GLOBAL
Global fight for safer work
Trade unions in over 100 countries are organising
28 April events to mark Workers’ Memorial Day.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
BRITAIN
Remember the dead
To mark International Workers’ Memorial Day 2003 - Monday 28 April -
the TUC will launch an online 'book of remembrance' for employees killed
by their work.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
SINGAPORE
Unions bid to tackle SARS hit economy
Singapore’s labour movement is using this year’s May Day celebrations
to get workers to rally together and tackle the impact of the SARS outbreak
in the workplace and on the economy.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
CANADA
Economic fallout of SARS grows
Unions are calling for swift action to deal with the "dire" health and
economic consequence of Canada’s SARS outbreak.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
AUSTRALIA
Staff in isolation as SARS fears rise
Companies in Australia are quarantining employees who have returned
from visiting countries affected by the SARS virus.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
BRITAIN
Teachers may create a class ceiling
Teaching union NUT has warned it may take industrial action that could
see thousands of children being sent home from school as part of its
ongoing campaign for survivable workloads.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
CHINA
Unions needed to end workplace carnage
A top workers’ rights group has said independent unions are the solution
to China’s horrific workplace fatalities toll. Hong Kong-based Han Dongfang,
director of China Labour Bulletin, said he believed the main obstacle
to improving occupational safety in China was the inability of workers
to form unions or independent work groups.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
BRITAIN
Company doctors could give sick notes
Plans to help reduce the workload of GPs could see company doctors and
occupational health nurses given the power to sign employees off sick.
TUC commented that any system must have full union involvement at all
stages.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
THAILAND
Union heads to pursue case in court
Union leaders in Thailand want to pursue a court case relating to the
Kader toy factory fire that killed 188 workers 10 years ago, to make
sure the victims get justice. A working group is monitoring the case
after the Nakhon Pathom Provincial Court last month sentenced one defendant
- a worker - to 10 years in prison and fined the factory 520,000 baht
(£7,635).
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
BRITAIN
Safety reps’ charter gets official backing
A safety reps’ charter for the education sector has received official
backing. The initiative is the brainchild of the TUC nominees to the
two HSC committees for education, the Higher and Further Education Advisory
Committee (HIFEAC) and Schools Education Advisory Committee (SEAC).
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
INDONESIA
International workplace safety training project
The report of a project to develop better safety skills and systems
in Indonesia is now available on the web. The initiative involved training
sessions run by the US-based Maquiladora Health and Safety Support Network
(MHSSN) and the Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP) at the University
of California at Berkeley.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003 • Also see
Made in China
BRITAIN
Stressed, overworked and under attack
A survey by the rail union TSSA has revealed that 73 per cent of rail
industry health and safety reps consider overwork or stress to be the
No.1 workplace hazard.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
USA
Read, get mad, do something!
"Blogging", the latest phenomenon in cyberspace, has reached Planet
Safety. Jordan Barab, a long-time US health and safety activist who
has held top union safety positions, has created "Confined Space", a
web log giving daily updates on health and safety.
Confined
Space • Risks
103, 26 April 2003
BRITAIN
Get tough on health service violence
Health union UNISON is calling for a twin track approach to tackling
violence in the NHS - zero tolerance and tougher penalties.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
BRITAIN
£1.3m payout follows £1m penalties after bridge
deaths
A court has approved a seven figure compensation settlement for the
families of four workers killed when they fell 80 feet from a motorway
bridge.. The case was brought by the workers’ union, GMB, on behalf
of their families. An earlier criminal case resulted in over £1m in
fines and costs for the companies involved.
Risks
103, 26 April 2003
BRITAIN
New GMB boss has top safety credentials
A man who started his union career as a shopfloor health and safety
activist is to be the next general secretary of GMB, one of Britain’s
largest unions. Kevin Curran trained as a welder and cut his union teeth
as a union safety rep, when he won asbestos safety improvements after
a walkout at Thurrock Power Station.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
USA
Union reverses car plant’s unsafe route
A General Motors plant that had one of the
group’s worst accident rates achieved a dramatic safety turnaround thanks
to union know-how. In June 2001, two members of the autoworkers’ union
UAW were added to the plant's evaluation team. Under the new system,
employees seeking medical treatment were also interviewed by the UAW
accident team, leading to proper solutions to safety problems and greatly
reduced accidents and related costs.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003 • Hazards
"union effect" webpages
AUSTRALIA
Revenge of the masked man
Australian barman Steven Kane was sacked by the Moama Bowling Club for
insisting on wearing a respirator to work to protecting from second
hand smoke. Mr Kane, who had worked at the club for 11 years, said an
18-month smoke-free period which ended in March made a massive difference
to his health.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
BRITAIN
Asbestos cowboys "should be jailed"
Health and safety charity the London Hazards
Centre says the people responsible for dumping a load of asbestos on
a public road should be jailed. Bexley Council was alerted by a member
of the public and firefighters kept the load damped down until specialist
removers took it to a licensed landfill site.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
CHINA
Workers’ Memorial Day reaches China
China Labour Bulletin is spearheading an International Workers' Memorial
Day initiative. A CLB briefing says: "China Labour Bulletin is working
with unions, individuals and other organizations worldwide to get support
for our campaign to end the inhumane treatment of Chinese workers."
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
BRITAIN
Stress forces workers to quit rat race
More and more people are prepared to quit their well-paid jobs because
the stress is becoming unbearable, according to a new report.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
BRITAIN
Smoking ban passes first test
A Labour MP’s bill to secure a ban on smoking in cafes and restaurants
has passed its first Commons hurdle. Gareth Thomas's Smoking (Restaurants)
Bill will prevent people from lighting up in any premises that sell
food.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
EUROPE
Officials call for EU-wide assault on accidents
The European Commission says measures by European Union member states
to create modern, productive workplaces should include a drive to achieve
"a 15 per cent overall reduction in the incidence rate of accidents
at work, and a 25 per cent reduction for high risk sectors, in each
member state."
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
BRITAIN
Royal Mint "should lose Crown immunity"
An employee's death has prompted the powerful public accounts committee
of MPs to call for an end to the Royal Mint's Crown immunity from prosecution.
An HSE investigation blamed the publicly-owned company when John Wynne
was killed by a 6.5 tonne furnace that fell from the hook of an overhead
crane.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
USA
Killing linked to NY smoking ban
A nightclub bouncer in New York was stabbed to death in an incident
police believe may be linked to the city's new ban on smoking in bars.
Dana Blake, 32, was attacked after ordering two men at the trendy Guernica
club in East Village, Manhattan, to put out their cigarettes.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
BRITAIN
Drive fatigue deaths verdict highlights risks
A coach that crashed killing six passengers highlights the need for
action on driver fatigue, transport union TGWU has said. The Aylesbury
coroner said that the accident on the M25 in November 2002 happened
because the coach driver was "extremely tired" and had been "nodding
off" just before the coach drifted off the main carriageway and careered
down a steep embankment.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
BRITAIN
Three million unhappy Easter bunnies this weekend
Nearly three million (2.9m) people had to work on Good Friday and 2.7
million Easter Monday, a new TUC report reveals. Give workers an Easter
break: Why three million won't be happy Easter bunnies also shows that
around three million get no holiday pay if they take off Good Friday
or Easter Monday.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
BRITAIN
Top safety boss praises Scottish unions
Britain’s top safety boss has thanked Scottish unions for promoting
better health and safety in the workplace. Bill Callaghan, chair of
the HSC, told delegates at the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC)
conference: 'The STUC is making a valuable contribution to the health
and safety debate because the real work is at the shopfloor.
Risks
102, 19 April 2003
BRITAIN
Passive smoking at work kills three people every
day
New research showing 1,200 people in the UK die each year due to passive
smoking at work makes an unanswerable case for urgent legal controls
on workplace smoking, the TUC has said. A killer on the loose says around
900 office workers, 165 bar workers and 145 manufacturing workers die
each year in the UK as a direct result of breathing in other people's
tobacco smoke at work.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
BRITAIN
Curb public smoking in Scotland, says
expert
An internationally renowned academic is expected to attack Scotland's
record on smoking in public places. Professor Stanton Glantz, of the
University of California in San Francisco, is visiting Scotland to show
what lessons can be learned from the successful smoking restrictions
introduced in parts of America.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
BRITAIN
Call for restaurant smoking ban
Lighting up in cafes and restaurants across the UK should be outlawed
to reduce the numbers of deaths from passive smoking, according to an
MP. Gareth Thomas says he believes a strict ban on smoking will also
make the practice less socially acceptable and provide a further incentive
to people to stub out the habit. His Smoking (Restaurants) Bill has
the backing of 70 MPs, plus anti-tobacco groups ASH and SmokeFree London.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
BRITAIN
Rig union condemns blanket drugs tests
Blanket drugs tests on 350 North Sea rig workers have been condemned
by their union, Amicus-AEEU. American firm Apache began the urine tests
on workers after a parcel of amphetamines was allegedly found heading
for one of its platforms in the Forties fields.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
GLOBAL
NUJ says attacks on journalists are "war crimes"
As the death toll of journalists and media workers in the Iraq war moved
into double figures, the UK journalists’ union NUJ has condemned the
targeting of journalists as 'war crimes.'
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
GLOBAL
IFJ says attacks on journalists are 'crimes of
war'
The international journalists’ union has accused both sides in the Iraq
conflict of "crimes of war@ after a series of attacks on journalists
and deaths of media staff. The International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ) is calling for an independent international inquiry.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
BRITAIN
Employers pay the price for neglecting safety
Focus on union legal services, a new report from the TUC, says that
in 2001 trade unions secured £305 million in personal injury payouts
for 39,024 employees whose bosses had not done enough to make their
workplaces safe.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
INDIA
Authorities do nothing as silica kills
Glass factory workers are contracting lethal lung diseases in Pondicherry,
India. A report in the journal Frontline says seven workers from the
BILT Glass Containers factory are already dead, and accuses the government
and the factory of offering little more than excuses. The local union
has accused authorities of ignoring its warnings about the dangers.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
BRITAIN
Security staff beat off one bad idea
General union GMB has called off a strike at Securicor Cash Services
after winning substantial safety concessions. Security officers had
voted to take industrial action from 14-17 April over plans to reduce
cash delivery teams to one person.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
BRITAIN
Council pays out to asbestos widow
Manchester City Council has agreed to pay a six-figure compensation
settlement to the widow of an electrical clerk of works who died from
the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma. Manchester City Council admitted
it was liable for the "negligent exposure" to asbestos dust that caused
the death of Joseph Martin, who died in November 1998 aged 51.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
GLOBAL
Prison sentences for ship killers
The owners and managers of a vessel that sank off the coast of Sri Lanka
with the loss of 11 crew members have received three year prison sentences.
In a prosecution backed by global, Senegalese and French seafarers’
union organisations, a French court handed out the partially suspended
sentences after finding the Number One, which sank three years ago,
should not have been allowed at sea.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
BRITAIN
Three time killer escapes with fine
A Staffordshire company has been fined £100,000 following the death
of a worker who was crushed when a four-ton set of concrete stairs toppled
on him. Lichfield-based Bison Concrete Products has three previous convictions
in other parts of the UK - including two following fatalities - for
which it was fined a total of £79,000 between May 1997 and December
2001.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
BRITAIN
Widow calls for jail time for killer bosses
The widow of a shipyard worker killed at work has backed calls for negligent
company bosses to be jailed. Sylvia McClelland's husband, Andrew, died
in 1999 after he was struck on the head by a fibre rope that snapped
during winching. Cammell Laird (Tyneside) Ltd, which has since gone
out of business, admitted responsibility for the accident and was fined
£125,000.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
CHINA
Mine widows face company thugs
An explosion at the Mengjiagou coal mine near Fushun city in Liaoning
has killed at least 25 miners. China Labour Bulletin reports that the
families bereaved by this latest blast have have been hassled at the
mine to accept a "take it or leave it" compensation payout. One, who
also lost her husband in the 30 March explosion, was severely beaten
by security guards and hospitalised.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
BRITAIN
Driver and haulage firm boss jailed after fatigue
smash
A lorry driver who crashed killing a young man after driving for 20
hours without proper rest breaks is beginning a four year jail sentence.
Victor Coates, 57, was found guilty at Basildon Crown Court of causing
death by dangerous driving and sentenced to four years in prison. His
boss Martin Graves, 40, owner of MJ Graves Haulage, was found guilty
of manslaughter and jailed for four years.
Risks
101, 12 April 2003
USA
NY bars will someday agree with smoking ban
The patrons of New York City’s newly smoke free bars and restaurants
have had little good to say about the move - but may actually end up
liking the change, research suggests. In a California survey, most bar-goers
said they supported and complied with a similar law two years after
it went into effect. A second study found heart attacks in Helena, Montana,
fell by nearly 60 per cent when smoking in public places was banned
for six months last year.
Risks
100, 5 April 2003
NORWAY
Recycling "risks binmen's lungs"
More recycling could be putting binmen at risk because dangerous emissions
can build-up as rubbish sits in the bin. Scientists in Norway have found
that organic waste separated out for recycling was causing problems
as the fortnightly household garbage collections allowed it time to
degrade and putrify.
Risks
100, 5 April 2003
GLOBAL
Journalists press for war safety
The deaths of journalists and media workers during the Iraq conflict
has added impetus to a global media union campaign for safety during
conflicts.
Risks
100, 5 April 2003
EUROPE
MEPs crack down on chromates in cement
The European Parliament voted this week to restrict the use of chromates
in cement because they cause dermatitis in construction workers.
Risks
100, 5 April 2003
AUSTRALIA
Work stress linked to cancer death
An Australian judge has accepted that a prison officer's job stress
contributed to the cancer that killed him. Patricia Simpson brought
the claim after her husband, an officer at Adelaide's maximum security
Yatala Labour Prison for 21 years, died of colorectal cancer in 1998.
Risks
100, 4 April 2003
BRITAIN
Teachers "living in fear of violence"
Almost one in 10 secondary schools has caught children bringing guns
to school, a survey suggests. Knives are even more commonplace, with
more than 40 per cent of teachers saying pupils are carrying them, according
to the education newspaper SecEd.
Risks
100, 5 April 2003
GLOBAL
British reporter suspected of having killer bug
A British TV journalist, in Brazil to cover the Brazilian Grand Prix,
is in hospital after displaying symptoms consistent with the SARS virus,
a condition which has already killed at least 79 people worldwide. Unions
CUPE and CAW in Canada, where seven people have so far died of SARS,
have issued safety guidance for health care and other staff.
Risks
100, 5 April 2003 • CUPE
hazard alert • CAW
hazard alert
BRITAIN
Employers have bad drug and alcohol habits
Only half of all managers believe their organisation has or is developing
a policy on drugs and alcohol, according to a new study. Despite this,
over half support random drug and alcohol testing at work and over a
quarter back instant dismissal after a positive drug test.
Risks
100, 5 April 2003
