exposures
A plant hire company and a construction services firm have been fined for exposing employees and members of the public to asbestos at a London block of flats. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found Mansell Construction Services Ltd and subcontractor Woodlands Plant Hire Ltd failed to properly manage asbestos during a flat refurbishment job in December 2009.
HSE news release and asbestos webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Wrist shattered by fall from roof
A Telford construction firm has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a man shattered his wrist when he fell from a youth centre roof in Solihull. Dodd Group (Midlands) Ltd's employee Matthew Dutton fell more than four metres from the unprotected edge of a flat roof.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

Britain: Prospect gets mapping
The scientists, engineers and specialists union Prospect has produced a short, very handy guide to health and safety mapping in the workplace. The union’s ‘factguard’ includes how-to pointers, good graphics and case histories of bodymapping and workplace mapping in practice.
Body and workplace mapping factcard • Hazards mapping webpages • Risks 500 • 2 April 2011

 

Hazards news, 26 March 2011

Britain: Official plan means less justice, more deaths
A new government safety strategy that will mean an unprecedented reduction in the number of workplace safety inspections, no proactive inspections for the majority of firms and new quickie risk assessments for millions of businesses will lead to more deaths and injuries at work, the TUC has said.
TUC news release • DWP news release and Good health and safety, Good for everyone [pdf] • BIS news release on the government’s wider deregulatory package • CBI news release • EEF news release •  The Guardian • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Pakistan: Mine gas explosion 'kills 52'
A coal mine declared unsafe two weeks ago by authorities in Pakistan exploded on 20 March with the loss of dozens of lives. Rescue workers used shovels and bare hands to dig out victims buried by methane explosions in the coal mine in southwestern Pakistan, but officials fear all 52 miners underground at the time of the blast are dead.
CBC News • The Guardian • Fox News • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Cost-cutting will cost lives
Cost-cutting not deregulation is behind a package of measures announced by the government and will undermine the work of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the inspectors’ union has warned.
Prospect news release • Sourcewatch • Job killers – a Hazards report spelling out why the government is wrong to say health and safety “stifles” business and “holds back economic growth” • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Killer blow for workplace safety
Unions and campaigners have reacted with horror and anger to the government’s new safety strategy, with Linda Whelan, a founder member of Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) whose son Craig died in a workplace fireball, saying: “None of our family members was killed by red tape or employers fearing enforcement. They were killed because of the exact opposite – too little if any time spent on health and safety, and no fear of being found out.” 
RMT news release • CWU news release • UCATT news release • FACK news release • Hazards Campaign news release and We didn’t vote to die campaign and facebook group • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Global: IUF calls for lung killer action
A long union push for workplace regulation of the highly toxic food flavouring diacetyl has resulted in the introduction of a strict new workplace standard in the state of California. But only watered down controls have been introduced in the US at the national level – and global foodworkers’ union federation IUF says action on the widely used butter flavouring is near non-existent elsewhere.
IUF news release and diacetyl briefing for union reps [pdf] • More on diacetyl • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011.

Britain: Shop death confirms union fears
A union warning about the dangers of government-driven moves to introduce quickie online risk assessments for shops and other ‘low risk’ businesses as part of its new safety strategy has been borne out after another violent retail death. But the government says HSE’s new ‘Health and safety made simple’ package will extend the quickie approach criticised by Usdaw to other ‘small and low risk employers.’
Usdaw news release • HSE shop risk assessment consultation and tool and Health and safety made simple • BBC News Online and earlier report on the Gurmail Singh tragedy • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Job injury leads to employment fears
A metal worker who broke his elbow after a fall at work has received £60,000 in compensation after he was left unable to do his job properly. GMB member Geoffrey Skelton, 61, needed three operations on his elbow following the incident.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Agencies make workers pay for protection
Employment agencies are ignoring safety laws and requiring staff to stump up for their protective equipment, construction union UCATT has revealed. UCATT says its officials “have become increasingly alarmed that many employment agencies require construction workers to supply their own personal protective equipment (PPE) or alternatively charge the worker if they supply it.”
UCATT news release • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Global: WHO says chemicals kill millions each year
Researchers from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has calculated the death toll due to the use of chemical substances. In 2004, chemical substances caused 4.9 million deaths (or 8 per cent of total mortality); when related ill-health is factored in, the number of years of life lost reached 86 million (5 per cent of the total).
Annette Prüss-Ustün, Carolyn Vickers, Pascal Haefliger and Roberto Bertollini. Knowns and unknowns on burden of disease due to chemicals: a systematic review, Environmental Health, volume 10, number 9, 2011, doi:10.1186/1476-069X-10-9 • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: UNISON supports stressed social workers
A new guide to help stressed-out, overloaded social workers improve their workplaces has been launched by UNISON Scotland. The union says ‘Keeping safe in the workplace’ aims to help social workers recognise when they are becoming stressed or overloaded at work and to seek support from their employers, trade union or professional association. UNISON news release • Safe in the workplace guide [pdf] • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: ‘Mild’ stress damaging to work prospects
Even relatively mild stress can lead to long term disability and an inability to work, a new study has found. The authors say that it is important to consider their findings in the context of modern working life, which places greater demands on employees, and social factors, such as fewer close personal relationships and supportive networks.
Dheeraj Rai and others. Psychological distress and risk of long-term disability: population-based longitudinal study, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Online First, March 2011; doi 10.1136/jech.2010.119644 [abstract] • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Report highlights Tube cuts folly
Tube union RMT has demanded an immediate halt to staffing and maintenance cuts after an official investigation found crumbling infrastructure and staffing cuts led to a potentially lethal tube derailment last year.
RMT news release • RAIB news release • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Jarvis charges dropped over train deaths
Unions have reacted with dismay at the decision to drop a health and safety charge against the rail maintenance company Jarvis over the 2002 Potters Bar train crash. Seven people were killed and 76 injured in the Hertfordshire crash when a northbound train derailed at high speed.
ORR news release and Jarvis decision review [pdf] • RMT news release • ASLEF news release • Construction Enquirer • The Guardian • BBC News Online • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Kwik-Fit worker died two years after injury
A widow whose husband died almost two years after receiving a serious head injury at work has received a “substantial” sum in compensation. In medical evidence obtained for a compensation case, it was confirmed the head injury suffered by the 44-year-old was the direct cause of the high blood pressure which subsequently caused the stroke in 2007 from which he died.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Car firm fined £400,000 over forklift death
A car components factory has been fined £400,000 after the death of a worker who was struck by a forklift truck. Darren Small, 35, died in hospital three days after the truck at Calsonic Kansei in Llanelli reversed into him, said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Mr Small, 35, died on the day he was to take voluntary redundancy. HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Farm fined for fertiliser foot failings
An Aberdeenshire farmworker’s toe was severed when his foot became trapped in a fertiliser spreading machine.
HSE news release • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Recycling boss didn’t have insurance
A company boss has been fined for running a plastics recycling business without having the legally required insurance in place to protect his employees. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Brian Woods, trading as Brian Woods Recycling, following a complaint from an employee at the factory in Lilleshall, Newport.
HSE news release and Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance guide [pdf] • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011   

Britain: Work victims come second to insurers’ profits
Victims of industrial disease have seen their entitlement to compensation come a distant second to the profits of insurance companies, a legal group has charged. Karl Tonks, incoming vice-president of the not-for-profit Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), said: “Dying workers are tired of subsidising insurers who have taken money in premiums but who have avoided providing proper compensation because of problems with tracing old insurance policies.”
APIL news release [pdf] • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: New online directory of safety consultants
A new online directory of health and safety consultants gas been launched. More than 1,600 consultants in the UK have signed up to the online Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR), which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says “was created to increase employers' confidence that they are receiving good quality, proportionate health and safety advice should they need external help.”
HSE news release and Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register (OSHCR) • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Britain: Government will mark Workers’ Memorial Day
The UK government will continue to recognise Workers’ Memorial Day, the global 28 April event each year when unions and campaigners vow to remember the dead and fight for the living. Last year was the first to make the event official in the UK, after a decision by the previous Labour administration.
SHP Online • TUC 28 April Workers' Memorial Day webpages and 2011 events listing.
Email TUC details of events planned for 28 April 2011 • Hazards/ITUC global 28 April webpages • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Europe: Working longer requires better working
The improvement of working conditions throughout a worker’s career is “a necessary condition” to enable workers to continue to work for as long as possible, a European think tank has concluded. The Dublin-based European Union research body Eurofound says the issue is of crucial importance as working lives are extended and the population ages.
Health and work: A difficult relationship [pdf] • Risks 499 • 26 March 2011

Hazards news, 19 March 2011

Britain: TUC warns of safety ‘race to the bottom’
Rogue companies will be the major beneficiaries of a dramatic cut in the Health and Safety Executive’s resources, the TUC has warned. In a keynote address to the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) conference, TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson said: “Regulation and enforcement mean a level playing field and good employers shouldn’t have to race to the bottom because non-compliant companies are breaking the law.”
SHP Online on contributions by Hugh Robertson, Judith Hackitt and Lawrence Waterman to the IOSH 2011 conference • We didn't vote to die at work campaign and Job Killers briefing on the case against eroding regulation and enforcement • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

South Africa: Top court backs mine dust victims
South African miners have won a landmark dust disease case in the nation’s highest court. The legal precedent is expected to allow thousands of miners stricken with life-threatening respiratory and other diseases to sue companies under common law in South Africa, even if they have already received a payout from a state-run scheme.
ICEM news report • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: BA stops pay of pregnant cabin crew
British Airways (BA) is throwing safety and equality law out the window by denying pay to some pregnant cabin crew who can no longer perform their normal duties, the union Unite has indicated. The union says cabin crew members who are pregnant and live too far from Heathrow or Gatwick to travel there to perform ground duties, “will now be forced to take unpaid leave by the airline.” 
Unite news release • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: Vibration gives gardener damaged fingers
A council worker whose hands have been permanently damaged after using vibrating tools at work has received £60,000 in compensation. Landscape gardener Andrew Bowler, 51, is now only capable of a three day week after developing carpal tunnel syndrome while working for Nottinghamshire County Council.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Japan: Concern grows for nuclear workers
After a rise in radiation levels at Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant forced a suspension of emergency work at the plant, concern is growing about the welfare of these frontline nuclear workers. The government had already revised upwards the permissible allowable radiation exposure level for workers by 2.5 times at the plant, but experts say workers who have not been evacuated face an escalating exposure, and will have to be replaced or face high cumulative exposures.
NHK World • The Mirror • BBC News Online • New York Times • The Pump Handle blog • Beyond Nuclear on the international reaction to the nuclear problems • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: Asbestos ruling ‘a victory for fairness’
The Supreme Court ruling allowing the family of a former Merseyside pupil a six-figure compensation payout following the exposure to asbestos at school which subsequently killed her, is a victory for fairness and a wake-up call for the government, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) has said. 
ATL news release • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: No job is better for you than a bad job
As the government presses ahead with plans to force the sick back to work and job seekers into ‘Mandatory Work Activity placements’, new research has blown a hole in its “work is good for you” mantra. A study published this week warns while good quality jobs deliver health benefits, bad jobs can leave you in a worse state of health than remaining unemployed.
DWP news release. P Butterworth, LS Leach, L Strazdins, SC Olesen, B Rodgers and DH Broom. The psychosocial quality of work determines whether employment has benefits for mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Online First, 14 March 2011, doi10.1136/oem.2010.059030 [abstract] • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: 'Raw deal' for sick British staff
British workers are among the worst protected in terms of benefits if they are off work sick, according to a new report. A study of 12 countries by Demos put Britain in eighth place in the level of protection in case of ill-health, below countries including France, Germany, the United States and Canada.
Of mutual benefit, Demo, March 2011 [pdf] • ITN News • Yahoo News • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: Massage therapists get strains payouts
Two former beauty therapists who developed repetitive strain injuries through giving massages to air travellers have won a total of £300,430 damages from Virgin Atlantic. Jayne Evans and Michelle Hindmarch worked in the Clubhouse Lounge at Heathrow, giving frequent prolonged treatments, until they developed pain in their wrists, shoulders and backs.
The Independent • Daily Mirror • BBC News Online • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Chile: Government told to deliver on safety promises
Unions worldwide are calling on the Chilean government to deliver on mine safety promises made to Chilean miners rescued in the San José mine last October. “Nothing has changed yet, and Chile’s miners are still facing unacceptable risks to their health and safety,” said ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow.
ITUC news release and joint letter to President Piñera [pdf] • IMF and ICEM news reports • IFJ news release
Join the LabourStart campaign with a message to Chile’s minister of mines Laurence Golborne • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: Suspended sentence for asbestos crimes
A site manager has been given a two month suspended sentence and 150 hours of community service for exposing a bricklayer to asbestos. Henry Bohlen, 63, from Barry, south Wales, directed the bricklayer to demolish a wall that contained asbestos, putting him at serious risk.
HSE news release and risk assessment webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: Worker crushed to death by concrete beam
Two companies have been fined a total of £130,000 after father-of-four Gary Drinkald, 43, was killed by a 31-tonne concrete beam on a building site in Thurrock. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the two firms, Micor Ltd and Crane and Transport Services, after the incident on 6 April 2006.
HSE news release • Thurrock Gazette • Essex Enquirer • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: New worker suffers death by electrocution
Roofing company Blackford (Newbury) Ltd has been prosecuted after a new employee was electrocuted while operating a lorry driven crane. Anthony Milani, 26, died when the crane touched overhead power cables at West Horton Farm Industrial Estate, near Eastleigh on 14 August 2007.
HSE news release and haulage webpages • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Canada: Asbestos suffers a mortal blow?
A top union body in Quebec has dealt a serious blow to the province’s embattled asbestos industry. In an overwhelming voice vote, representatives of the 300,000-member Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN) voted against the planned expansion of Canada’s last asbestos mine in the town of Asbestos, Quebec and says it now wants “to draw up a proposed schedule and transition and restructuring programme for workers in this industry, from a standpoint of triggering the necessary debate on banning asbestos with both levels of governments.”
CSN news release (English version - original in French) • Cold Truth blog • AOL News • Rabble.ca • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: Firms guilty over scaffolding death
Stirling Stone Limited and Robertson Construction Central Limited have been convicted of criminal health and safety offences after a construction worker fell to his death at a top private school. James Kelly, 50, was erecting stonework at Glasgow Academy in April 2007 when he fell about 30ft from scaffolding.
COPFS news release • BBC News Online • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: Recycling giant takes worker’s arm
An international waste recycling firm has been fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £22,000 costs after a worker lost his arm in an industrial incident in Basildon. Daniel Ali, 35, was working as a process operator at Coolrec UK Ltd on 4 April 2008 when his arm got caught in a conveyer belt.
HSE news release • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: Company fined after worker is forked
Polypipe Ltd has been fined after a fork lift truck that had been lowering a cage containing two workers to the ground, hit one of the men with its forks and fractured his ribs. As the cage fell, the fork lift driver tried to catch it by piercing the side of the cage with the forks but a fork hit one of the men.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Britain: Chemical spray left sprayer sore
An international utilities company has been fined after an agency worker suffered skin problems caused by prolonged exposure to a hazardous chemical. Laing O'Rourke Utilities Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after Peter Johnson, 48, from Exeter, suffered sore skin around his face after several weeks of exposure to isocyanate between July and August 2007.
HSE news release • Risks 498 • 19 March 2011

Hazards news, 12 March 2011

Global: Workers' Memorial Day 2011 theme agreed
Global union confederation ITUC has announced the theme for International Workers’ Memorial Day this year. They have advised affiliates that “On 28 April 2011 trade unions will be highlighting the crucial role played by trade unions, strong regulation and effective enforcement in securing safer workplaces.”
TUC 28 April Workers’ Memorial Day webpages and 2011 events listing • Email TUC details of events planned for 28 April 2011 • AFL-CIO posters, stickers and resources. Hazards/ITUC global 28 April webpages and webpages on the Union Effect and the We didn't vote to die at work campaign • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: HSE plan to slash workplace inspections
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) plans to reduce unannounced workplace inspections by a third have been condemned by unions and safety advocates. A leaked letter from HSE chief executive Geoffrey Podger, obtained by the union-backed Hazards magazine and the BBC, outlines plans to discontinue inspections in entire sectors of industry, including some where it admits “significant risk” remains.
Is HSE finished?, Hazards magazine special report, March 2011 and We didn’t vote to die at work campaign and facebook group • Danger at work, BBC File on Four, 8 March 2011 • Listen to the programme • BBC News Online • UCATT news release • Morning Star • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Korea: Samsung blocks suicide investigation
Multinational microelectronics giant Samsung is blocking an investigation into a workplace suicide, campaigners have charged. Last week, the mother, older sister, and aunt of Kim Ju-hyeon positioned themselves in front of the head office of Samsung Electronics in Seoul, holding a funeral portrait and wailing.
Stop Samsung campaign • The Hankyoreh • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Unscrupulous firms will get away with crimes
Rogue firms will be able to ignore safety rules with impunity if the official safety watchdog slashes the number of inspections, the TUC has warned. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The possibility of an unexpected visit from either an HSE or a local authority safety inspector helps keep employers on their toes; even now, workplaces can go decades without ever seeing an inspector.”
TUC news release • Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: HSE unions condemn safety cutbacks
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) plans to reduce dramatically the number of workplace safety inspections have been condemned by its own workforce. HSE unions Prospect and PCS say reduced oversight will lead to an increase in injuries and occupational disease.
PCS news release • Prospect news release • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Stress soars with rising job fear
Job cuts and runaway insecurity at work have led to a sharp upturn in workplace stress, a union survey has found. The poll for the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group (TUCG) found 1 in 5 workers report they are having to work harder as a result of job cuts in their workplace, with 1 in 7 in fear of losing their job.
FBU news release • TUCG survey • NAPO news release • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

China: Workers maimed at Ford supplier
Workers told on recruitment they must “endure hardship” are suffering safety and other abuses at a Chinese factory supplying US car manufacturing multinational Ford. ‘Dirty parts - Where lost fingers come cheap’, a report released last week by the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights (GLHR), documents violations including workers maimed when factory management at the Yuwei Plastics and Hardware Products company in Dongguan, China, turned off critical safety equipment.
GLHR news release • Dirty parts - Where lost fingers come cheap:  Ford in China [pdf] • Sign the GLHR safety petition to Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Union demands safety for social workers
UNISON is demanding action to stop violence directed at social workers. The public sector union says it wants to see a focus on making social work a safer job – and to do that “we need to make people at the top sit up and take notice.”
UNISON news release • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Chile: Unions demand mine safety action
On 18 October 2010 – 4 days after the last of 33 Chilean miners emerged from over two months underground at the San Jose copper mine (Risks 479) – President Sebastián Piñera pledged in an interview to overhaul within 90 days the country’s mine safety structures and ratify the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 176 on mine safety. But ICEM and IMF, the global union federations representing mining unions, say nearly five months later, none of this has happened.
ICEM alert • Joint ICEM/IMF Letter • IUF news report • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011
Britain: Tube halves safety-critical inspections
London Underground union RMT warned of more tube chaos for passengers as it emerged that as part of the Tube cuts programme the frequency of some safety-critical inspections is being slashed from twice to just once a week. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “This move, ludicrously dressed up as having safety benefits, will trap the fleet in the sidings and depots leaving passengers waiting for trains that never come because an accountant decided that halving safety inspections to cut costs was a good idea.”
RMT news release • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Call for firms to support menopausal women
The menopause is an important occupational health issue, the TUC has said, and is calling on employers to provide more support at work. The union body has published new guidance on how employers and union reps can work together to support women through the menopause at work.
TUC news release and Supporting women through the menopause report [pdf] • BOHRF report [pdf] and guide for managers [pdf] • Personnel Today • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011 

Britain: Backing for ‘low level’ asbestos exposure payouts
Two families have won groundbreaking claims for compensation after loved ones died from cancer caused by exposure to "low level" asbestos. Seven Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled there was no requirement for a claimant to show a doubling of risk.
The Supreme Court press summary [pdf] and full judgment [pdf] • John Pickering • Solicitors news release • Asbestos Forum news release [pdf] • Asbestos in Schools news release • BBC News Online • Liverpool Daily News • Daily Post • Solicitors Journal • The Independent • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Welcome for cancer compensation precedent
Unions have welcomed a Supreme Court ruling that establishes workers may claim compensation after ‘low level’ exposures to a cancer causing substance at work. The Supreme Court this week upheld earlier rulings establishing there was no requirement for a claimant to show a doubling of risk in order to claim asbestos caused their cancer.
NUT news release • UCATT news release • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

USA: The hazards of fake smiles
The ‘have a nice day’ fixed grin required of many hospitality and other service staff could be seriously bad for their health. A study published in the Academy of Management Journal has discovered that fake smiles can actually depress mood and hurt health.
Brent A Scott, Christopher M Barnes. A multilevel field investigation of emotional labor, affect, work withdrawal, and gender, Academy of Management Journal, volume 54, number 1, February 2011 [abstract] • Science Daily • Wellesley News • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Tool maker disabled by work asthma
A Hereford tool maker whose occupational asthma forced him to quit the job he loved has won a court battle for justice. Philip Gundy, 59, contracted occupational asthma as a result of the chemicals he was exposed to at work, operating grinding machines using metalworking fluids as coolants, and he was left with no choice but to give up his job.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Inspection blitz finds widespread offending
More than one in every seven businesses visited in a safety inspection blitz in County Durham was committing criminal safety offences. Almost 150 businesses were visited by inspectors from HSE and Durham County Council during an intensive week of inspections in February, with enforcement action required on 23 occasions.
HSE news release • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Asbestos blunders led to £500,000 bill
A clean-up operation after a roofing company spread asbestos fibres around a Leicestershire town cost £500,000, a court has heard. Hampshire-based Concept Roofing and Cladding Services Ltd, who used pressurised water washers to clean roof panels on industrial units in Market Harborough, was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay costs of £22,375.
HSE news release • Leicester Mercury • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Plumber severely burned by acid rain
A property maintenance firm has been fined after one of its employees suffered acid burns to his face, neck and arm. Neil Kelly, from Bury, was using a high concentration of sulphuric acid to unblock a sink at a domestic property when the corrosive liquid erupted into the air.
HSE news release and chemicals webpage • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Chemicals harmed agency farm workers
A company has been fined after three workers were taken to hospital following a chemical incident at a Spalding vegetable grower and supplier. Spalding Magistrates' Court heard a Latvian agency worker at Emmett UK Ltd was cleaning food processing machinery when he accidentally mixed two cleaning chemicals which reacted together to produce a toxic gas.
HSE news release • Spalding Today • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Britain: Steel giant fined after worker crushed
Multinational metal giant Tata Steel Ltd has been fined £20,000 after a worker sustained serious crush injuries while fixing a packing machine at Corby Steel Works, Northamptonshire. An HSE investigation found the company did not have effective guarding around the machines and despite having a written procedure to ensure machines remained isolated until maintenance work was complete, this was not implemented.
HSE news release • More on the Corus safety record • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Canada: Union private death case goes ahead
The private prosecution brought by a Canadian union after the authorities failed to act on the death of a sawmill worker has been given the go-ahead by the courts. The United Steelworkers union (USW) in British Columbia initiated the case against Weyerhaeuser Inc over the 2004 death of sawmill worker Lyle Hewer.
Vancouver Sun • Risks 497 • 12 March 2011

Hazards news, 5 March 2011

Britain: More work unpaid overtime than ever before
A record 5.26 million people worked unpaid overtime last year - the highest number since records began in 1992, a TUC analysis of official figures has revealed. The analysis, published on 25 February to mark Work Your Proper Hour Day (WYPHD), shows over one in five workers (21 per cent) regularly worked unpaid overtime last year, an increase of 0.7 per cent since 2009 and the highest proportion since 1997.
TUC news release and Work Your Proper Hours Day webpage resources, posters and long hours advice clinic. The Guardian • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

USA: Refineries exploit dangerous law flaws
Giant refineries in the US are more dangerous than the public realises, with the worst offenders routinely delaying both action to remedy serious violations and penalties for documented safety crimes. An investigation by the Center for Public Integrity concludes the easily manipulated regulatory system allows companies to challenge citations for years and postpone mandated fixes.
Center for Public Integrity investigation • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Anti-blacklist demo targets Olympic site
Anti-blacklist protesters caused chaos outside London’s Olympic Park this week when they stopped deliveries getting onto the site for more than an hour. Traffic ground to a halt in Pudding Mill Lane on 1 March as demonstrators from unions and the Blacklist Support Group, backing fired electrician Frank Morris, crossed continually a zebra crossing near the site gates.
Blacklist blog • Construction Enquirer • Morning Star • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Call to follow Scottish lead on dogs
Postal workers have welcomed new controls on dangerous dogs that came into effect in Scotland last week after a lengthy union campaign. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) applauded the Scottish parliament for enacting The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 and urged prime minister David Cameron “to honour his promise to postal workers to bring in similar legislation across the UK.”
CWU news release • Morning Star • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Japan: Mazda told to pay up for worker suicide
A Japanese court has ordered car manufacturer Mazda to pay 63 million yen (£470,000) in damages to the parents of an employee who was ruled to have taken his own life because of overwork-related depression. The latest damages plus the other payments give the parents the entire 110 million yen (£825,000) they demanded in their lawsuit filed against Mazda in 2008.
Today online • More on work-related suicide • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Campaigners warn ‘cuts will kill’
Unions and campaigners have warned a government attack on workplace safety will kill.  At a 2 March Trade Union Co-ordinating Group meeting in the House of Commons, health and safety advocates drove home the dangers of cuts to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and moves to downgrade workplace safety protection.
FACK news release • Job Killer and We didn’t vote to die at work posters • We didn't vote to die at work campaign • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Site safety abuses could be missed
Construction union UCATT has warned government cuts in safety oversight in the sector “will prove lethal.” The union warning came after a Health and Safety Executive enforcement blitz in Merseyside found almost one in four sites were breaking safety laws.
UCATT news release • HSE news release and asbestos, falls and construction management webpages • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Prison officers could ‘withdraw to safety’
Prison officers at risk from serious assaults, riots and disturbances may “withdraw” to a place of safety if they believe they face a “serious and imminent danger”, the union POA has decided. It is illegal for prison officers to strike, but POA says acting to protect your own health and safety is a basic legal right of all workers.
POA circular and news release • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Global: Sea unions launch attack on pirates
Seafarers’ union Nautilus is putting its weight behind an international shipping industry campaign to harness ‘people power’ in the fight against piracy. The campaign wants governments to be pressed into taking “effective action to tackle the growing Somali piracy crisis before it strangles world trade and before more innocent seafarers are tortured and murdered.”
Nautilus news release and SOS Save Our Seafarers campaign • ITF news release and background document • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: ‘Undue pressure’ killed worker, not suicide
The family of a construction worker who fell 33ft to his death at a Leeds sewage plant has spoken of its relief after an inquest found his death was the result of inadequate site safety and “undue” work pressure, and not suicide. Dad-of-two Andy Parkinson, 38, died from injuries he suffered in the fall at Yorkshire Water’s Knostrop works in 2008.
Telegraph and Argus • Yorkshire Evening Post • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Councils cut health and safety enforcement
Local authority environmental health departments, which enforce safety in workplaces including offices, shops and warehouses, are suffering as a result of budget cuts, a survey has found. The erosion of safety enforcement is to be a 28 April Workers’ Memorial Day 2011 campaign target of the union Usdaw, whose members work predominantly in sectors covered by local authority enforcement.
Usdaw news report • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: New disability test 'is a complete mess'
One of the architects of the government’s new sickness benefit system has warned it would be a mistake to start introducing the “badly malfunctioning” system nationwide from the end of this month because of serious ongoing problems with the medical test designed to assess whether claimants are genuinely sick or disabled.
The Guardian • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Designing out NHS violence
Government plans to rethink the design of hospital Accident and Emergency (A and E) departments, in a bid to develop innovative new ways to reduce violence and aggression towards NHS staff, have been welcomed by the health service union UNISON. But the union says the solution to a problem the government estimates costs at least £69 million a year in staff absence, loss of productivity and additional security, must also include a commitment to a “zero tolerance” clampdown on offenders.
DH news release • Design Council design briefs • UNISON news release • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

China:  Poisoned workers turn to Apple for help
Chinese workers who suffered debilitating solvent-related neurological problems while making touchscreens for mobile devices, including iPhones, have written to Apple asking it to do more to help them. Some 137 workers suffered adverse health effects following exposure to the solvent n-hexane, used to clean touch screens.
China Daily • Huffington Post • Wall Street Journal • BBC News Online • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Firm fined £5,000 for fatal trench collapse
Buckinghamshire construction company Russell Smith Limited has been fined £5,000 plus £5,000 costs after a worker died when a trench collapsed on him. Josh Bladon, 22, was killed while working on an extension at a house in Aylesbury on 16 April 2008.
HSE news release • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Tyneside firm sentenced after scaffold fall
A Tyneside construction company has been fined £1,500 and £1,500 costs after a worker suffered serious injuries in a fall from unsafe scaffolding. Ian Allan Building Contractors Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at the site in Murton, County Durham on 1 May 2009.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Steeplejack seriously injured in fall
A Stoke-on-Trent building maintenance firm was fined £3,334 and ordered to pay £4,000 costs after a steeplejack suffered serious injuries as a result of an eight metre fall from a church roof. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Alliance Technical Services Ltd after the 40-year-old employee, who did not wish to be named, fell from the roof of Holy Trinity Church, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, on 21 October 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Toilet roll firm fined for roller crush injury
A Neath toilet roll manufacturer has been fined after a worker suffered a serious injury on an unguarded machine. Phillip Evans, 43, was employed by Intertissue Ltd as a core operator, when his hand was caught between the upper and lower rollers of an unguarded machine.
HSE news release and risk assessment webpages • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Britain: Man injured by unguarded drill
Engineering firm Jex Engineering Company Ltd has been fined £4,000 after a worker was badly injured when his hand became entangled in an unguarded drill. Michael O'Brien suffered permanent loss of movement to three fingers in his left hand following the incident at a construction site in Leyland on 1 December 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Canada: Second death conviction
For just the second time in Canada, an employer has been convicted of criminal negligence stemming from a workplace incident leading to the death of a worker. Pasquale Scrocca, owner of a Quebec landscape company, will serve a conditional sentence of imprisonment of two years less a day; the sentence will be served in the community with conditions, including a curfew.
Straight Goods • Risks 496 • 5 March 2011

Hazards news, 26 February 2011

Britain: Conviction exposes corporate manslaughter flaws
A law supposed to bring corporate killers to justice is not working, health and safety advocates have charged. A spokesperson for Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK), commenting after the first conviction under the law, said it was not fit for purpose and big firms particularly remained beyond justice and Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) safety officer Ian Tasker commented: “We have always believed the legislation to be ineffective, particularly in dealing with large corporations.”
STUC news release • Morning Star • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

USA: New oil spill report is bad news for BP
The Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, which killed 11 workers in April 2010, was the fault of all the key companies involved, a series of reports have concluded. But one other theme has emerged, confirmed in a new report from the chief counsel to the President’s oil spill commission – BP was more culpable than the other parties.
Oil Spill Commission Chief Counsel’s report • Washington Post • New York Times. Fairwarning • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: New inquiry fuels call to halt coastguard cuts
The government should call an immediate halt to plans to close 10 of the UK's 19 coastguard stations and cut almost half their staff, the union PCS has said. The union was speaking out after the Commons transport select committee announced it would conduct a full inquiry into the government’s proposals for “modernising the coastguard”.
PCS news release • Commons Transport Select Committee • BBC News Online • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Train firm failed to fix faulty door
A train driver damaged his back at work using a faulty door his employer had failed to fix despite a series of complaints. The ASLEF member from Cardiff has now received £3,175 compensation in a union-backed claim.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

USA: Kids and victims are fair game at work
At times it has appeared the US and the UK have been competing to out-do each other in their efforts to jettison decent safety rules and enforcement at work. But the US has certainly reclaimed the lead with a couple of proposals so regressive they would shame Victorian mill owners.
The Pump Handle blog • AFL-CIO Now blog • Bill to amend the Missouri child labour law • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Union rep gets asbestos cancer payout
A former GMB shop steward and shipyard convenor from South Shields has received a “substantial” payout just nine weeks after he was diagnosed with an asbestos cancer. The 81 year-old, whose name has not been released and who has the incurable cancer mesothelioma, was exposed to asbestos while working as a chipper and painter for shipyards on the River Tyne, including Redheads Ship Repairers and Tyne Dock Engineering in South Shields.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: RMT warning on rail privatisation push
Pressure is building on the government for a danger-fraught privatisation of rail infrastructure, rail union RMT has said. It is warning the business-driven move “would drag the industry back to the days of Hatfield and Potters Bar.”
RMT news release • Network Rail news release • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Business lobbyist to head sickness review
The government has appointed a business lobbyist who is a vocal opponent of health and safety regulation and enforcement to head a review of workplace sickness absence. Ministers says the independent review, jointly chaired by David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work, “will explore radical new ways on how the current system can be changed to help more people stay in work and reduce costs.”
DWP news releases on the Welfare Reform Bill and the sickness absence review • Welfare Reform Bill [pdf] • Conservatives blog • CBI news release • Personnel Today • Morning Star • The Independent • BBC News Online • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Unions criticise attack on the sick
The government’s sickness absence review is not about improving the lot of workers, but about cutting the benefits bill, unions have warned. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The fact that the review is being conducted by a leading voice of employers' interests, with no corresponding involvement from unions representing workers affected by sickness absence, gives us little confidence in the outcome.”
TUC news release • PCS news release • Morning Star • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: The real jobs killers exposed
Claims by the business lobby that pesky safety regulations and meddling inspectors are bringing the economy to its knees and are stifling job creation have been demolished in a new online publication. ‘The real job killers’, published by the workers’ health and safety magazine Hazards, lays out evidence showing regulations don’t kill jobs, but their absence can make it easier for ‘Neanderthal bosses’ to kill workers.
The real job killers, Hazards online guide, February 2011 • Job Killer poster for Workers’ Memorial Day, 28 April 2011 • We didn’t vote to die at work • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: RMT slams ‘bad bosses charter’
Transport union RMT has condemned a government ‘employer’s charter’ it says will allow employers “to harass and bully staff without any comeback.” The union has dubbed the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills document, launched last month by prime minister David Cameron, a ‘Bad Bosses Charter.’
RMT news release • Employer’s Charter [pdf] • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Buncefield production came before safety
Fundamental safety management failings were the root cause of Britain's most costly industrial disaster, a new publication has revealed. The report into the explosion and five-day fire at the Buncefield Oil Storage Depot in December 2005 relates the full story of the lengthy Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency (EA) investigation. ‘The Buncefield explosion: Why did it happen?’, which includes material held back by the watchdogs until legal proceedings were completed, identifies a catalogue of criminal safety failings.
HSE news release • The Buncefield explosion: Why did it happen?, COMAH Competent Authority, February 2011 • Buncefield enquiry webpage • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Thailand: Court orders injured worker to be unchained
A court in Thailand has told the authorities to release a seriously injured Burmese migrant worker who had been chained to his hospital bed. The Southern Bangkok Criminal Court last week ordered the Immigration Bureau to release immediately Chalee Diyoo, 33.
The Nation • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Government lab gets told off over death
Top managers at an offshoot of the Ministry of Defence have received an official ticking off after admitting criminal safety breaches linked to the death of a government scientist. However, because the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is a government agency and not subject to criminal safety proceedings, the penalty for the offences was only a Crown Censure, a system under which the lab’s chief executive had only to acknowledge before the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) it had got it wrong.
HSE news release and enforcement guidelines • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Network Rail admits guilt in Potters Bar tragedy
Network Rail has admitted health and safety failings over the 2002 Potters Bar crash, in which seven people died. The company has said it will plead guilty to charges which were brought over the condition of tracks near the station in Hertfordshire.
BBC News Online • Morning Star • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Safe firm fined after worker is burned
A security safe manufacturer has been fined after an employee was burned while fitting an under-floor safe. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Telford firm SMP Security Ltd following the incident in which Nigel Gibbon, 44, was operating a flocking machine requiring a flammable adhesive to apply a soft lining to the safe on 28 June 2008.
HSE news release • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Suspended jail term for ‘foolish’ safety manager
An “extremely foolish” health and safety manager who suffered serious burns when a can of solvent exploded has been given a suspended prison sentence. Phillip Dutton, whose employer South Essex Stockholders was fined in December for related safety offences, was engulfed in flames after he poured highly flammable cleaning liquid on to burning waste at a site in Shoebury.
Essex Echo • Southend Council news release on the company prosecution • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Teenage trainee injured in meat mincer
A Brighton meat processing company has been fined after a 16-year-old trainee severely injured his arm in a meat mincer. The teen's employer, Malpass Direct Ltd, was prosecuted by The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for not properly supervising him at its Brighton Meat Market premises.
HSE news release • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Site teen suffers horrific burns to legs
O'Keefe Construction Ltd has been fined after a teenager suffered horrific burns to his legs at its depot in Sevenoaks, Kent. The 18-year-old employee, who asked not to be named, was spray painting a lighting tower when thinners some on his trousers and caught fire.
HSE news release and explosive atmospheres webpages • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

Britain: Firm fined after contractor’s fatal roof fall
A Scottish papermaking firm has been fined £260,000 after a worker was killed when he fell almost 50 feet through a fragile roof. Thomas Sturrock, 32, was working as part of a team for a contractor, cleaning the roof at Tullis Russell Papermaker Ltd's warehouse in Markinch, Fife, on 29 September 2008.
HSE news release • BBC News Online • Risks 495 • 26 February 2011

 

 

 

Hazards news, 19 February 2011 

Britain: Asbestos law not up to Euro standard
The UK version of a European Union-wide law on asbestos safety is illegally lax and must be amended, the government has been told. The TUC, which had warned against the dilution of essential safety measures, said the European Commission (EC) ruling nails the myth the UK “gold-plates” Euro laws.
European Commission news release • HSE asbestos at work regulations webpages and the EC asbestos directive and infringement procedure • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

USA: Laws are good for jobs and safety
Workplace health and safety regulations don’t only save lives, they benefit the economy, the USA’s top safety official has said. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for the US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), said in a 15 February statement: “Many OSHA standards cost little and easily can be adopted by employers with nominal effect on the bottom line.”
OSHA news release • The Pump Handle • Center for Progress Reform blog • EHS Today • Dangerous li(v)es – why safety regulations are essential in the UK • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Government must create jobs, not blame
The government’s continued use of a flawed fitness for work disability assessment system is expending resources on victimising the sick when it should be concentrating its efforts on creating more jobs, the TUC has said. The union body was commenting on findings from the government's incapacity benefit reassessment programme published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
DWP news releases on the initial reassessments and the fitness for work assessment changes • TUC news release • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

USA: BP boss ‘quit over safety fears’
A former BP drilling operations chief resigned just months before last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill amid disagreements over the oil giant's commitment to safety, a US class action lawsuit alleges. Documents lodged in Houston, Texas, claim Kevin Lacy quit as BP’s senior vice-president for drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico in December 2009 – because he believed the company was not adequately committed to improving safety protocols in offshore operations to the level of its industry peers.
Democracy Now • Washington Post • Daily Express • Aberdeen Press and Journal •
More on BP’s safety record • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Schools to face a dangerous future
A toxic mix of cuts in school building and maintenance, education budgets and official safety oversight is going to have a damaging impact on school safety, teaching union NUT has warned. A briefing from the union says “2010 was not a good year for health and safety in schools”, but says worse is to come.
NUT briefing • We didn't vote to die at work • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Port worker wins disability adjustments case
An RMT member from Morecambe whose damaged back was aggravated after his employer refused to make adjustments to his work environment has won his case for disability discrimination. Manchester Employment Tribunal found Andrew Russell, 38, was discriminated against when his employer Heysham Port Ltd refused to allocate new equipment to him.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Safety warning on fire service privateers
The effectiveness of London’s fire service is now seriously compromised by the commercial and operational problems of a private outfit brought in to maintain London’s fleet of fire engines, firefighters’ union FBU has warned. The union says financial problems blighting AssetCo, which is in line for further contracts, are reflected in serious operational difficulties.
FBU news release • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: New warning on pilot fatigue
A recent air crash in which 50 people died was linked to pilot fatigue and exposes the folly of moves to extend pilots’ flying hours, their union BALPA has warned. The UK union said the Colgan disaster on 12 February 2009 when a plane crash-landed at Buffalo, USA, could be repeated in the UK if EU revised rules on pilot fatigue are allowed to proceed as planned.
BALPA news release • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Union exposes Tube’s 'Russian roulette'
An unattended bag on a London Tube train was not checked for several stops - leading a manager to warn the company was playing “Russian roulette with people's lives.” The union RMT believes low staffing levels were to blame.
BBC News Online • Morning Star • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Global: Union warning on container danger
Unions worldwide are stepping up their campaign against the dangers posed by shipping containers. Global transport unions’ federation ITF said affiliates are “lobbying politicians, the European Union and other stakeholders on the dangers of badly prepared shipping containers this week, ahead of an International Labour Organisation (ILO) forum on the subject in Switzerland on 21 and 22 February.”
ITF news release and ITF position on container safety • ILO forum • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Faulty lorry caused lasting disability
A worker from Gateshead who suffered debilitating long term damage to his hearing caused by defective work equipment has received £8,500 in compensation. GMB member Charles Haswell developed tinnitus, a condition which means he hears constant ringing in his left ear, after he was hit in the side of the face by a faulty lorry door handle on a 40ft lorry trailer, owned by McBurney Transport.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Fine for first corporate manslaughter conviction
A Gloucestershire firm has been fined £385,000 for the corporate manslaughter of a man killed when a trench collapsed on him. Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings became the first firm convicted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.
CPS news release • Hazards Campaign news release • BBC News Online • Daily Telegraph article and guide to the corporate manslaughter legislation • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Colombia: Mine blasts highlight lack of oversight
A spate of deaths in Colombia’s mines has exposed the country’s threadbare safety system. Both Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and mines minister Carlos Rodado Noreiga have admitted the country’s Institute of Geology and Mining (Ingeominas) is ill-equipped to oversee safety standards in the nation’s burgeoning mining industry.
ICEM news report  • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Firms have to pay asbestos care costs
An insurer’s decision to drop an appeal against a landmark court judgment should now clear the way for hospices across the country to secure vital funding for the end of life care of industrial illness victims. The announcement comes just days before a scheduled appeal against a decision by the High Court last year, that ruled the company responsible for the death of James Willson from the asbestos related cancer mesothelioma should contribute to his hospice care costs.
Irwin Mitchell news release • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Work pressures hurt families
Nearly one in three people in the UK have been in a relationship that has suffered because of work pressures, according to a new poll. The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) questioned 2,000 people and found of the 29 per cent who said they had been in a relationship adversely affected by a poor work-life balance, the two main problems identified were long working hours and high workloads.
IOSH news release • TUC work-life balance webpages • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Number of injured road workers doubles
The number of injuries to road workers on motorways and trunk roads in England more than doubled between 2005 and 2009, a BBC investigation has found. Figures from the Highways Agency showed injuries increased from 50 in 2005 to 110 in 2009, but the number of fatalities fell from five to one.
BBC News Online • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Power company fined after crushing death
A Cambridgeshire power company has been ordered to pay £150,735 in fines and costs for its role in an incident which left a man dead after he was struck by a straw bale. Gary Darnell was working as a driver at EPR Ely Ltd's site on Elean Power Station in Sutton, Cambridgeshire, on 16 September 2008 when he suffered fatal injuries from a 700kg bale of straw that fell on to him.
HSE news release • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Food producer fined for serial failings
A Hull-based food manufacturer has been fined £14,000 for repeated safety failings which meant two workers in Barnsley suffered severe injuries in separate incidents just three months apart.
HSE news release and food industry webpages • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Britain: Multinational fined for severed fingers
A global packaging firm has been sentenced after a worker's fingers were severed at a St Helens factory. The 49-year-old man, an employee of Linpac Packaging Ltd from Thornton near Crosby, lost the top of three fingers on his right hand while trying to clear a jam in a machine on 13 March 2010.
HSE news release and manufacturing webpages • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Australia: Union says guard it – or ban it
Workplaces are so dangerous in Australia you can expect two amputations to occur every work day, a union conference has heard. “Every year on average about 675 amputations occur due to industrial accidents,” Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) national secretary Paul Howes said.
AWU news release • Risks 494 • 19 February 2011

Hazards news, 12 February 2011

Britain: Safety fears at Olympic Village
A construction union has warned that extra vigilance is needed at the Olympics 2012 site, after discovering workers building the Olympic Village which will house competitors are more than twice as likely to suffer a serious injury as the all directly employed workers on the main Olympics 2012 park.
UCATT news release • ODA news release • Construction Enquirer • Morning Star • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Global: Canadian asbestos ‘tsunami’ planned for India
The governments of Quebec and India have agreed to draw up an accord on “investment and sustainable development” in mining activities which will include Canada’s asbestos exports. However, unions, safety and environmental campaigners say Quebec plans to export an “asbestos tsunami” to India which could lead to tens of thousands of deaths a year.
IBAS news report • BWI news release • Government of India news release. Montreal Gazette • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: Concern as headsets deafen workers
Over 1,500 workers who believe their hearing has been damaged by the use of high pitched noise fed through workplace headsets are taking action against their employers. CWU is assisting over 1,500 members with claims arising from the use of these oscillators or amplifiers in their work, many of whom are suffering with tinnitus.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Tinnitus Awareness Week, 4-11 February 2011 • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

USA: Would you like diarrhoea with that?
A study of restaurant food handling in the US has uncovered something diners might find hard to swallow - about 12 per cent of the restaurant employees interviewed said they had worked while sick with vomiting and diarrhoea. Restaurants with the heaviest workloads, serving more than 300 meals on their busiest days, were the most likely to have sick employees on duty.
Steven Sumner and others. Factors associated with food workers working while experiencing vomiting or diarrhoea, Journal of Food Protection, volume 74, number 2, pages 215-220, February 2011 [abstract] • Food Safety News • Fairwarning • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Global: Union outrage at seafarer ‘execution’
Seafarers’ union Nautilus has said it is outraged at the execution of a seafarer onboard a merchant ship. The Beluga Nomination was captured by Somali pirates 390 nautical miles north off the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean on 22 January.
Nautilus news release • ITF/shipping industry joint news release • IMO news release. IMB piracy reporting centre • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: Unite holds out for fair deal on farms
Farming employers should drop the insults and back a union claim for fair wages and a day off for Workers’ Memorial Day, agriculture union Unite has said. The union, which represents 154,000 agricultural workers, voiced its “disappointment” after the industry lobby group NFU described Unite’s pay claim, which includes the call for a 28 April public holiday, as “outrageous”.
Unite news release • NFU news release • TUC Workers' Memorial Day webpage • Global 28 April resources • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: Ministers urged to oppose pilot hours increase
Airline pilots from across Britain lobbied ministers and MPs in parliament last week in a bid to block what they believe is an unsafe plan to increase pilot flying hours across the European Union (EU).
BALPA news release • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: Prove coastguard cuts would not risk lives
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been challenged to prove its plans to cut coastguard stations would not put lives at risk. Coastguards’ union PCS has called on agency bosses to run a live test of a proposed centralised control system before an MCA consultation about closing 10 of the UK’s 19 stations ends on 24 March.
PCS news release •   Early Day Motion 1256 opposing the planned cuts • Morning Star • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: Injury forced nursery worker to give up job
A nursery worker was forced to change her career after she was badly injured in the workplace. The GMB member, who slipped on a freshly mopped floor at the Foleshill Children’s Centre’s creche in Coventry, has received a £7,500 out of court payout.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Thailand: Injured migrant chained to hospital bed
A Burmese migrant worker who suffered horrifying injuries on a construction site in Thailand has been chained to his hospital bed by the police. Charlie Deeyu, 25, who was working in the country illegally and now faces deportation, is being treated at Police General Hospital in Bangkok.
HRDF news release • BWI Connect • Bangkok Post • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Union secures six figure crash payouts
The union Unite has secured six figure payouts for two members injured in road traffic accidents.
Thompsons Solicitors news releases on the cyclist and pedestrian cases • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: BP put North Sea rig workers at risk
UK-based oil multinational BP is failing to perform enough safety checks on operations in the North Sea, putting the safety of rig workers at risk, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said. The company has until 31 May to remedy the criminal safety breaches identified in an HSE improvement notice.
Bloomberg News • HSE improvement notice • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Global: Asbestos lobby resorts to threats
Shady asbestos industry lobbyists are running a campaign of intimidation targeting key campaigners seeking ban on the deadly fibre. The UK-based International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), which coordinates a network for campaign groups worldwide, says in recent weeks “the internet has been flooded by accusations against individuals and groups campaigning to ban asbestos.”
IBAS news report • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: Warning on carbon nanotubes dangers
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) may cause serious diseases, but lack of adequate information means safety datasheets are likely to be of little or no use, a new publication from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) suggests. Its guide notes: “In view of the evidence for lung damage and lack of information on the effects of long-term repeated exposure a high level of control is warranted for CNTs.”
Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risk management of carbon nanotubes [pdf] • HSE nanotechnology webpages • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: New nuke safety regulator stays in HSE
A decision to keep regulation of nuclear safety within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been welcomed by unions. The government announced this week that a new Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), to be established from 1 April 2011, would be an HSE agency and would take over relevant functions previously undertaken both by HSE’s Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and the Department for Transport.
DWP written statement • Prospect news release • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

USA: Jobs link to women’s lung cancer risk
Significantly higher rates of lung cancer deaths – sometimes double what would be expected – occurred in US women who worked in more than 40 occupations between 1984 and 1998. The large scale occupational health surveillance study published in the February edition of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine is the broadest analysis of occupation, industry and lung cancer among US women to date.
Cynthia F Robinson and others. Occupational lung cancer in US women, 1984-1998, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, volume 54, issue 2, pages 102–117, February 2011 [abstract] • Environmental Health News • The Independent • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: Safety breaches caused toxic chemical burns
A worker at an Ellesmere Port factory suffered toxic burns to his arms and chest requiring skin grafts as a result of his employer’s failure to abide by workplace and environmental safety laws. Abacus Chemical Ltd was prosecuted and a director cautioned in a joint case brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Environment Agency following the incident.
HSE news release and chemicals webpages • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: Food firm fined after worker hospitalised
A Lincolnshire food company which packs vegetables for supermarkets has been fined £15,000 after a worker ended up in hospital after being hit by a falling crate. QV Foods Ltd, of Manor Farm, Holbeach Hurn, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at its factory on 22 May 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Britain: Glazing firm fined after scaffold fall
A South Yorkshire glazing firm has been fined £2,500 after an employee was hurt when he fell more than ten feet from an unsafe scaffold. Phillip Pears, then 20, broke his wrist in the incident while replacing fascias for Premier Security Glazing Ltd at a house in York in June 2009.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Georgia: Striking miners win safety action
A strike by 400 Georgian miners of ended this week when management of Saknakhshiri, or Geo-Coal, recognised the union and agreed to address safety and other concerns. Negotiations over safety issues and pay at Tkibuli-Mindeli, a set of two underground mines in the Imereti region of western Georgia, began this week between the firm and the Metallurgical, Mining, and Chemical Workers’ Trade Union of Georgia and the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC).
ICEM news report and related briefing • Risks 493 • 12 February 2011

Hazards news, 5 February 2011

Britain: Government enforced asbestos silence will kill
Workers will die as a result of the ban on official campaigns introduced by the government, construction union UCATT has warned. The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) award-winning Hidden Killer campaign, which is among the affected campaigns, was launched in 2008 after figures showed asbestos disease was killing 20 construction tradesmen every week.
UCATT news release • Daily Mirror • Construction Enquirer • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

USA: Shouldn’t deadly bosses fear jail time?
Wouldn’t work be a lot safer if dangerous negligent company executives feared jail time? It’s a question asked in the latest edition of US magazine Labor Notes. It says in the US, the Occupational Safety and Health Act provides only for misdemeanour penalties - six months maximum behind bars – “but even such minimal criminal penalties are almost never pursued.”
Labor Notes • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Unite links farm pay claim to 28 April holiday
Farmworkers don’t just deserve better pay, they should be given a day off on 28 April to mark Workers’ Memorial Day, their union has said. In a pay claim submitted on behalf of 154,000 agricultural workers in England and Wales, Unite also calls for a public holiday to commemorate Workers' Memorial Day on 28 April.
Unite news release • TUC Workers’ Memorial Day webpage • Global 28 April resources • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Union calls in HSE in student safety row
East Surrey College could face an investigation from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a union discovered students were being sent to work placements without the necessary safety checks being undertaken. Further education union UCU lodged the complaint with HSE after it discovered 36 students, including 10 below the age of 18, had been placed in workplaces without proper safety checks being carried out by the college.
UCU news release • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

USA: New York shuts killer tortilla factory
The Brooklyn tortilla factory where a Guatemalan worker died last week after he fell into an industrial dough mixer has been shut down by authorities. New York State officials said the move was because it has been without workers’ compensation insurance for nearly a year, but say the death “got us there immediately.”
Brandworkers news release • New York Times City Room blog • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Pilots will fight dangerous work hours move
Pilots’ union BALPA is warning an extension of allowable working hours would increase the risk of fatigue-related air disasters. The union has launched a ‘Wake up - Pilot fatigue risks lives’ campaign against European plans to increase the working hours of pilots, warning safety would be put at risk.
BALPA news release • Morning Star • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Injury reporting downgrade ‘makes no sense’
A formal consultation looking at reducing injury reporting requirements on firms “makes no sense” and only considers the cost implications for business, not the impact on injured workers and safety, the TUC has charged. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber commented: “When proposals for changing health and safety law are made without any reference to the benefit to either the health or safety of workers, it is clear there is something very wrong with the way that the government sees regulation.”
HSE news release and RIDDOR consultation document. The deadline for comments is 9 May 2011 • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Register of safety consultants kicks off
Health and safety consultants are being invited to sign up to a new independent register, which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says is intended to become a benchmark for standards in the profession. HSE says the register will be “freely accessible and searchable” from early spring.
HSE news release • OSHCR website • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Recycling firm fined after worker dies
A recycling company has been fined £200,000 after a defective machine tipped and the loading bucket hit a man, causing fatal injuries. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Ling Metals Ltd for a criminal breach of safety law after Darren Baker, 35, died in hospital two days after the incident from multiple injuries.
HSE news release • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Site boss fined for subbie’s injuries
A partner in a Nottingham construction firm has been fined after a sub-contractor suffered permanent leg injuries when falling under a telehandler. John Handley, a partner in J&C Handley, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following the incident at a housing construction site in Carlton on 2 July 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Firms sentenced after steeplejack’s death fall
Two companies have been fined a total of £85,000 after steeplejack John Alty fell 50 metres to his death from an Edwardian chimney in Bolton, and a colleague was left clinging on for his life. Bailey International Steeplejack Company Ltd was fined £75,000 and £80,000 costs and Ken Brogden Ltd was fined £10,000 and £16,000 costs.
HSE news release, falls webpages and video interview with John Alty’s widow, Angela • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Worker seriously burned by 11,000 volts
An electrical engineering company has been fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £8,000 costs after an employee suffered serious burns from equipment carrying 11,000 volts. Powersystems UK Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after Stephen Martin Edwards, 52, a high voltage cable jointer, was injured while working in Stroud on 18 September 2009.
HSE news release • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Firms prosecuted after farm roof fall
A young construction worker suffered life-changing injuries after falling six metres through the roof of a farm building, a court has heard. Richard Cooke, who was 26 at the time of the incident, was dismantling the roof of a cow shed at Manor Farm, Corston near Bath, on 7 July 2008.
HSE news release • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

USA: Worker involvement is key to safe work
Despite 40 years of regulatory and voluntary programmes by the USA’s workplace safety watchdog, worker protections have not kept up with technological or scientific advances, according to a new report. Researchers at the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production call for comprehensive workplace injury and illness prevention programmes that tap worker and employer knowledge and measures to systematically identify and control workplace hazards.
David Kriebel, Molly M Jacobs, Pia Markkanen and Joel Tickner. Lessons learned: Solutions for workplace safety and health, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, January 2011 • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Businessman fined after worker breaks back
A Lancashire businessman has been fined £4,000 after one of his employees broke his back in a fall from a ladder. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Michael Wilson following the incident at Roadferry Transport Yard in Leyland on 3 March 2010.
HSE news release • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: Man loses fingers at bagel factory
A man severed two of his fingers while operating unsafe machinery at a London bagel bakery. Raakesh Patel, 26, was attempting to clear a dough blockage at the Ixxy's Bagels factory in November 2007, when a moving blade severed the middle and ring fingers on his right hand down to the knuckle.
HSE news release • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Philippines: Union reps could be deputised
A labour group in the Philippines has urged the government to deputise union presidents and officers as labour inspectors to strengthen the enforcement of employment standards and safety rules. The call, which has been welcomed by the employment minister, came after reports suggested a construction site where 10 construction workers died on 27 January was ignoring employment and safety rules.
BWI news release • PM news release • Manila Bulletin • Construction Enquirer • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Britain: New HSE nanotechnology webpages
A new Health and Safety Executive (HSE) nanotechnology webpage provides advice on the nature and use of nanotechnology and highlights on the “benefits of nanotechnology.” Potential health concerns are relegated down the webpage, but at least warn: “Where nanomaterials have an uncertain or not clearly defined toxicology and unless, or until, sound evidence is available on the hazards from inhalation, ingestion, or absorption a precautionary approach should be taken to the risk management.”
HSE nanotechnology webpages and guidance on the precautionary principle • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Europe: Work violence and harassment up
Violence, bullying and harassment are becoming more common in European workplaces, according to a new report. The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) found “third party” violence and harassment affects from 5 per cent to 20 per cent of European workers.
European Agency news release • Workplace violence and harassment: a European picture • European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER) • Risks 492 • 5 February 2011

Hazards news, 29 January 2011

Britain: Network Rail suppressed injury figures
Over a third of lost time injuries to workers within Network Rail and its contractor companies over the past five years have not been reported as required by law, an investigation has found. The probe by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), a not-for-profit company owned by major industry stakeholders, came after unions warned that the rail giant had “rigged” its injury figures to meet performance targets.
RSSB RIDDOR review webpage, news release [pdf] and full report [pdf] • Network Rail news release • Construction Enquirer • BBC News Online • The Guardian • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

USA: Contaminated work site caused nerve damage
A long-delayed state health department report on a 2006 incident at an Alaska military base has concluded an unknown volatile chemical was the probable cause of the serious nerve damage that afflicted several construction workers. At least four workers at the Fort Wainwright base were permanently disabled and are still seeking compensation for medical bills and more than 30 construction workers were hospitalised after exposure to the chemical in Aircraft Maintenance Hangar No.6.
PEER news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Unions hold ‘rotten’ Network Rail to account
A culture of fear in Network Rail that led to routine under-reporting of workplace injuries came to light as a direct result of union scrutiny. Network Rail only agreed to the independent review by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) after unions exposed a management culture in the company that had led to target-chasing managers being unwilling to report injuries, and to workers and contractors fearing reprisals if they made reports.
RMT news release • Unite news release • TSSA news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Over-stretched social workers facing burnout
UNISON has accused employers of exploiting social workers' commitment to their clients by making them do unpaid hours to fill the void left by staffing shortages. In a bid to address widespread burnout in social workers, the union and Community Care magazine have developed ‘The social work contract’, which includes a demand for social workers to get TOIL (time off in lieu) or pay for working overtime.
UNISON news release and online petition • Morning Star • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

USA: Obama regurgitates the ‘safety burdens’ myth
Safety experts and campaigners have condemned an assault on safety regulation launched last week by US president Barack Obama. The president’s business-friendly strategy earned a stinging rebuke from critics including University of Maryland law professor Rena Steinzor, who points to the deaths last year of 11 workers killed in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the 29 workers whose lives were extinguished at the Big Branch mine, and “the uncounted tens of thousands of others who were given cancer by airborne toxics at work or in the neighbourhood.”
Presidential Memoranda - Regulatory Flexibility, Small Business, and Job Creation, The White House, 18 January 2011 and related factsheet • Center for Progressive Reform • In These Times • Citizenvox • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Safety reps expose Tube staffing dangers
Tube union RMT has called for an official investigation into safety breaches on London Underground after the union’s safety reps revealed stations along the Central Line have been left unstaffed due to cuts-led staff shortages.
RMT news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Unions demand protection for detained crew
A maritime union has raised renewed concerns over the safety and welfare of crew on board a Panama-registered cargo ship, which has been detained in the UK since November last year. The Turkish-owned Most Sky was detained as a result of problems including a failure to maintain adequately the ship and equipment, unsigned rest records, no heating, dirty crew showers and toilets and out of date lifejacket lights.
ITF news report • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Union calls for talks on piracy
Maritime union Nautilus is seeking a meeting with UK government ministers after new evidence revealed the piracy threat to ships and seafarers is worse than ever before. The call comes after the International Maritime Bureau reported more people were taken hostage at sea in 2010 than in any year on record.
Nautilus news release • IMB news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Safety improvements follow compo case
A factory worker whose hand was dragged into a machine and crushed has received £300,000 in compensation. Unite member Wayne Miller, 48, has been left permanently incapacitated after suffering the injury at paper manufacturer James Cropper Plc in Kendal.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Europe: Work hazards vary for men and women
The physical hazards facing men and women at work differ, a European survey has found. The survey found the proportion of European workers exposed to physical hazards had not dropped in 20 years.
Eurofound summaries on gender differences and physical hazards • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Injury costs print worker his job
A printers’ assistant was left unemployed after suffering a workplace arm injury that resulted in permanent pain and a loss of function in the limb. Unite member Peter Fill, 54, received £115,000 in compensation four years after the incident at Mackays of Chatham.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Shredded arm ended work hopes
A West Midlands factory quality inspector whose arm was shredded by a circular saw was forced to take more than three years off work before retiring earlier than he had hoped. GMB member Sarwan Singh Bains needed three operations after the saw cut through his right arm at Caparo Precision Tubes in Oldbury in October 2006.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Caterpillar worker’s died of asbestos cancer
The family of a Unite member has received compensation after he died from an asbestos related cancer. Denis Aspin was exposed to asbestos at Caterpillar UK’s Desford factory, where he was employed as an assembler from 1979 until 2008 when he took voluntary redundancy.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Government ignores fitness test promises
A government claim that the “vast majority” of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants should not be receiving the benefit, contradicts the evidence and its own admissions just two months ago, the TUC has charged. The government said its figures, based on an assessment system that was found to be seriously flawed two months ago by the government-commissioned Harrington review, showed 39 per cent of claimants were “fit for work” and a further 39 per cent did not complete their claims.
DWP news release and ESA Work Capability Assessments statistics • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Four killed at Norfolk factory
Four men have been killed at a Norfolk factory when a steel structure they were working on four metres underground collapsed on top of them. The contract workers had been working at the site of offshore engineering company Claxton Engineering Services Limited in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
Norfolk Constabulary news release • Claxton Engineering news release • Morning Star • Construction Enquirer • BBC News Online • Great Yarmouth Mercury • Daily Mirror • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Violent incidents at work up
The number of incidents of workplace violence increased last year, although the number of victims fell, official statistics show. The discrepancy is explained by an increase in the number of victims who experienced multiple violent incidents, the Health and Safety Executive analysis of British Crime Survey statistics for 2009/10 found.
Violence at work: Findings from the 2009/10 British Crime Survey, HSE, January 2011 [pdf] • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Olympic authority rejects casual working
The Olympic Delivery Authority has confirmed workers on the 2012 project will continue to be directly employed and as a consequence will receive full employment rights. Construction union UCATT said the clarification came after it was forced to write to ODA, in the wake of a call from the employment agencies lobby group, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), for a “flexible workforce” on the project.
UCATT news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Property firm ignored safe work order
A property company in Aberystwyth has been fined for criminal safety breaches after putting its workers at risk and then ignoring an order to improve safety. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had issued a prohibition notice to Merlin Homes (Wales) Ltd on 12 February 2010 to stop work immediately behind a housing development in the town, as there was a risk an earth bank behind the properties could collapse.
HSE news release • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Britain: Poor management cost worker his leg
A construction manager in charge of a refurbishment job where a worker suffered such severe leg injuries the limb had to be amputated had no health and safety training, a court has heard. Howper 291 Ltd pleaded guilty to a criminal safety breach and was fined £10,000 plus costs of £4,172.
HSE news release and risk assessment webpages • Construction Enquirer • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Australia: Court backs victimised safety rep
Australian shipping giant Patrick Stevedoring has been fined Aus$180,000 (£112,600) after it was found guilty of discriminating against a union safety rep who raised safety concerns. The worker, an experienced stevedore and an elected health and safety representative with the docks union MUA, raised concerns about the safety of a new basket-lifting technique on three occasions in 2007 and was subsequently threatened by a manager, then disciplined.
Herald Sun • ACTU news release • MUA news release • Transport and Logistics News • Risks 491 • 29 January 2011

Hazards news, 22 January 2011

Britain: Family continues its fight for justice
The family of a young factory worker who died in a workplace explosion wants his employer to admit its role in his death. Unite member Peter Reynolds was just 28 when he died from head injuries after he was blasted out of the Cemex factory in January 2008, falling 10 metres to the ground.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Heavy recycling work caused hernia
A GMB member needed surgery to correct a hernia which could have been avoided if his employer had undertaken and acted on a simple risk assessment. Andrew Kelly, 47, needed the major surgery after moving several objects weighing up to 40kg during an eight-hour shift for global recycling giant Sims Group UK.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Green jobs, safe jobs blog • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

USA: Farmworkers act on strawberry poison
A coalition of environmental groups is hoping newly inaugurated California governor Jerry Brown will rescind the decision by his predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger to approve the use of methyl iodide. Erik Nicholson, national vice-president of the UFW, commented: “Farmworkers are on the front lines of methyl iodide use and will suffer the most tragic consequences,” adding: “If this decision is allowed to stand, strawberries may very well become the new poster child for giving farmworkers cancer and late term miscarriages.”
In These Times • Pesticides Action Network North America • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Steel union concern over punitive policies
Unions at a global steel producer are warning that a “heavy handed” safety policy, based around behavioural safety approaches and which treats breaches of “golden” safety rules by employees as automatic disciplinary offences, should be ditched. The warning came from the union side of the ArcelorMittal Joint Global Health and Safety Committee.
IMF news report • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Attack exposes folly of unstaffed Tube stations
A serious assault on a member of the public highlights the dangers of operating unstaffed London Underground (LU) stations, rail union RMT has said. The union was commenting after a person was attacked and beaten up by five youths in the early hours of 16 January.
London Evening Standard • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Global: End made-in-Canada deaths in Asia
Plans to expand asbestos production in Canada will result in an estimated 30,000 deaths in Asia, public health experts and campaigners have warned. A spate of protests in Asia, North America and Europe late last year have continued into 2011, with events in India, Korea and Canada highlighting the human consequences of any decision by authorities that would allow an expansion of asbestos mining in the Canadian province of Quebec.
IBAS news • Montreal Gazette • Raging Grannies • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Network Rail pays damages to rail widow
The widow of a rail worker who died in April 2007 when he was struck by a fast-moving train has been awarded a “substantial” sum in compensation by Network Rail. Charles Stockwell, 50, was killed whilst welding a track as a train approached the busy Ruscombe Junction in Berkshire.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Usdaw welcomes fall in shop crime
Usdaw has welcomed the overall fall in shop crime and an increased investment by retailers in crime prevention. The shopworkers’ union was commenting on publication this week of the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) annual survey of retail crime, which reports incidents of violence, threats and abuse against shop staff were down by 50 per cent and incidents of shoplifting down by 10.6 per cent.
Usdaw news release and Freedom from fear campaign • BRC news release and Retail Crime Survey 2010 [pdf] • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Global: Call to drop worn jeans
Unions this week told major garment companies and retailers they should stop selling sandblasted jeans. The process, which is used to give denim a fashionable worn and faded look, causes an often fatal lung disease in exposed garment workers.
ITGLWF news release • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Deterrence a victim of enforcement failures
A failure to impose meaningful penalties for criminal safety breaches means the courts and regulators are still failing to create a level playing field for employers that do not break the law, a safety expert has warned. Howard Fidderman, editor of Health and Safety Bulletin, says “appropriate sanctions are not just about justice, deterrence and punishment; they are also about creating a level playing field so that those employers that strive to comply with the law are not disadvantaged while others get away with flagrant breaches.”
The fine gap in deterrence, Howard Fidderman, Health and Safety Bulletin, January 2011 • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Default retirement age is retired
The default retirement age of 65 is to be phased out later this year. The government announcement received mixed responses, with some welcoming the measure while others warned that it would mean “work till you drop” for the poorest in society, while research published this week by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) dismissed concerns about possible health and safety risks related to working when older.
BIS news release • NPC news release • UCATT news release • TUC news release. Morning Star • An update of the literature on age and employment, HSE research report RR832, January 2011 • Hazards age webpages • 22 January 2011

Britain: TUC slams business lobby’s unhealthy attitude
The TUC has criticised a business group’s drive to block new protections from some of the most serious occupational health risks of modern workplaces. EEF, the lobbying group for manufacturing employers, is urging the government to block possible European Union-wide measures to improve protection from workplace stress and strain injuries.
EEF news release• TUC safety campaign resources: Fighting the cuts to health and safety • How to lobby your MP on health and safety • The case for health and safety.
We didn't vote to die at work: Campaign briefings, posters and resources • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Inflexible and stressful work bad for kids
Inflexible, stressful and emotionally demanding jobs can undermine parenting confidence and contribute to emotional withdrawal from children, a new report had claimed. The Demos study found that while educational background has little effect on parenting style, work conditions did have an impact.
Demos news release and report, The home front, Demos, January 2011 [pdf] • BBC News Online • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Teen worker loses fingers on first day at work
A Walsall metal company has been prosecuted after a teenage worker lost parts of two fingers on his first day at work. The 19-year-old, who did not wish to be named, had only started work three hours earlier for Goscote-based JKL Industrial Services Ltd, when his hand became trapped in a power press.
HSE news release • Birmingham Mail • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Chicken poo screw fine for egg packer
A Banff-based egg packing business has been fined for exposing its employees to the risk of serious injury. Workers employed by the James Gammie partnership were required to use a poorly guarded screw conveyor to clear away chicken manure from each of the company's three sheds at its premises in Leightonhill Farm, Brechin.
HSE news release • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Litterpicker injured falling into well
A Mansfield District Council worker was lucky to survive when he fell six metres down a dry well, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said. The council employee, who does not wish to be named, was clearing litter from the White Lion Yard in the town on 28 April 2009 when the incident happened.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

France: Postal worker suicide ‘71st in a year’
The suicide of a French postal worker has prompted fears about working conditions in the country’s Post Office. A 56-year-old worker killed himself on 8 January in Bouches-du-Rhône, in southeast France, in what unions says is the fifth suicide in the region in a year and the 71st nationwide.
RFI.fr • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Window firm failed welfare test
A London window manufacturer has been prosecuted for ignoring two improvement notices requiring the firm to bring employee welfare facilities up to a clean and hygienic standard. City of London Magistrates' Court heard that on 20 May 2010, at a routine inspection of the TLC Glazing Ltd factory, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found the toilets were very dirty, with no supply of hot water, no soap for hand washing and no means of hand drying.
HSE news release • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: Son’s battle for justice for his dad
The son of a former employee of the Longbridge car plant, who died after being exposed to asbestos, has launched a search for former colleagues who may be able to help in his battle for justice. John Amos, from Rednal, Birmingham, was diagnosed with the incurable asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma in May 2009, just days before he died aged 79 on 22 May 2009.
Irwin Mitchell news release. Anyone who can assist with information concerning asbestos working practices at the Rover site in Longbridge, should contact Alida Coates on 0870 1500 100 • Risks 490 • 22 January 2011

Britain: TUCG safety week of action, 28 Feb-5 March
The Trade Union Coordinating Group (TUCG) is calling a health and safety week of action from 28 February. TUCG, which brings together nine unions (BFAWU, FBU, NAPO, NUJ, PCS, POA, RMT, UCU and URTU) to co-ordinate campaigning activities, is also planning a 2 March rally and lobby of parliament.
TUCG health and safety week of action 28 February-5 March. Rally and lobby of parliament, from 12.30pm Wednesday 2 March. TUCG events flyer [pdf] • 22 January 2011

Hazards news, 15 January 2011

Britain: Survey finds BA bullying is ‘rife’
A culture of bullying and victimisation of staff has taken root at British Airways (BA), a new report by Unite has found. The confidential survey of nearly 2,000 BA employees reveals that nearly three in every four members of BA staff have witnessed or been subject to bullying.
Unite news release • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

USA: Cost-cutting blamed for deadly oil disaster
A major US report into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has called for wide-ranging reforms of the oil industry to prevent a repeat of the disaster. The report from the US presidential oil spill commission said BP, Transocean and Halliburton had cut corners to save time and money - decisions that contributed to the disaster.
Oil spill commission website and final report [pdf] • BBC News Online • The Guardian.
Public Citizen campaign to get the US government to act on the commission findings • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011.

Britain: Council risks agency staff's safety
Birmingham City Council has been accused of providing insufficient protective clothing to agency workers unions say were brought in to undermine refuse collection industrial action in the city. Directly employed refuse collectors in the city have been working to rule since 22 December last year.
Birmingham Mail • Morning Star • UCATT news release • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Safety threat at capital rail stations
RMT members working for Southeastern at the major London rail terminals of Victoria and Charing Cross have voted for industrial action over platform and gateline job cuts the union says are a “lethal gamble” at a time of a heightened terrorist alert.
RMT news release • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

USA: Firefighter wins breast cancer payout
A Las Vegas firefighter has been told by the Nevada Supreme Court she is entitled to workers' compensation benefits under the presumption that she developed breast cancer through exposure to carcinogens at work.
City of Las Vegas v Robin Lawson, Nevada Supreme Court [pdf] • Courthouse News Service • Allgov.com • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Tube bosses plan to ignore safety rules
Staffing cuts on London Underground (LU) will leave the network “dangerous” and in breach of official safety rules, Tube union RMT has warned. Company documents released by the union show almost a third of stations are set to be unstaffed for part of the working day.
RMT news release • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Heavy work hurt warehouse worker
A warehouse operative has received £4,500 in compensation after his employer admitted blame for an injury that left him unable to carry out everyday tasks and that took more than eight months to heal. GMB member Paul Pritchard, 37, was forced to take almost four months off work when he was injured whilst packing aeroplane components at the Rolls Royce Depot in Sunderland for Mitie Group.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: ‘Serious doubts’ over UK oil spill preparation
A committee of MPs has raised ‘serious doubts’ about the UK's ability to combat oil spills from deep sea rigs following the BP Gulf of Mexico oil disaster last year. The Energy and Climate Change Committee also warned that taxpayers could pay for a major spill in the North Sea, but said a moratorium on deep sea drilling would undermine the UK's energy security and is unnecessary.
Energy and Climate Change Committee news release and report • HSE offshore injury and incident statistics 2009/10, December 2010 [pdf] • BBC News Online • The Telegraph • Yorkshire Post • The Independent • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

USA: Unhealthy absence of paid sick leave
More than 44 million private sector workers in the United States - 42 per cent of the private-sector workforce - don’t have paid sick days they can use to recover from a common illness like the flu, according to new research. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) said its analysis reinforces the connection between the failure to allow workers paid sick days and public health problems.
IWPR factsheet [pdf] • AFL-CIO Now blog • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Government plans attack on vulnerable workers
Sick workers and those wanting to seek redress for unfair dismissal are among those targeted in what has been dubbed the government’s ‘employers’ charter’. Press reports suggest ministers are intending to extend the period when employers can dismiss workers without being subject to a claim for unfair dismissal, considering introducing fees for workers taking claims to an employment tribunal and reducing the period when statutory sick pay is payable.
TUC Touchstone blog • TUC news release • UCATT news release • The Telegraph • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Deadly blast highlights green job dangers
A man has died after an explosion at the Sterecycle waste recycling plant which left another man seriously injured. The recycling giant, whose Rotherham plant is in the middle of a rapid expansion plan, was voted ‘one to watch’ at the Cleantech industry awards in November 2010.
Green jobs, safe jobs blog • South Yorkshire Police statement • BBC News Online • Sheffield Star • North West Evening Mail • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Firms fail to control cancer chemicals
There has been no improvement in over a decade in the chemical industry’s control of a potent carcinogen, research for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has found. The study into exposures to the cancer-causing chemical MbOCA found more than 1 in 20 measurements (6 per cent) exceeded the guidance value for MbOCA in urine, with levels in excess of this figure found at seven of the 19 sites visited in study.
Occupational exposure to MbOCA (4,4′-methylene-bis-ortho-chloroaniline) and isocyanates in polyurethane manufacture, RR828, December 2010 [pdf] • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Drug workers get a dose of dermatitis
A Swindon pharmaceutical company has been fined after a number of its employees were exposed to a potent sensitiser and developed allergic contact dermatitis. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Catalent UK Swindon Zydis Limited, trading as Catalent Pharma Solutions, after at least ten employees developed the skin condition when working with Olanzapine.
HSE news release • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Worker hit by three-tonne steel tank
A steel fabricating company has been fined after a process tank weighing three tonnes fell on an employee. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Wefco (Gainsborough) Ltd for failing to ensure the safety of 29-year-old Edward Baxter, who sustained multiple fractures to his pelvis, spine and ribs, a fractured leg and ankle and head injuries as a result of the incident on 4 March 2008.
HSE news release • Construction Enquirer • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Fine after thumb and finger are sawn off
A Suffolk building contractor has been fined after a worker's finger and thumb were amputated by a moulding machine. Bench joiner David Head, 24, was shaping a piece of timber at the GJ Bream & Son Ltd joinery workshop in Chevington, Suffolk on 10 June 2010 when it caught in the cutter and dragged his left hand into the blades.
HSE news release and saw safety guide [pdf] • Construction Enquirer • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Packaging firm to blame for skin grafts
A Rochdale food packaging firm that disabled a machine safety system has been fined £27,500 after one of its workers was badly injured when he was dragged into the machine. The 35-year-old Elliott Absorbent Products Ltd employee, suffered severe friction burns to his arms, chest and stomach, requiring skin grafts to both his arms.
HSE news release • Manchester Evening News • Food Production Daily • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Global: Asbestos deaths toll under-estimated
The number of deaths related to asbestos exposures worldwide has been dramatically under-estimated, as some major asbestos using nations are failing to report any related cancers, a new study has concluded. A group of experts from Japan, Taiwan and the UK, writing this month in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives, say their analysis supports a worldwide ban on asbestos production and use.
Park E-K, Takahashi K, Hoshuyama T, Cheng T-J, Delgermaa V, and others. Global magnitude of reported and unreported mesothelioma, Environmental Health Perspectives,  published online 6 January 2011. doi:10.1289/ehp.1002845 • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Scissor lift safety warning after deaths
The deaths of five people in three separate incidents when scissor lifts overturned has lead the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to issue a safety alert. The safety watchdog is warning service and maintenance engineers and those in the construction industry who use, or lease out, JLG 500RTS and 400 RTS scissor lifts, to ensure that safety critical components are working correctly.
HSE news release and scissor lift safety alert • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Injured workers want rehabilitation
Injured workers value rehabilitation and say it allows them to get on with their lives and their jobs quicker, a survey had found. Personal injury law firm Thompsons questioned clients who had received rehabilitation in the last year, and found all respondents who had received rehabilitation while off sick said that the treatment had helped them return to work earlier than they would otherwise have done.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Britain: Women and health and safety seminar, 3 February
A TUC seminar on the topic of ‘women and health and safety’ will take place at its London HQ on Thursday 3 February 2011. The half day event is aimed at union officers and workplace reps with responsibility for health and safety, equality and women’s rights in the workplace, or any union researchers or officers with an interest in gender and occupational health.
Women and health and safety seminar, TUC, Congress House, 3 February 2011. To express an interest in attending or to get further details, email TUC • Risks 489 • 15 January 2011

Hazards news, 8 January 2011

Britain: Firms ‘cheat’ workers out of sick pay
Public sector employers have been urged to ensure all those working for them have a right to sick pay after a union study found multinationals providing contracted out cleaning and catering staff were denying this ‘basic right’. Major firms the UNISON survey found had denied sick pay to staff employed on public sector contracts included Compass, Sodexo, Medirest and ISS.
UNISON news release • The Mirror • BBC News Online • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

USA: Last year’s death rig, this year’s top stock
What was bad news for workers and the environment around the Gulf of Mexico, might not be such bad news for Transocean. The firm that owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded in April 2010 with the loss of 11 lives has made Fortune Magazine’s top 10 stocks listing for 2011 – and not only is Transocean’s share price set to soar, according to the magazine, it also has a copper-bottomed get-out contract clause from liability for the disaster.
Fortune magazine • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Safety fears as prisons hit by cuts
Prison officers could “withdraw” from work on health and safety grounds after warning riots may spread as spending cuts bite. It is illegal for prison officers to strike but Colin Moses, the chair of the POA, said: “Under health and safety laws, workers have the right to withdraw to a place of safety if they are at risk.”
HM Prison Service statement/Ministry of Justice statement • Telegraph • Daily Express • BBC News Online • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Union anger as coastguard stations slashed
Unions have expressed dismay at government plans to slash the number of 24-hour coastguard stations from 18 to three. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “It's a shocking indictment on this ConDem government that plans to cut our coastguards could even be considered, let alone implemented, and shows that they are quite prepared to hack away at life or death services.”
DfT statement • PCS news release • The Independent • The Guardian • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

India: Safety body withholds asbestos evidence
Hundreds of Indian former asbestos mine workers are protesting against the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) after being denied crucial medical evidence on their own health conditions for a year. Rooplal Vadera of the Rajasthan State Mine Labour Union (RSMLU) said: “We want the medical report so that the victims can file for compensation.”
The Times of India • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Injury payouts expose the lie of ‘low risk’ job
UNISON has secured £27,398,985 in compensation in 2010 for members who fell victim to assaults, car crashes, and work-related illnesses and injuries. The union’s case file, which includes cases involving office, nursery, school and hospital staff, provides more evidence a government move to relax health and safety requirements on ‘low risk’ office and service sector jobs is ill-advised.
UNISON news release • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Office work can be a repeating pain
A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employee from Pontypool has received £7,850 compensation for a shoulder injury and hernia she received due to her employer’s negligence. The PCS member’s work involved the repetitive handling of documents, moving heavy boxes of files on and off shelves and transferring them around the building on trolleys.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Payouts agreed for autoworker lung disease
A group of 79 ex-MG Rover workers have received compensation after what experts believe was the largest outbreak of occupational lung disease in the world. Metalworking fluids used by Powertrain Ltd, the engine building division of MG Rover, caused asthma and extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA) in exposed workers. breathing problems for the Unite members at the Longbridge plant in Birmingham.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Birmingham Post • BBC News Online •
Hazards magazine on HSE’s failure to prosecute • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Bed firm ignored the doctor’s orders
A failure to act on the advice of a doctor has cost a major bed company £9,500 in damages to a former employee. The settlement was offered by Sealy Sleep Products (UK) Ltd to Norman Kirkbride, 41, whose GP had written to the company suggesting that Mr Kirkbride’s back condition would worsen if he continued lifting heavy objects.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: HSE cuts will hurt workers
Unions and MPs have warned drastic cutbacks to the Health and Safety Executive will lead to more work-related ill-health and injuries. A report last month from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health warned the cuts in HSE’s budget were a “false economy” and will lead to increased costs from sickness absence, compensation and benefit payments.
PCS news release • Shields Gazette • SHP Online • We didn't vote to die at work: Campaign briefings, posters and resources • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Government bid to undermine injury reporting
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is to consult on measures to dramatically reduce injury reporting requirements on firms. The move, agreed at the 15 December 2010 HSE board meeting, is in direct response to a recommendation in Lord Young’s review of health and safety, which was accepted in its entirety by David Cameron’s government.
HSE news release and 15 December board meeting agenda, including the RIDDOR paper [pdf] • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Firms may pay for enforcement notices
The Health and Safety Executive is set to proceed with a plan to charge firms when they are issued with official safety enforcement notices. The move is part of a revenue-raising and cost-cutting drive at HSE in the wake of Lord Young’s report into the future of the government safety enforcement agency.
Speech by HSE chair Judith Hackitt • Construction Enquirer • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Community service for boss who wouldn’t act
A Surrey-based businessman who ignored repeated notices to stop dangerous work at his premises on an industrial estate in Guildford has been ordered to serve 240 hours of community service. Mark Mason, 38, pleaded guilty at Guildford Crown Court to health and safety breaches, including contravening the improvement and prohibition notices.
HSE news release • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Global: IFJ reports heavy media losses to violence
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has warned that journalists and media personnel remain prime targets for political extremists, gangsters and terrorists as it announced that at least 94 journalists and media personnel who were killed in 2010, victims of targeted killings, bomb attacks and crossfire incidents.
IFJ news release and IFJ List of Journalists and Media Personnel Killed in 2010 • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: BT guilty following fatal ladder fall
Communications giant BT has been fined £300,000 and ordered to pay costs of £196,150 following the death of a worker who fell from a ladder while carrying out installation works. Power construction engineer David Askew, 52, from Braintree, suffered fatal head injuries after falling from a wooden ladder at London's Canonbury Telephone Exchange on 27 October 2006.
HSE news release and falls webpages • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Firm fined over worker’s dam death
A German construction multinational has been fined £266,000 over a contractor's death during the construction of a hydroelectric scheme in Scotland. Ondrej Hladick died when he was crushed by the decrepit telehandler he was using at the site on 22 September 2008.
COFPS news release • Construction Enquirer • BBC News Online • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Carton maker fined over worker’s death
A Glossop packaging manufacturer has been fined after a worker was killed when a machine he was working on was activated while he was still inside. Maintenance worker Clive Hall, 50, suffered fatal head injuries at Glossop Carton and Print Ltd's factory in Padfield on 8 September 2006.
HSE news release and manufacturing webpages • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Agency worker died on first day at work
A Newmarket retail display firm has been fined £80,000 after a worker was crushed to death by a stack of glass he was unloading on his first day at work. Vitalijus Orlovas, 29, an agency worker originally from Lithuania, was unloading 100kg plus sheets of glass from a shipping container at Arken PoP's site in St Neots when they fell on him. He suffered crush injuries and died at the scene.
HSE news release • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Offshore platform maintenance 'neglected'
A focus on preventing major offshore incidents has led some companies to neglect general maintenance, an official investigation has found. This key finding of a 21 December 2010 report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into external corrosion management on offshore facilities prompted the government safety watchdog to warn that day-to-day worker safety must not be sidelined.
HSE news release and external corrosion management report [pdf] • BBC News Online • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011.

Britain: Pleural plaques payouts win for bereaved
Asbestos campaigners have welcomed a policy shift that means families of some diseased pleural victims will receive compensation. Only people who had already started a legal claim for compensation were told they could apply for a £5,000 one-off payment, but this scheme has now been extended to include eligible sufferers who died before a claim was processed.
TUC news release • MoJ advice and details of the scheme • Northern Echo • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

Britain: Bid for new Scots safety law fails
Shopworkers’ union Usdaw has denounced the decision of the Scottish parliament to vote down the Protection of Workers (Scotland) Bill. The proposed law, which was also supported by unions including UNISON and CWU as well as major retailers, would have given workers dealing with the public the same level of protection given to emergency workers who are assaulted while doing their jobs.
Usdaw news release • Morning Star • BBC News Online • Risks 488 • 8 January 2011

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