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Risks Newsletter

Risks 294 - 17 February 2007

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Hazards logo - warning sign Editor: Rory O'Neill of Hazards magazine. Comments to the TUC at healthandsafety@tuc.org.uk

Risks is the TUC's weekly online bulletin for safety reps and others, read each week by over 14,000 subscribers and 1,500 on the TUC website. To receive this bulletin every week, click here . Past issues are available . This edition contains Useful links TUC courses for safety reps Disclaimer and Privacy statement .

UNION NEWS OTHER NEWS INTERNATIONAL NEWS EVENTS AND COURSES
UNION NEWS
FSA fine exposes HSE's missing teeth

Scottish union federation STUC has expressed fury that the work safety watchdog does not have the same power to lay down hefty sentences enjoyed by the equivalent City financial watchdog. Following the fine of £980,000 imposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on the Nationwide Building Society after a laptop containing confidential customer information was stolen, the STUC said breaches of finance rules are more likely to attract meaningful sanctions than those imposed on organisations that kill or maim their workers. It said the finance watchdog FSA enjoys powers to set penalties not enjoyed by the equivalent safety watchdog, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). STUC health and safety officer Ian Tasker said: 'Once again we see one regulator, the Financial Services Authority, having the power to, and imposing a substantial fine on an organisation they have adjudged to have breached their regulations. However, in the case of breaches of health and safety legislation, some of which do or could lead to loss of human life, the enforcer has no control over the level of penalty imposed on the guilty organisation.' Tasker added: 'This fine is £80,000 more than that imposed on Shell following the deaths of two workers on the Brent Bravo platform in 2003 (Risks 204). A tragedy that leaves two families devastated having been robbed of loved ones. The government has failed to meet their promises to increase the penalties courts can impose for breaches of health and safety legislation, promises made as far back as 2000. This is why we see appallingly low financial sanctions imposed on companies who cause the deaths of their workers. We live in a strange society where regulatory breaches by financial organisations and crimes against employers by their workers attract far more serious sanctions than corporate crime involving the loss of human life.' The average fine for workplace safety breaches last year was under £30,000. When the 13 fines over £100,000 are discounted, this falls to just £6,219 per conviction.

Rail runaways lessons not acted on

There have been at least 10 potentially lethal runaways on rail tracks since four workers died three years ago in the Tebay tragedy (Risks 172), rail union RMT has revealed. The union says the on-going safety problems show the need to bring all track renewals work back in-house. Each of the 10 recorded incidents involved a vehicle operated by a private sector contractor, eight of them involving road-rail vehicles, trolleys or on-track machines operated by sub-contractors. 'There could have been 10 more Tebays in the three years since our four members were killed on February 15, 2004,' RMT general secretary Bob Crow said. 'Track renewals are still dependent on a dangerous myriad of contractors, sub-contractors and one-man-and-a-trolley outfits, and despite our incessant demands for action the situation remains just as it was in February 2004. It is a disgrace that it is only luck that has prevented further unnecessary carnage, and for all we know the 10 reported runaways are probably just the tip of the iceberg.' The union leader added: 'The chilling fact is none of these vehicles is owned directly by Network Rail or operated by Network Rail personnel, and that is the crux of the problem. It is only when Network Rail takes proper control of the assets and skills needed for renewals that we can begin to ensure that these vehicles are in working order and operated safely. Network Rail has already made its maintenance safer and more efficient by bringing it back in-house, and they now need to complete the job and bring renewals back in-house too.' The fatal runaway incident at Tebay, Cumbria, in February 2004 killed four and injuring three, and resulted in a contractor and an employee receiving jail terms in March last year (Risks 249).



Payout for road work vibration injuries

A road worker from Derby has secured £42,000 compensation for injuries caused by exposure to vibrating tools. The UNISON member secured the compensation from Derbyshire County Council after developing vibration white finger (VWF) and carpal tunnel syndrome, both potentially disabling occupational diseases. The worker, who has not been named, was not provided with adequate protective equipment or medical surveillance by the council, his employer since 1973. His solicitor, Linda Millband of Thompsons Solicitors, retained by UNISON to represent him in the Manchester County court case, said: 'Based on the medical evidence, the client has been awarded £11,000 for pain and suffering, and £31,000 to compensate him for future loss of earnings. Without the support of UNISON it is unlikely that the case could have been pursued.' Andy Pegg, UNISON health and safety officer for Derbyshire County, said he hoped 'other employers will take note and ensure that correct health and safety procedures are in place. Clearly this judgment will assist other union members who have been exposed to vibrating tools for long periods during the course of their employment.' Last year, Amicus member Michael Jones, 63, was awarded £20,000 compensation after developing both VWF and carpal tunnel syndrome as a result of vibration exposure at a GE Engine Aircraft Services plant near Caerphilly (Risks 281).

Police launch inquiry into Terry Lloyd killing

Journalists' union NUJ has welcomed news that a police investigation into the death of ITN reporter Terry Lloyd is to be stepped up after the identity of the soldiers involved in his killing was uncovered. Last week it was revealed that Scotland Yard's war crimes unit had launched an official inquiry into how the 50-year-old correspondent died from a bullet fired into the back of a makeshift civilian ambulance by US marines. Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Crimes Against Humanity team are looking at sending officers to the US. The British authorities have now obtained the identities of the men responsible for the killing - a major breakthrough following the Pentagon's refusal to sanction the release of their names. The US authorities refused to pass on their details to the coroner during last year's inquest into Lloyd's death in Iraq in March 2003. The coroner ruled in October 2006 that Lloyd had been unlawfully killed by US forces (Risks 279). He was wounded after being caught in a gun battle, and was then shot in the head and killed as he was being driven away for treatment. Commenting on the latest developments, NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said: 'Alongside the family, ITN and media freedom campaigners we have been pressing for the release by the US authorities of the names of those involved in Terry's killing. We welcome the news the names are now known and hope the police pursue vigorously their extradition and trial and that the US authorities finally co-operate.' He added: 'We will keep campaigning until those responsible for Terry's killing have been brought to justice.'

Letter bombs trigger post room safety concerns

The leader of civil service union PCS has expressed his 'deep concern' after last week's letter bomb attack at a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) building. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka called for a risk assessment of post opening in all DVLA offices and an urgent review of post room security across the whole civil service. Four people injured were injured when the parcel bomb exploded at the DVLA's Swansea office. It was one of seven devices received across the UK in the just three weeks. The Swansea attack was the third of its kind on motoring-related companies in a week. Earlier a package exploded at the offices of Vantis, an accountancy firm linked to Speed Check Services, a provider of digital speed cameras to the police. That followed a letter bomb attack at the central London offices of outsourcing provider Capita. At the DVLA, one woman suffered minor burns and two men and a woman were treated for hearing-related injuries. PCS leader Mark Serwotka said the spate of explosions were a 'cause for deep concern and our thoughts and wishes are with the injured members of staff and those affected. It is completely unacceptable that people who serve the public have been targeted in such a way and we urge staff across the whole of the civil service to be extra vigilant.' He added: 'In working with management to ensure the safety of staff, we are calling for a risk assessment of post opening in all DVLA offices, as well as an urgent review of post room security across the whole the civil service.' Assistant chief constable Anton Setchell, the national coordinator for domestic extremism, is leading the investigation into the apparent letter bombing campaign.

Probe 'lethal cocktail' of pressures, say pilots

Britain's pilots' union has called for a scientific study of the pressures they face which, they say, could be a potentially 'lethal cocktail.' Captain Mervyn Granshaw, chair of the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA), was commenting after it was revealed an internal directive from Ryanair board said pilots would be demoted or dismissed if they failed to follow the carrier's procedures. 'Threatening to sack a pilot helps no-one, least of all the cause of flight safety,' Granshaw said. 'We continually strive for an open, blame-free culture in civil aviation and the self-reporting of any pilot error without fear of recrimination. In that way all pilots, and indeed the industry, can learn from mistakes. It is essential we keep that culture. What we do need is a more profound analysis of what is becoming a very serious problem that needs to be tackled before we start having accidents.' BALPA said computer allocated work schedules 'exploit every minute of a pilot's availability', beyond that envisaged by regulatory limits. Incentive schemes put pressure on pilots 'to complete all of an exceptionally compressed and heavy repetitive schedule,' the union added. 'This is in danger of turning out to be a lethal cocktail,' said Granshaw. 'We in BALPA are calling for a UK-led scientific study into these pressures. The results of the study should be used to guide the EU regulators who govern pilot working patterns. We also want to see a clear acceptance by airlines that pilot working lives should not be allowed to be driven beyond what is safe.'

OTHER NEWS
Unlawful killing verdict after site death

An inquest jury has brought a verdict of 'unlawful killing' in the case of Kieron Deeney, an experienced steel fixer who fell 12m to his death when a hatch cover gave way at a Laing O'Rourke construction site in Canary Wharf, London. The hatch was covered by an old piece of plywood fixed by two nails. The company admitted responsibility for Deeney's death during a civil claim for compensation last year. The completion of the inquest at Poplar Coroner's Court means the Health and Safety Executive will now be able to decide whether to bring a criminal prosecution. Sally Moore, head of the accidents and disasters team at Leigh Day & Co solicitors, and who has been advising Deeney's widow, Jennifer, said: 'Kieron's death was the result of Laing O'Rourke's failure to ensure that on-site health and safety procedures were adhered too. The construction industry needs to put in place more stringent safety controls as they are required to do under the current legislation. The continuing levels of death and injury indicate that this is just not happening.' Kieron had only been married three months when he was killed. His widow Jennifer said: 'The coroner's inquest into the death of my husband has been very painful event. How many other families will need to suffer before sufficient action is taken to prevent these accidents from happening?' Health and Safety Executive figures suggest this year's construction death toll will exceed the figure of 59 deaths in 2005/06, with HSE provisional figures showing 53 site workers died in the first nine months of 2006/07.

Granite firm fined after slabs crush worker

Companies are being warned of the dangers of unloading vehicles after a lorry driver was crushed by granite slabs being unloaded from his vehicle. Just Granite Limited was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £4,470.80 at Stafford Magistrates' Court this month, after pleading guilty to safety breaches. The case brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following its investigation into the death of 52-year-old lorry driver Lubomir Tihlar, who was crushed by granite slabs on 7 November 2005. He had driven a lorry containing 54 slabs of granite, held on two A-frames, from Italy to the site. Speaking after the case, HSE investigating inspector Peter Yoxall said the death 'was the tragic result of a failure to take practicable precautions to control the risks associated with the unloading of vehicles that contained granite slabs. Carrying out a risk assessment for workplace transport and making sure that it is practical and effective is sensible health and safety.' Mr Tihlar, a lorry driver from the Czech Republic who was not employed by the firm, died when slabs of granite that weighed in excess of six tonnes fell and trapped him as his lorry was being unloaded. The incident happened at Just Granite Ltd's site at Pillaton Hall Farm, near Penkridge, Stafford.

Firm fined over worker's broken arms

A Scottish company has been fined £3,500 after a worker became entangled with drilling machinery and broke both arms. The incident in Penicuik last May saw the worker suffer multiple fractures to both arms and a broken elbow. Livingston-based Consolidate Ltd admitted breaches of health and safety law at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident and submitted a report to the Procurator Fiscal. Following the hearing, Hazel Yuill, an HSE inspector involved in the case, said: 'This was a particularly nasty accident and could have been totally avoided if the correct health and safety procedures had been followed. The HSE welcomes the fine and hopes that it will act as a stiff reminder to all companies using drilling equipment and other heavy machinery that they are responsible for ensuring the safety of their employees. They should act before it's too late.' She added: 'Safe operation of this machine relied on training, experience and close supervision all of which were very limited in this case. The only safety system present on the machine was a single trip wire, which was not operating correctly and was not checked regularly. There were also no written instructions detailing the work methods to ensure safety.' HSE said it had identified the guarding of drilling rigs as a priority area and will be carrying out a series of targeted inspections on this work area in 2007. In April 2006 CET Group Ltd were prosecuted by HSE following an accident on a lorry mounted auger drill which had defective and inadequate guarding (Risks 256). Following this prosecution a letter was sent from HSE to drilling companies throughout the UK to highlight the need to improve guarding on these machines.

Investigation into young worker sewer tragedy

A lack of oxygen killed a teenager who was found down a manhole, it has been revealed. An investigation is on going into the death of Paul Jackson, 19, who was pulled from a sewer in Walthamstow in October last year. At the time of the incident he was working for Kent-based MTS Cleaning Services, who were contracted by Thames Water to clean the drains. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently investigating the tragedy and has not ruled out the possibility of a criminal prosecution. According to police reports, Mr Jackson suffered a heart attack at the scene but paramedics managed to regain a pulse and he was taken to the Royal London Hospital by air ambulance, where he died a few days later. A post mortem revealed he died of respiratory failure due to a blood clot on the brain caused by a lack of oxygen. An inquest into the death is will be held later this year. A Hazards magazine report last year revealed a young worker is seriously injured at work once every 40 minutes (Risks 269). Workplace fatalities in the 16-24 age group are running at one a month, the report said.

Small fines after teens are injured at work

Employers are getting away with small fines after their criminal negligence leads to teenage workers being injured. Bradford Council was fined £10,000 for failing to ensure the safety of a teenage worker who suffered burns in a fire when gas ignited on a landfill site. The fire broke out when a contractor was allowed to carry out welding in a flammable atmosphere at a council tip. The 17-year-old was welding and suffered burns to the hand when sparks ignited methane gas, causing a fire at the site in September 2005. Health and Safety Executive principal inspector, David Powell, said Bradford Council was lucky that a more serious blaze did not occur. 'The contractor could have been much more seriously injured and if waste at the landfill site had caught fire it would probably still be burning now,' he said. The council was ordered to pay £13,228 in fines and costs at Bradford Magistrates' Court last week, after pleading guilty to safety charges in a prosecution brought by HSE. Two partners from the construction firm Dover Building and Property Maintenance were fined £10,000 each last week and were each told to pay £1,290 costs after a student employee suffered a fractured skull and a brain haemorrhage in an October 2006 fall. Martin Sankey, 16, was working for the firm gaining practical experience while on a bricklaying course. The two partners, Peter Swinbourne and Nicholas Rawlins, both pleaded guilty to breaching safety laws. HSE said if a basic temporary guard had been constructed around the lift well, work could have carried on in the area unhindered, as well as protecting workers passing through the area.

Improve safety or you'll pay, funds tell BP

A group of 39 UK public sector pension funds are turning the screw on BP over the oil major's safety failures. The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, whose members have £70bn of assets under management, increased pressure on BP to improve corporate governance procedures. One of Britain's largest funds, the London Pension Funds Authority (LPFA), a member of the Forum, launched legal action against BP last week in an attempt to freeze any payout to the departing chief executive, Lord Browne. This follows a Forum call last month for BP board pay packets to be linked to safety and environmental performance (Risks 290). The Forum says unless it gets assurances of changes ahead of BP's AGM in April, it will advise members to vote against the company's remuneration policy. Commenting on the recent Baker Panel Report, which found BP had a 'corporate blindspot' on safety and which was highly critical of Lord Browne and the BP board, Forum chair Darrell Pulk said: 'The Baker report has vindicated our concerns about procedures within the company, but this is not the end of the story... We are watching carefully for signs that the company has learnt the lessons of the past and is implementing reforms.'

Thousands of attacks at secure hospitals

Staff at England's three high-security hospitals have suffered more than 4,000 attacks in the past three years. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal 4,248 attacks took place in Ashworth, Merseyside, Rampton, Notts and Broadmoor, Berks. The attacks on staff looking after some of the UK's most dangerous criminals took place between 2004 and 2006. The figures showed 6 per cent (23) of the attacks in Rampton and 7 per cent (15) of those in Broadmoor last year led to staff being taken to an accident and emergency department. In November, the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that the NHS trust running Rampton was negligent in allowing six nurses to be injured by a violent patient. A Rampton patient was fined last year for attacks on staff (Risks 272). UNISON health services officer Gail Adams said the figures were concerning and part of a worrying trend. 'As more and more patients are being treated and many being detained in secure units, this often puts additional pressure on an already over-stretched service,' she said. 'We will be asking those organisations to provide more detailed information on these episodes, especially Rampton which has already come in for criticism.'

One-in-five women with lung cancer never smoked

One-in-five lung cancers in females and almost 1-in-10 in men occur in people who have never smoked, a new study has concluded. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Northern California Cancer Center have concluded that never-smokers get lung cancer more often than thought. Their study, published in the 10 February issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, used multiple collections of data from both the United States and Sweden that, in total, tracked the incidence of lung cancer in more than 1 million people from the ages of 40 to 79. Women never-smokers ran the same risk of lung cancer as the rates for all women of the same age range for cervical and thyroid cancer. If these statistics are representative of the overall population of the United States, the authors infer that around 8 per cent of lung cancer cases in males and close to 20 per cent of cases in females are among never-smokers. The authors speculate that factors including environmental and occupational exposures to substances including environmental tobacco smoke, asbestos, chromium, arsenic and radon could explain some of the never-smoked lung cancers. Canadian doctors reported the emergence of more never-smoked lung cancers last year (Risks 277). There is also conclusive evidence that the risk from smoking is dramatically increased if there are also exposures to some of these industrial substances, so many 'smoking' lung cancers also have an occupational component. A report from Canada's Labour Environmental Alliance Society (LEAS) last year pointed the finger of suspicion at factors including occupational and environmental exposures to carcinogens such as asbestos and environmental radon (Risks 248). And a TUC-backed report in Hazards magazine in 2005 estimated the workplace contribution to all cancers at between eight and 16 per cent (Risks 234). It identified lung cancer as the most common occupational cancer, with known causes including: Arsenic; beryllium; cadmium; chromium; nickel; solvents, particularly aromatics (benzene and toluene); ionising radiation, including radon exposed uranium, haematite and other metal ore miners; reactive chemicals including BCME, CCME, mustard gas, plus suggestive evidence for sulphuric acids; environmental tobacco smoke; petrochemicals and combustion byproducts, including PAHs; asbestos; silica; wood dust; and some man-made fibres, including ceramic fibres.

Intel to pay for stress breakdown

Computer chip maker Intel will have to make a six-figure compensation payout to an ex-employee for causing her a nervous breakdown. Tracy Daw was originally awarded £114,754 in compensation last May, after stress from her job led to a nervous breakdown in 2001. Intel was hoping to quash the landmark ruling, but the Court of Appeal in London last week upheld the decision. The firm will now also have to pay Daw the interest accrued on her compensation win over the past eight months. Ms Daw's solicitor, Tim Dixon, from law firm Lemon & Co, said the judgment would bring hope to employees faced with work-related stress. He said: 'It has become difficult for people to sue employers for work-related stress in recent years, so this is a landmark victory.' He added: 'The difficulty of this type of case is that the employee has to prove not only that they were given too much work, but that the stress they were under was likely to get them ill, and that their boss knew it. Fortunately Tracy had kept notes of every email and meeting where she was asking for help.' After joining the company in 1988, she saw her workload spiral. She said despite doing the work of nearly two people, her employer ignored her pleas for help. Intel did offer free counselling to staff who felt stressed, but at the original hearing Mr Justice Goldring held that 'the counselling service could be of little or no help to Miss Daw. It could not reduce her workload.' In June 2001 she suffered a massive nervous breakdown and hasn't been able to work since. 'I was just so angry that they'd let me down and put me in this situation, even though I had done everything I could to flag up the problems I was having,' she said. 'Just airing it in court has been therapeutic for me.'

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Colombia: Child miner among dead in mine disasters

Two tragic coal mine explosions in Colombia this month illustrate 'how deadly the combination of high coal demand is with inadequate safety methods,' the global mining and chemicals union confederation ICEM has said. Its online newsletter reports on the cases, where 32 miners perished in a methane gas explosion on 3 February at two inter-connected mines in Sardinata (Risks 293), while eight people died at an illegal mine near Gámeza, Boyacá state, on 6 February. Among the Gámeza fatalities was a 13-year-old boy, killed with three others by an initial blast some 160 metres underground. Four others were either killed by a second explosion, or asphyxia, when they entered the mine shaft in a rescue attempt. The proprietor of the illegal mine, as well as the three others, including the wife of one trapped miner and the brother of another, were killed in the rescue attempt. In Boyacá state, in central Colombia, it is estimated that some 100 coal mines operate illegally. In many, children between the ages of 10 and 18 are digging or carry coal to the surface. Many of the mines are unregistered collectives, unaffiliated with any company or enterprise. ICEM says much of the blame for the deaths 'can be placed squarely with the federal government, as can countless other safety deficiencies causing death and injury in Colombia's mines.' It added: With a rigid priority of attracting foreign investment to Colombia,' the Uribe government has failed to uphold global labour standards, 'while focusing instead on neo-liberal deregulation.' The union body said: 'Statutory changes, for instance, have weakened the role of state governments in monitoring and regulating work conditions, while federal oversight has been slow or non-existent. The proliferation of illegal mining in remote portions of different Colombian departments bears this out.' ICEM said it 'promises to remain vigilant on the global front in pressing the Colombian government for safety and security, both on and off the job.'

USA: Get injured or get fired - the US way

Nikkia Parish and other professional ballet dancers of the Washington Ballet wanted to be union members with a union contract. They needed to protect their bodies and careers from serious overuse injuries caused by bone-crunching rehearsals and performance schedule. 'These were not normal, everyday injuries,' Nikkia said. They were 'injuries that could easily end a career. They showed a fundamental lack of respect for the dancers as artists and as human beings.' When the dancers tried to join the union Musical Artists so they could bargain for safer conditions, management began holding mandatory meetings and talking to the dancers 'like ignorant, naive children.' The dancers were 'buried' in anti-union leaflets and harassed with phone calls at home. The atmosphere on the job became increasingly hostile, and meetings began to get 'very heated,' according to Nikkia. 'In our workplace, free-flowing creativity and passion for artistry were replaced with hostility, anger, resentment and contempt.' The dancers won union recognition, but Nikkia was not 're-engaged' for the next season. She believes she was punished for her union support - it was Nikkia the dancers elected to represent them in discussions with management. She is now managing a bowling alley in Washington DC. Unions say cases like Nikkia's show why a draft law, the Employee Free Choice Act, must be introduced. The act would: Establish stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations; provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes; and remove some of the barriers to workers signing up to a union.

USA: Weekends in jail for trench death boss

A US construction contractor is to spend 16 weekends in jail after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide stemming from the death of one of his workers, buried three years ago in a trench collapse. Kenneth Formica's felony plea in state Supreme Court, in connection with the death of Lorenzo Pavia, 39, on 15 December 2003, marks the first time in recent history that a Staten Island contractor was found criminally liable for the death of a worker, reports say. Formica, owner of Formica Construction, admitted he knew that the 12- to 15-foot-deep trench he helped dig was unsafe when he sent Pavia and another employee, John Paci, to work in it. Pavia, a Mexican immigrant who lived in Port Richmond with his family, was completely submerged when the trench collapsed and was suffocated. Paci, then 66, survived despite being buried to the neck in the 40-foot-long, 6-foot-wide waterlogged excavation. Assistant district attorney Paul A Capofari told the court the accident was 'preventable' and 'foreseeable' and Formica 'couldn't account' for his failure to shore up the trench. Federal safety laws require that trenches deeper than five feet be either shored or sloped. In a plea deal, Formica will be sentenced on 12 March to 16 weekends in jail, starting 17 March, and will be fined $5,000 (£2,560). The plea deal does not prevent Formica from working. District attorney Daniel Donovan said in a statement: 'This prosecution sends a clear message to those doing business in this community: The lives of labourers are not a commodity to be used and disposed of with impunity.' After Pavia's death, his family filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the City of New York, which owns the street where the trench was dug. Formica Construction, his employer of 13 years, was not named as a defendant because Workers' Compensation Law shields it from direct liability. Last year, state Supreme Court Justice Christopher Mega found the city liable.

USA: New York improves safety enforcement

Responding to an alarming spike in fatal construction accidents, New York mayor Michael R Bloomberg has announced a raft of measures to improve worker safety. These steps include creating a new inspection team at the Buildings Department, increasing regulations and training, and sharply increasing the fines for violations. The city has been under pressure to address the increase in deaths. Advocates for the workers have complained that regulators are failing to safeguard them during a construction boom that is expected to yield some $45 billion (£23bn) worth of building over the next 10 years. Statistics released last autumn showed that in the 12 months preceding 30 September, 29 labourers died in the city in work-related accidents, with 17 of them falling to their deaths. That was an increase of 61 per cent over the previous year, when 18 construction workers were killed, 9 in falls. 'I know a lot of people will say, 'Oh more regulation,' but there were 29 people that died last year,' Mr Bloomberg said as he made the announcement at City Hall. 'It is appropriate when you can really save lives, even though it is costly and it is annoying. But the bottom line is things that come first are the lives of the people that are living and working in the city.' Joel A Shufro, the executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), a non-profit education and advocacy group, called the measures 'the first step in the right direction.' He said the mayor should be congratulated for 'moving forward quickly to try and deal with what is an epidemic of fatalities in our city.' He added, however, that adding criminal penalties might have been a more effective deterrent than just increasing the fines. 'We would have been happier if there had been criminal sanctions written into the law,' he said. 'We believe that nothing focuses employers' attention better than the prospect of spending time in jail for not following safety precautions.'

EVENTS AND COURSES
Get ready to stop working!

Work Your Proper Hours Day is now less than a week away. On 23 February - the day when the average person who does unpaid overtime finishes the unpaid days they do every year, and starts earning for themselves - TUC thinks its worth having a bit of a celebration. Take a proper lunch break and leave work on time to enjoy your Friday evening - you deserve it! And make sure your boss knows you've been flogging your guts out and need a break - a boss-a-gram makes it easy and anonymous.

Mesothelioma Action Day, 27 February 2007

The second Mesothelioma Action Day will be held on 27 February 2007. As well as a parliamentary reception at the House of Commons, there will be events in Manchester, Chesterfield, Leicester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Rotherham, Doncaster, Gateshead, Leeds and elsewhere. Mesothelioma is an invariably fatal cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. It kills around 2,000 people in the UK every year - and the numbers are increasing. A purpose produced short video presentation to raise awareness of the UK mesothelioma epidemic will be shown throughout 27 February on giant BBC TV screens in city centres including Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. The day aims to highlight the rising death toll from asbestos cancers, the lack of government funding for treatment and the under-estimated risk from relatively small asbestos exposures. On 21 February, there will be an opportunity to hear about the making of the influential asbestos documentary, 'Alice - A fight for life'. John Willis will talk about the problems encountered in the making of this landmark documentary and the effects it had on the UK asbestos industry.

TUC courses for safety reps

Newsletter (6,100 words) issued 16 Feb 2007

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