BRITAIN
Back the corporate killing amendment
The TUC is urging trade unionists to get their
MP to back an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill which would create
a new offence of corporate manslaughter. The amendment would establish
that "a corporation is guilty of corporate killing if (a) a management
failure by the corporation is the cause or one of the causes of a person’s
death; and (b) that failure constitutes conduct falling far below what
can reasonably be expected."
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission condemned as a union witch hunt
Unions in Australia have condemned a costly building industry Royal
Commission as a costly anti-union witch hunt. John Sutton of the union
CFMEU said the £23 million Cole Commission had spent almost 90 per cent
of its year long deliberations investigating unions but its report had
found little to criticise - meanwhile the notoriously corrupt and hazardous
building industry, responsible for one site death a week, had been largely
ignored.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN
Centre welcomes improved death investigations
The Centre for Corporate Accountability has welcomed the revamped "Protocol
for liaison on work-related deaths" published by the HSE, the Association
of Chief Police Officers and other investigation and prosecution bodies.
The new protocol requires the police to be involved in a manslaughter
investigation from the time they arrive at the scene of death and only
stop when "it becomes apparent during the investigation that there is
insufficient evidence" that manslaughter has been committed.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
China
Blast kills 60 as fleeing miners are forced back
into shaft
Miners who tried to flee a gas-filled mine shaft were forced back into
the shaft by managers immediately before a massive explosion killed
at least 60 workers, Chinese Labour Bulletin (CLB) has claimed. Han
Dongfang, CLB’s director, said: "It seems clear that the authorities
should additionally be investigating the need to bring criminal charges
against responsible officials of the Mengnanzhuang coal mine’s management
for causing multiple deaths through negligence or worse."
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN
TUC backs new duty on companies to have safety
directors
The TUC is backing a new Bill that would make company directors more
accountable in law for the safety of their workplaces, which went before
MPs on 29 March. The Company Directors (Health and Safety) Bill, presented
to the Commons by Labour MP Ross Cranston, for Dudley North, gained
an unopposed first reading but is unlikely to become law.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
EGYPT
Nerve poison pesticide risks worse than thought
Workers with "moderate" long-term exposures to organophosphorous (OP)
pesticides are suffering a wider range of nerve symptoms that previously
thought, including eyesight, speech and attention and memory problems,
a study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine has found.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN
Toilet breaks - this time it’s personnel
Personnel professionals are backing the union campaign for sensible
toilet breaks at work. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
adviser Diane Sinclair commented said employers blocking access to toilet
breaks risk breaking disability and sex discrimination laws.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN
TUC defends asbestos products ban
The TUC is warning that action by an un-named European Union member
state could undermine the UK ban on the importation of asbestos containing
materials. An anonymous challenge comes because the UK’s blanket ban
affects imports of some of the country’s domestic products that contain
naturally-occurring asbestos contamination. It says only deliberately
added asbestos should be covered by the UK ban.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
USA
NY factory fire site named an historic monument
The site of New York’s worst industrial disaster, the 1911 Triangle
Shirtwaist factory fire, has been designated an official historic monument.
On 25 March, the 92nd anniversary of the fire, hundreds of school children
and union members placed carnations on the site of a sweatshop tragedy
that killed 146 young women, spurring a union movement among garment
workers and the development of safety and anti-sweatshop laws.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN
GMB campaign at the sharp end
Local authority union GMB is campaigning for better protection for workers
from injuries caused by discarded needles. It's "At the sharp end" guide
is calling for a legal requirement for all accidents and injuries to
be reported to the health and safety authorities; employers to implement
safe working practices; free vaccination for hepatitis B and tetanus
for all at risk workers; and prompt support following an injury including
24 hour support and counselling.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003 • GMB
news release • GMB "At the sharp end" guide
[pdf
format]
USA
Smoking bans good for smokers too, says expert
New York’s no-nonsense no-smoking law, which took effect on 23 March,
brings benefits to non-smokers and smokers alike, a leading cancer specialist
has said.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN
Violence against health workers on the increase
The government has vowed to intensify its campaign to crack down on
violence and aggression against NHS staff after a report revealed the
problem had reached record levels. Health minister John Hutton urged
NHS employers to take tougher action against the people who threaten
or assault their staff, and said said more than 50 people had been prosecuted
for violent or abusive behaviour towards health staff in the last eight
months following the introduction of tough new guidance to the NHS last
year.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
NEW ZEALAND
Unions talking health and safety
New Zealand’s unions will launch a 'Unions talking health and safety'
campaign on International Workers' Memorial Day, 28 April 2003. The
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions says it will be 'campaigning to
make sure our new law leads to healthier and safer workplaces. Elected
health and safety reps are key to the law working well.' It adds that
it is co-ordinating a major campaign to elect 10,000 health and safety
reps.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN
GMB is calling time on corporate crime
General union GMB says it is "calling time on corporate crime" this
Workers’ Memorial Day. An online briefing says the theme for this year’s
Workers Memorial Day, 28 April 2003, is corporate responsibility and
adds "the GMB will be using the day and the lead up to the day to campaign
for a law on corporate killing."
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN
Baker awarded asthma dough
Ex-bakery worker Adam Purvis has been awarded more than £57,000 in damages
after he contracted occupational asthma when he worked for Berwick based
dough makers Jus-Rol. The company admitted liability after an independent
engineer’s report commissioned by his union, Usdaw, showed Jus-Rol had
failed to comply with safety regulations.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN
Report reveals extent of classroom abuse
A survey of 300 schools by teaching union NASUWT recorded nearly a thousand
incidents of abuse against teachers over a two-week period, including
126 physical assaults, 62 sexual insults or threats and nine cases of
racist verbal abuse. In one incident a teacher was stabbed in the neck
with a compass three times.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN/IRAQ
Union condemns Iraq killing of ITN reporter
The killing of veteran ITN reporter Terry Lloyd in Iraq is "a terrible
tragedy that must be investigated,' journalists’ union NUJ has said.
The jeep carry Lloyd, an NUJ member, was prominently labelled "TV" when
it was hit by "friendly fire" near Basra. Cameraman Fred Nerac and translator
Hussein Othman are still missing. NUJ said the US reaction to the incident
showed that the military was quite prepared to see journalists killed.
Risks
99, 29 March 2003
BRITAIN
Employers are injuring workers on the cheap
British employers are being allowed to injure their workers on the cheap,
the TUC says. A TUC report reveals that although workplace injury and
illness costs the UK economy £18 billion a year, the average British
boss pays just £70 per employee in compensation insurance - less than
one-tenth the average cost of insuring a car.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003
INDIA/USA
US judge sides with Union Carbide
A US federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that sought damages for
those living near the deadly 1984 gas leak that killed thousands in
Bhopal, India, saying the company Union Carbide Corp. had done enough
and that too much time had passed.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003
BRITAIN
Evidence "suppressed" on benefits of smoking
ban
Evidence that thousands of lives could be saved each year by outlawing
smoking at work has been suppressed by the government because it is
listening too closely to hospitality industry lobbyists, who claim it
would be too expensive. An unpublished study says up to 2,340 lives
a year could be saved by outlawing workplace smoking, with total savings
to government and business of £21bn.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003
AUSTRALIA
Oz campaigners wants the lungs of the Irish
Australia’s Irish pubs and clubs were urged to follow Ireland’s lead
on St Patrick’s Day, 17 March, and declare their venues smoke free.
Ireland's political leaders have agreed on legislation which will see
all workplaces smoke free including pubs and bars by the end of the
year.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003 • SmokeFree
‘03
NEW ZEALAND
Smoking ban good for hospitality workers' health
A smoking ban in bars, casinos and restaurants would protect hospitality
industry workers from proven harm, according to a New Zealand union.
The comment from the Service and Food Workers’ Union (SFWU) came as
a parliamentary health select committee report admitted ventilation
would not provide enough protection for employees from second-hand smoke,
concluding a total ban was justified.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003
BRITAIN
Employers to cough up for hospital costs
A new law will allow the health service to recover treatment costs from
employers whose actions cause workers to require health care for personal
injuries. The new law will "enable the NHS to recover treatment and
ambulance costs from organisations making compensation payments to people
suffering personal injury," in line with early government commitments
and TUC calls.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003
EUROPE
Proper jobs are safer jobs
Research from the London School of Economics has confirmed that proper
jobs are safer jobs - and temporary workers can face almost twice the
workplace accident risk.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003 • Maria Guadalupe. The hidden costs
of fixed term contracts: The impact on work accidents . LSE Centre for
Economic Performance Discussion Paper 551 [full
paper in pdf format]
BRITAIN
Research project "could help sick workers keep
jobs"
A research project to test new ways of helping sick workers keep their
jobs is being launched by the government. The Job Retention and Rehabilitation
Pilot (JRRP), a joint initiative of the Department for Work and Pensions
and the Department of Health, is set to start on 1 April 2003.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003
AUSTRALIA
Government wants safety equally bad nationwide
Australia’s federal government has launched an investigation into how
occupational health, safety and compensation laws could be set nationally,
because existing state systems "add to business costs." Unions and some
state governments however say the new inquiry is an attempt to introduce
a "lowest common denominator for safety" with the states with the worst
standards setting the benchmark nationwide.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003
AUSTRALIA
Workplace minister says "bad employers do more
good than harm"
Australia’s national workplace relations minister Tony Abbott has claimed
industrial manslaughter laws are not needed because 'a bad boss is a
little bit like a bad father or a bad husband - notwithstanding all
his faults, you find he tends to do more good than harm.'
Risks
98, 22 March 2003 • Stop Abbott’s war on workers - guide
from construction union CFMEU [pdf
format]
BRITAIN
ASLEF says deaths investigations plan still falls
short
A new official protocol for investigating work-related deaths "will
do nothing to ensure that companies responsible for the deaths of their
employees are properly investigated and brought to book," train drivers’
union ASLEF has warned.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003
BRITAIN
Shell job cuts risk another Piper Alpha
Union leaders have accused Shell of risking another Piper Alpha disaster
after it announced plans a 20 per cent staff cuts from its ageing North
Sea oil rigs. The Piper Alpha rig caught fire in 1988, with the loss
of 167 lives.
Risks
98, 22 March 2003
USA
Bush embarrassed into action on safety
The Bush administration says a new enforcement policy will give the
safety watchdog OSHA more power to crack down on companies that persistently
flout workplace safety rules, with the possibility of automatic inspections
at all their worksites when an egregious safety violation, for example
a fatality, occurs at one. Critics say jail time, not fines, will better
focus the minds of dangerous employers. Democratic Senator Jon Corzine
is seeking support for a proposed Wrongful Death Accountability Act,
which would increase to 10 years from 6 months the maximum criminal
penalty for employers who cause the death of a worker by willfully violating
safety laws.
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
SOUTH AFRICA
Asbestos deal won't bring back the dead
Asbestos victims’ organisations and unions have reacted to compensation
agreements with Cape plc and Gencor with a mixture of anger and relief.
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
GLOBAL
Trade controls move on asbestos and chemicals
An international list of chemicals subject to "prior informed consent"
trade controls should be expanded to include all forms of asbestos,
three additional pesticides, and two organo-lead compounds, a top level
committee has said.
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
USA
It’s enforcement, but not as we knew it
The enforcement-shy US safety agency OSHA has proposed its first employer
penalties for strain injury risks, after a 10-month enforcement-free
period. Under the Bush administration, OHSA has made clear that an advisory
function is preferred to enforcement.
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
CHINA
Massive explosion rips through chemical plant
An explosion at a chemical factory in Nanhai City, southern China has
killed at least five people and injured 23 others. The 10 March blast
created a pit estimated to be 60 metres wide and 4 metres deep. It is
believed that all the workers involved were migrants. The city's chemical
firms have a notoriously bad safety record.
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
BRITAIN
Woolf says no to spies at the door
Insurance companies must think twice about sending private investigators
incognito into the homes of compensation claimants, after one company
was castigated by the lord chief justice, Lord Woolf. Insurer Zurich
hired a private investigator to impersonate a market researcher, gain
access to a claimant's house and secretly videotape her.
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
USA
Ship workers say no, no, no to a bottle of pee
Shipyard workers rushing to complete a US aircraft carrier by 28 March
are raising a stink about a shortage of toilets. USWA union reps representing
members working on the Ronald Reagan say some yard workers have resorted
to urinating in the corners on the brand-new ship, or in cups, drink
bottles and plastic bags.
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
BRITAIN
Groups repeat call for smoking curbs at work
The government is facing renewed calls from union, public health, medical
and campaign groups to stamp out passive smoking at work.
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
GLOBAL
Deregulation costs lives, warn rail unions
The headlong rush to deregulate railways around the world must not be
allowed to jeopardise any more lives of passengers and rail workers,
the global transport union ITF has warned. It said its worldwide day
of action for railway safety on 14 March, involving 50 rail unions from
45 countries, was to press its "Safety first" message.
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
USA
Courts cautioned on asbestos liability rules
The US Supreme Court has warned against abusive asbestos litigation
but ruled that courts should resist the temptation to rewrite liability
rules just to tackle the crisis over asbestos lawsuits. The court said
that railway workers may recover damages for "genuine and serious" fear
of developing asbestos-related cancer in the future even if they currently
suffer only from asbestosis.
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
BRITAIN
Corporate killing is bad business
The TUC, campaign groups and MPs from the three main political parties
have called on the government to honour its 2001 election manifesto
pledge to introduce a corporate killing law. A corporate killing briefing,
published by the TUC, the Centre for Corporate Accountability and Disaster
Action says good employers have nothing to fear. Brendan Barber, TUC
general secretary elect, said: "A law against corporate killing will
be good for business, good for safety and good for workers and members
of the public whose lives are currently being put at risk."
Risks
97, 15 March 2003
BRITAIN
Investigation uncovers dirty business on site
Contractors on a Leyton building site are breaking health and safety
laws by not providing proper washroom facilities. A tip-off to a newspaper
from concerned staff led to an investigation, which found no hot water
supply and just two, frequently over-full, portable toilets for around
35 to 40 workers. Safety watchdog HSE says it is not satisfied with
explanations from the company, Inner London Group.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003 • Hazards
toilet breaks webpages
CANADA
Regulations needed to prevent strain injuries
Canada’s public sector union CUPE is urging
activists to press politicians for a strain injury prevention law.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
BRITAIN
"Swindon Disease" victim awarded asbestos compensation
David Hill, 58, a former employee at British Rail in Swindon has been
awarded £182,844 compensation after developing mesothelioma, a cancer
caused by exposure to asbestos. The condition is so common in the rail
town it is known as "Swindon Disease" and victims are commemorated in
an asbestos memorial garden.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
INDIA
Ban asbestos movement gaining momentum
Pressure is growing for an asbestos ban in India, one of the major remaining
markets for Canadian asbestos.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
BRITAIN
Record £4m asbestos death payout
The widow of a Derbyshire entrepreneur who built up the world's biggest
tyre retread firm from scratch, is to be paid a record £4.37m compensation
after her husband’s death from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. Anthony
Farmer, a former millwright and power station worker who worked with
asbestos in the 1960s and 1970s, developed symptoms of mesothelioma
just days after he and his partner sold their tyre company, Tyre Technics,
for £30m in 1998.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
BRITAIN
Second British Sugar death in one month
A worker has been killed in a boiler room explosion at a British Sugar
factory just a month after a worker died at another of the company’s
plants.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
JAPAN
No jail as six are sentenced for nuclear deaths
Six executives who allowed workers to use buckets to fill a tank with
uranium, resulting in two worker deaths and widespread radiation contamination
in Japan's worst nuclear accident, have escaped jail. All six JCO Co
bosses received suspended prison terms. The company has agreed to pay
£71 million in compensation to settle 6,875 complaints over the accident.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
BRITAIN
Public sector workers are very loyal and
very stressed
Public sector workers are increasingly stressed and dissatisfied with
their work but are still loyal employees, a new survey by human resources
professionals' group CIPD has found.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
BRITAIN
Business hits out at "unsustainable" insurance
bill
Business lobby the CBI is calling for "urgent new curbs on the compensation
culture" as part of a bid to contain "unsustainable" rises in business
insurance costs. In its submission to a government review of employers’
liability compulsory insurance, CBI says the insurance industry has
had to raise premium prices to cover a dramatic rise in costs, paying
out £1.30 for every pound of premium income in 2001.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Union exposes safety crisis at steel plant
A union has warned that with no budget or other provisions for health
and safety, it is little wonder that workplace accidents and job-related
health problems are increasing at a steel multinational’s Trinidad and
Tobago plant. Steelworkers’ union SWUTT says conditions in the steel
plant of Caribbean Ispat Ltd, part of multinational metals giant Ispat
International, have "reached crisis level," promoting complaints from
international metal unions' federation IMF.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
BRITAIN
Rail guards to strike over safety
RMT train crew members have voted two to one for industrial action in
their campaign to defend the safety role of train guards.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
BRITAIN
BT criticised by coroner, police and union after
worker’s death
A British Telecom engineer was killed when she was thrown from the top
of a telegraph pole, an inquest has heard. British Telecom employee
Tara Whelan, 30, died in hospital on 2 June 2001, a week after the incident.
BT, one of the world's largest telecommunication company, faced criticism
from the police, coroner and CWU, Tara's union, for it actions in relation
to the case.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
EUROPE
Unions denounce exploitation of migrant women
Europe’s union umbrella group is calling for action to end exploitation
of female migrant workers. ETUC says that most migrant women "can be
found in unskilled, low-paid and unsafe jobs, mainly in domestic service,
clothing manufacture, catering and hotel work, and farming."
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
BRITAIN
TGWU helps women to stay safe at work
The Transport and General Workers’ Union says its new union guide will
help women to stay safe at work.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
BRITAIN
The menopause is a workplace issue
The menopause raises health and welfare issues for hundreds of thousands
of working women, but is a workplace issue ignored by most employers,
the TUC has found.
Risks
96, 8 March 2003
GLOBAL
Reporters' handbook for safe journalism
The International Federation of Journalists has published a 135-page
survival guide for journalists "providing one of the most comprehensive
manuals for working journalists and media staff facing risky assignments."
IFJ
news release and the IFJ
survival guide • Risks
95, 1 March 2003
USA
Losing the war on cancer
A coalition of public health experts and campaigners is saying the long-running
US 'war on cancer' is being lost because too little priority is given
to prevention. A report from the Cancer Prevention Coalition (CPC) says
Americans face increasing cancer risks from occupational and environmental
exposure to industrial carcinogens, but established government and non-profit
cancer organisations are fixated on treatment rather than prevention.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Miners’ union hits out at Zimbabwe’s asbestos
South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has hit at out at
Zimbabwe for frustrating a move to phase out all asbestos mining in
Southern Africa.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
EUROPE
Work gets more violent
About 10 per cent of the working population in the European Union has
experienced physical or psychological harassment at work, according
to a new study - and women workers are at greater risk.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
AUSTRALIA
Union calls for psych test crackdown
The "unfettered" use of psychometric testing by employers must be regulated
or unions may mount legal challenges on privacy or discrimination grounds,
an Australian union has warned.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
BRITAIN
Take a break for safety’s sake
Accident rates plummet if workers get to take regular breaks, UK research
shows.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
GLOBAL
Smoking bans do not damage pub trade
Smoking bans in restaurants and bars do not lead to a loss of revenue
or jobs, and may even improve business, according to research.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
BRITAIN
Boss's "callous indifference" led to teenager's
death
A company director found guilty of workplace manslaughter has walked
free after a court found his "callous indifference" to safety led to
the death of an 18 year-old employee. John Horner received a 15 month
prison sentence suspended for two years following the death of Christopher
Longrigg, who was crushed when a stack of wood fell on him at Teglgaard
Hardwood UK's Hessle wood yard.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
USA
Our lawyer says we are too dangerous to be inspected
Officials from Tennessee’s safety watchdog OSHA have been forced to
obtain a warrant to enter a hazardous workplace after the company barred
entry to inspectors "on the advice of our attorney."
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
BRITAIN
Union wins disruptive pupil fight
The law lords have backed a teaching union that argued members should
not be made to accept violent and disruptive pupils in mainstream lessons.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
AUSTRALIA
Language turns blue as paint boss sees red
Australian paint manufacturer Protec Pty Ltd has been fined $4,500 (£1,725)
after being found guilty of abusing and barring access to a workplace
safety inspector attempting to measure solvent fumes.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
BRITAIN
Call to ban latex gloves
Health union UNISON is calling on the government to ban the use of powdered
latex gloves, which have been linked with potentially fatal latex allergies.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
BRITAIN
Farmer charged with threatening to kill inspector
A farmer has appeared in court charged with threatening to kill an animal
health inspector who visited his farm. Roger Baker, 60 is alleged to
have made the threats to Jonathan McCulloch at Ventongimps, Cornwall,
on 25 February. Baker was also charged with affray and obstructing a
police officer in the execution of his duty.
Risks
95, 1 March 2003
