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Risks Newsletter

Number 318 - 11 August 2007

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warning signs 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 RESOURCES EVENTS AND COURSES USEFUL LINKS
UNION NEWS
Unite calls for more honest offshore statistics

Health and safety statistics for the offshore oil and gas sector from all sources should be combined and released 'in a more open, honest fashion' as the current system is obscuring most fatalities, offshore union Unite has said. Graham Tran, a regional officer with the union's Amicus section, said the statistics covered currently by HSE's offshore division 'in no way reports the true picture of the extent of the problem we have in the North Sea. I would personally like to thank the HSE offshore division for their strong message that they have sent to the industry when releasing their latest figures. However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that we have had 11 other fatalities in this reporting period'. HSE figures released last week reported just two fatalities in 2006/07. Mr Tran said was nowhere near the real toll. 'In October last year we lost four lives when the Meridian vessel sank whilst on duty for an oil operator, a further seven lives were lost when a helicopter ditched off Morecambe Bay when transporting oil and gas workers. These incidents are reported as maritime and aviation [Risks 289] statistics respectively and therefore hides the true figure for the offshore oil and gas sector.' The union is calling on the relevant bodies 'to revisit their reporting procedures to ensure that all fatalities and incidents relating to offshore oil and gas are reported as one.' It adds this would mean 'in the present reporting period (2007/8) we once again have an unacceptable record when it comes to fatalities, given that eight lives were lost in the Bourbon Dolphin incident in April 2007.' Mr Tran concluded: 'Nothing is to be gained by trying to hide behind more favourable headlines. These incidents have happened, lessons have to be learned and the full facts have to be in the public arena, this includes all relevant statistics.'


TUC wants a crackdown on rogue agencies

Rogue employment agencies are ignoring safety, minimum wage and employment laws without much fear of getting caught, the TUC has warned. It is calling on the government to look at new ways of finally bringing rogue employment agencies to task. Commenting as TUC made its submission to a Department for Business (BERR) consultation, TUC deputy general secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'Government needs to come down far harder on unscrupulous employers who are consistently flouting the law and underpaying their workers.' In its submission, TUC says it welcomes government proposals to strengthen the enforcement regime for Employment Agency Standards (EAS) inspectors. Measures put forward by the government include increasing the EAS powers of access and inspection to enable them to do their jobs more effectively and allowing for offences to be tried in the Crown Court rather than the Magistrates Courts. TUC says these measures are 'long overdue following a proliferation of rogue employment agencies in recent years.' It said exploitative practices the TUC has discovered include denying workers statutory annual leave and holiday pay, insisting that workers put in illegally long hours, ignoring health and safety law, arranging accommodation for migrant workers that is overcrowded or unfit for human habitation, making illegal deductions from pay, failing to ensure that employees' income tax and national insurance contributions are paid and charging migrant workers fees or bonds for their placements. The TUC response to the consultation says the problem is now so acute that employment agencies need to be licensed, the Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate needs better resources and agency workers need better rights as well as better enforcement of existing rights. A TUC survey conducted in May 2007 found that few agency workers are aware of the EAS inspectorate's existence.

Poor staffing led to immigration centre problems

The union GMB has warned that understaffing in Britain's immigration centres is contributing to disturbances and escapes of detainees, putting staff, detainees and the public at risk. Twenty-six men fled Oxford's Campsfield House in Kidlington after a fire began on 4 August, but 15 were recaptured. As of 8 August police were still searching for 11 escapees. The incident followed the escape of a female held at the Yarlswood Detention Centre on 31 July. GMB organiser Paul Campbell commented: 'GMB members work at Britain's immigration detention centres looking after the detainees. They have been asking the Home Office to increase the number of officers in relation to the number of detainees.' He said the incidents show 'the staffing level is still too low. GMB submitted evidence to the Home Office Select Committee on Immigration and Asylum earlier this year but our members report no practical change at the centres. The Home Office must, when it is awarding these contracts, include a specification of the level of staff required to ensure the safety of staff, detainees and the local community.' Campsfield is run by the US company GEO and holds up to 200 male inmates at a time. It has been the subject of controversy since it opened in 1993. It has been the scene of escapes, a rooftop protest, hunger strikes and a well-organised campaign to have it shut down. The Campaign to Close Campsfield has held regular protests outside the centre to highlight what it sees as the unfair treatment of the detainees.

Workers protest at damaging hours changes

Factory workers held a demonstration outside their workplace on 31 July, angered by plans to introduce 'family unfriendly' and potentially unsafe shift patterns. Supported by members of Unite's TGWU section, workers from the Hilton Food Group plc in Huntingdon protested outside of the premises against the plans to extend their shifts by five hours per day, because they believe the move would have a negative impact on their family life. The union is also urging the company to examine the health and safety implications of the changes, which could require workers to spend much more time in the chilled environment required for many food processing activities. About 80 per cent of the workforce is comprised of migrant workers from Poland and Lithuania. The workers, who produce beef and lamb products for the supermarket chain Tesco, currently work 8-hour weekday shifts, but from 20 August, Hilton will change the shifts to 13 hours from Monday to Saturday. The changes are being imposed without any consultation with the 350-strong workforce, despite many being members of the union. Unite has written to the chief executive of Hilton Meats, Robert Watson OBE, urging him to intervene to ensure negotiations are opened with the union to resolve the issue, before damaging changes are made. Kevin Pass, Unite-TGWU senior organiser, said: 'Imposition of shift changes that will harm family life and wellbeing are opposed by our members at Hilton. Workers feel they have no say in these significant changes to their terms and conditions, which will mean longer days and less money.' He added: 'We have tried to talk to the company to resolve the issue but so far they have refused. There are serious implications for staff at work and at home and the company should at the least be prepared to negotiate.'

Probe call into 'plane poisoning'

A union is demanding an investigation into suspected toxic gas poisoning of an airline cabin crew. Two Flybe crew members reportedly collapsed and became violently ill on a flight between Birmingham and George Best Belfast City Airport. Dessie Henderson, of Unite's TGWU section, said he had held several meetings with the company. 'They don't seem to be able to find the cause of the problem,' he said. 'There has to be a more vigorous investigation into the causes of this, because the bottom line is that the cabin crew and pilots are affected by it.' Flybe said all of its aircraft were manufactured and maintained to the highest industry standard. In a statement, the company added: 'Any incidents involving sickness experienced by cabin crew, flight crew or passengers are taken very seriously by the company, with appropriate medical support always provided.' In June, campaigners warned that toxic fumes on planes were poisoning pilots and rendering them unable to fly safely (Risks 311). The Aerotoxic Association is campaigning for 'aerotoxic syndrome' to be recognised as an occupational disease. Two official investigations have been opened after concerns that highly toxic fuel contaminants are leaking into cabin air supply on commercial airliners in flight.

Safety dangers in ticket office cull

A cull of ticket offices by London Underground is to be more extensive than first thought, leading to increasing passenger frustration and more stress and assault problems for staff and service users. Rail union RMT says it has learned the company has a hit-list of 130 stations where further changes to ticket office hours are proposed, on top of 39 ticket offices already earmarked for complete closure, 32 scheduled to lose some or all weekend opening, 16 to lose afternoon peak services and 13 facing other major hours reductions. RMT has already warned that it will fight the planned cuts, with industrial action if necessary, and is seeking public support for its campaign to maintain station staffing levels and to keep booking offices open. Commenting on the latest disclosures, RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: 'Ticket offices provide an essential service way beyond simply selling tickets, and we believe that passengers and Tube workers should work together to stop these dangerous cuts. For the public they will mean less security and fewer staff to deal with emergencies and ticketing problems. For our members they mean more lone working, more ticket disputes, more assaults and more stress.'

OTHER NEWS
Campaigners push for crane safety

Safety campaigners are calling for sweeping new measures to address the problems that have led to a spate of crane tragedies. The Battersea Crane Disaster Action Group (BCDAG) joined key industry figures at a 9 August Construction Confederation/Strategic Forum crane 'summit' in central London. BCDAG said it saw the summit as 'a positive move by the industry and an indication that pressure from the action group and other health and safety pressure groups is having an impact.' But it added 'fast and decisive action to stop crane deaths' was needed. Liliana Alexa, mother of Michael Alexa who died in the September 2006 collapse of a crane in Battersea, south London (Risks 313), and who is now secretary of BCDAG, said: 'Deaths through crane collapses and accidents aren't just statistics, they are lives destroyed. We want the industry to understand that no deaths are acceptable. Crane deaths must end now.' BCDAG submitted a crane safety charter to the summit, calling for more resources for HSE and more safety inspections, stronger crane safety laws, a comprehensive cranes register including details of safety checks, and retirement of older or over-used cranes. Linzi Herbertson, a founder member of the campaign group Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK), which was not invited to the summit, said it was supporting the BCDAG charter and added 'we expect nothing less than urgent and decisive, preventive action to come out of this meeting. All of us are missing a member of our families because of a failure to manage health and safety and like BCDAG, who have highlighted some very serious and worrying problems in the crane industry, we would prefer action before, not after, deaths have been caused. The industry must listen to the families of those killed and workers who fear they are at risk, and take action now to prevent any more completely unnecessary deaths.' Hilda Palmer, FACK spokesperson, says: 'This meeting is a positive move by the industry and we welcome it, but it also shows how pressure from the action groups such as BCDAG, FACK and other health and safety campaigners is necessary to hold the industry accountable. We feel FACK has a lot to contribute and are disappointed at not being invited to participate but fully support BCDAG.'


Cost-cutting accident boss jailed

A 'cunning' businessman whose cost-cutting and 'callous' disregard for safety led to a near fatal accident involving one of his workers has been jailed for six months and ordered to pay £90,000 compensation to the victim. Shah Nawaz Pola had denied being responsible for a Bradford building site where Slovakian worker Dusan Dudi suffered what were thought to be non-survivable injuries when he was struck by a concrete lintel. But Pola was convicted this week at the end of a two-week trial of two breaches of health and safety regulations and of breaching a prohibition notice. The 36-year-old Bradford businessman was jailed - breaching a notice one of the few safety crimes punishable by a jail term. He was also fined £1,500 and ordered to pay £90,000 compensation to Mr Dudi, who remarkably survived after his life-support machine was turned off. Bradford Crown Court heard that Mr Dudi was one of several migrant workers paid £30 a day by Pola to build an extension at a house, but there was no proper scaffolding in place and workers were not given protective clothing or training. Passing sentence, Judge Peter Benson said Pola had decided to have the work done as cheaply as possible, regardless of the consequences for the people he chose to do it. When seen by a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector after the accident in November 2005, he showed 'a complete lack of concern for what had happened to Mr Dudi.' The judge told Pola: 'This was stunning callousness and insensitivity on your part. You had no concern about their safety - all you were concerned about was getting the job done and getting it done as cheaply as possible. You showed a callous disregard for the safety of your workers.' Judge Benson was told how Mr Dudi was now back home in Slovakia but unable to claim any benefits. The court heard that it was extremely unlikely that he would ever work again and he now needed constant care. An appeal has been lodged against the conviction and Pola's lawyer has 28 days in which to appeal against the sentence. Pola is unlikely to serve more than half of his sentence which would mean he could spend 12 weeks behind bars but with a tag he could serve as little as six to eight weeks.

Frozen food firm's double injury fine

A major frozen food firm in Wales with a turnover of £23m has been ordered to pay £33,000 in fines and costs after two forklift truck drivers were badly injured in separate incidents. Wrexham-based Pann Krisp said it had 'learned lessons' after it admitted two breaches of safety rules relating to the July 2005 injuries. Wrexham Magistrates heard how Vaughan Guest suffered two broken legs when run over by another forklift truck. Only 11 days before, Patrick Brindley had suffered back injuries when his pallet truck fell from a trailer. This first incident occurred after the company had experienced problems with the roof on its cold store, and had instead installed refrigerated trailers which were parked in loading bays. Air suspension systems were activated to raise the level of the trailers so that they became level with the loading bays, allowing loading trucks to enter the trailers via 'fixing bridges'. However, the court heard the company had been experiencing problems with the suspension systems leaking overnight, causing trailers to drop below the level of the loading bay. As Mr Brindley drove a pallet truck from the trailer, the truck slipped between the loading bay and the trailer. The court heard the company was aware of the leaking air suspension problem, and the accident was 'wholly foreseeable and avoidable'. District judge Andrew Shaw fined the company £10,000, with £2,385 costs for this offence. The second incident, when forklift truck driver Mr Guest was trying to pick up some pallets that had fallen from his vehicle, when he was struck by another forklift truck coming in the opposite direction. Both his legs were broken and it was feared one might have to be amputated. He does not know if he will return to work. The court heard Mr Guest was working in a narrow area which was not suitable for two forklift trucks. The judge fined the company £15,000 with £6,311 costs for this offence, adding that he had taken into consideration guilty pleas for both incidents. HSE inspector Stephen Window said: 'Both incidents demonstrated the clear need for employers who have vehicles in the workplace to have clear risk assessments and clear procedures in place for their operation.'

Make the punishment fit the crime

Safety professionals' organisation IOSH has said last week's £121.5 million fine for British Airways for illegally fixing fuel surcharges provides a stark contrast to the fines handed out by the courts for health and safety offences. The biggest fine ever in the UK for a health and safety offence was the £15 million fine handed out to Transco in 2005 over the Larkhall, Scotland, gas explosion which killed a family of four in 1999 (Risks 222). In England and Wales, the biggest fine was the £7.5 million penalty given to Balfour Beatty over the Hatfield rail crash, which also claimed four lives (Risks 264). In 2005/06, the average penalty per HSE conviction was £29,997, but when the 13 cases attracting fines of over £100,000 are excluded, this drops to £6,219 per case. 'While price-fixing is a very serious offence, we can't understand how this offence is more than eight times more serious than killing a family of four, and more than 16 times more serious than a rail crash that claimed four lives,' Lisa Fowlie, president of IOSH, commented. 'We hope that with the new Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act coming into force, that this disparity between the most serious health and safety offences and financial offences like this one committed by BA will shrink. But we need the courts to send the right message - that killing people is at least as serious as financial irregularities - if we're to improve the UK's health and safety record.' She added: 'Such a great disparity cannot be justified. The punishment needs to fit the crime.' The combined fines total for all safety convictions secured by HSE in 2005/06 was less than a fifth the fine incurred by BA for the single breach of financial rules.

Cameraman's death was 'unlawful'

A coroner has recorded a verdict of unlawful killing on a television cameraman killed in Iraq. Paul Douglas, 48, was killed when a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint near the centre of Baghdad on 29 May 2006. The married father of two from Wootton, Bedfordshire, had worked for the US network CBS for 17 years, covering conflicts all over the world. Deputy coroner for Bedfordshire Martin Oldham recorded the verdict of unlawful killing at Bedford Coroner's Court. A soldier, an interpreter and British soundman James Brolan, 42, were also killed. CBS reporter Kimberly Dozier survived with serious injuries. In October 2006, a British coroner ruled that the death of ITN reporter Terry Lloyd in Iraq during a fire-fight between Iraqi and US troops was an 'unlawful killing' (Risks 279). In June, UK journalists' union NUJ said the delay in bringing to justice Terry Lloyd's killers was unacceptable. NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear called for 'less prevarication and more action' after the government admitted it had not taken any action to prosecute the US soldiers responsible for the death of the NUJ member in Iraq in 2003 (Risks 311).


Hain announces construction summit date

Peter Hain, secretary of state for work and pensions, has announced the date of the safety forum on construction fatalities as 17 September. The forum was arranged following a 28 per cent rise in construction deaths last year, with deaths rising from 60 to 77 according to figures from the Health and Safety Executive (Risks 316). The minister said: 'The jump in construction site fatalities is as disturbing as it is unacceptable and we must get to the bottom of why this is happening.' He added: 'I have now obtained the agreement of all the major construction employers' organisations, the Health and Safety Commission and the main trade unions to meet in a forum. I am asking them all to work together with me to identify the reason for the rise in deaths and to hammer out together an urgent action plan to reverse it.' Construction union UCATT warned last month that the dramatic decline in HSE enforcement activity was jeopardising safety (Risks 317). Construction workers might take some comfort from a new HSE 'task card' which advises site staff to 'Think First, Act Safe, Stop if Hazardous and Keep Safe.' It is rare for HSE to be so explicit on the stop work issue, although section 7 of the Health and Safety at Work Act places a clear legal duty on workers to take care not to put themselves at risk, and the Employment Rights Act makes in an offence for an employer to victimise a worker for leaving or refusing to return to the job where there is a serious and imminent danger. Safety reps have more extensive legal protection relating to the conduct of their union safety role .

Asthma risk for nurses and cleaners

Nurses are roughly twice as likely as people with other jobs to develop asthma, according to a new study. The report in The Lancet also shows a heightened, albeit slightly lower, risk is also seen in cleaners and indicates up to 1-in-4 new asthma cases in adults could be caused by the job. Dr Manolis Kogevinas, from the Municipal Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona, Spain, and colleagues tested 6,837 subjects for asthma when they took part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey from 1990 to 1995. The participants had had no respiratory symptoms or history of asthma when the study began. The study found that conditions in the workplace may be causing up to 25 per cent of new asthma cases in the developed world. Of major occupation groups, nurses had 2.2 times the risk of asthma compared to the group as a whole; cleaners had 1.7 times the risk. The findings confirmed that exposure to certain cleaning chemicals, bioaerosols, mites, agricultural products, and latex in the workplace raise the risk of developing asthma. Workers exposed to 'an acute symptomatic inhalation event,' such as a chemical spill or fire, were 3.3 times more likely to develop asthma than non-exposed workers. The authors conclude: 'Occupational exposures account for a substantial proportion of adult asthma incidence. The increased risk of asthma after inhalation accidents suggests that workers who have such accidents should be monitored closely.'

  • ETUI-HESA news report. The Pump Handle.
  • Manolis Kogevinas and others. Exposure to substances in the workplace and new-onset asthma: an international prospective population-based study (ECRHS-II), The Lancet, volume 370, number 9584, pages 336-341, 28 July 2007 [abstract - requires registration].
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Australia: Court backs union safety notice

A state government department in Victoria, Australia, that ignored an improvement notice issued by a union safety rep has been successfully prosecuted. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development had ignored a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) issued by the safety rep. Brian Boyd, secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC), said unions and safety activists welcomed the action by official safety watchdog, WorkSafe Victoria. 'Occupational health and safety (OHS) representatives are the lynchpin of workplace health and safety. They deserve to be respected and they must be listened to,' he said. 'The courage shown by this OHS rep in the face of this mammoth bureaucracy deserves recognition by all in the community.' The state's safety law requires employers issued with a notice to either comply with the notice or appeal the notice to WorkSafe Victoria. The department did neither. Mr Boyd said: 'This is an historic case. Never before in the history of Victoria's OHS laws has an employer been prosecuted for this breach. Employers and OHS reps everywhere should take note of this case. It is a message to everyone to take OHS duties seriously.' The PIN was issued because of a lack of seating in the staffroom of a school, where only 13 chairs were supplied for a staff of 25. A number of Australian states give safety reps the right to take this form of official action.

Somalia: Under-fire journalists get safety training

Somali journalists are learning how to survive the job in a politically unstable and dangerous conflict zone. The International News Safety Institute (INSI) and the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) coordinated the safety training workshop - the first-ever for Somali journalists. The safety training seminar taught journalists about personal safety, pre-deployment planning, conflict management, dealing with hostile crowds, ballistic awareness and reaction to shooting, checkpoints and abduction as well as basic first aid. All trained journalists were given a first aid kit for field use. 'We want to introduce safety concepts to Somali journalists so they can better protect themselves in hostile environments,' said Sarah de Jong, deputy director of INSI. 'Somalia is our priority because of the ever-increasing numbers of Somali journalists killed or wounded while doing their journalistic work.' Omar Faruk Osman, secretary general of NUSOJ, said: 'Somali journalists face dangerous problems in reporting current issues and events due to prolonged conflict driven by political intolerance.' He added: 'This training is very important for journalists to learn how to protect themselves from risks in front of them.' Somalia has become one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists and the most dangerous place in Africa, with four journalists killed since January 2007. INSI has now provided safety training free of charge to 685 journalists and other media professionals in 14 countries.

USA: Two jailed after fatal site plunge

A Brooklyn judge last month sentenced the owners of a construction company to the maximum penalty of six months in prison for causing the death of a worker who was not equipped with a safety harness when he fell from a scaffold. Brothers Tariq Alamgir and Nasir Bhatti begged for mercy, saying they felt tremendous remorse over the death of Mohammed Jabbie, who Alamgir said was 'like a brother' to him and whose car and wedding expenses they had provided. The claims were undercut by the fact that investigators from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had cited them as recently as March 2007 for defective scaffolding at another New York work site - and that the defendants have ignored the $34,000 (£17,000) fine. Assistant US attorney Sarah Coyne said: 'In terms of showing care for their employees, the government wonders why instead of paying for a wedding and an Acura, they didn't pay for a harness and training that would have ensured the safety of their worker.' Bhatti and Alamgir operated Metla Construction, whose employees were waterproofing a building when Jabbie fell 60 feet to his death. Alamgir lied to OSHA investigators about safety practices. 'I have never lied in my life before this happened,' Alamgir said. 'And that only happened because I was devastated and scared by the accident.' In addition to the jail time, Alamgir was ordered to pay $100,000 (approximately £50,000) restitution to the victim's family. Bhatti was fined another $100,000. They also are out of the exterior construction business and have sold off their scaffolding. 'It's a recognition on their part that it's really not a business they ought to be in,' their lawyer said.

USA: Boss used homeless to remove asbestos

A US contractor who hired homeless men to remove asbestos without proper protective gear has been sentenced to 21 months in prison. John Edward Callahan, 56, had pleaded guilty earlier this year to a Clean Air Act violation. Speaking to prosecutors before Callahan's sentencing on 1 August in federal court in Roanoke, his attorney, John Gregory, pressed an argument that the three day labourers Callahan hired had addresses and therefore were not homeless. It was a distinction that could have affected the length of Callahan's prison time, since federal sentencing guidelines allow a stiffer recommendation if the victim is considered vulnerable - and the government had argued in this case that the victims qualified because of their homelessness. But one of the men's address was the Rescue Mission, countered one of the prosecution team. In a deal with defence lawyers, Gregory agreed to drop the objection he'd filed shortly before the hearing, if the government recommended the low end of the 21- to 27-month prison sentence it was asking for. US District Judge Samuel Wilson said he'd been prepared to rule on Gregory's objection, but if both sides agreed, he'd go ahead and give Callahan the 21 months. In addition, Callahan will be on supervised release for three years after he completes his prison term, meaning that if he breaks the law during that time he could face additional penalties. Wilson said there would be no fine for Callahan because he had no ability to pay it. Assistant US Attorney Jennie Waering, speaking after the hearing, said suggestions that Callahan pay for medical monitoring and treatment of the men he'd exposed to asbestos had been dropped. 'He didn't have any money,' Waering said. Callahan's company, Environmental Construction, did not have a licence to handle asbestos and Callahan had not been trained in federally mandated procedures, prosecutors said earlier in the case.

USA: Authorities accept firefighter heart risks

Firefighters are dying heart attacks and other cardiovascular conditions caused by their work and that could be prevented, the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has concluded. A new alert from the official US workplace health research body says sudden cardiac death represents the most common cause of on-duty firefighter fatalities, killing about 45 firefighters each year. The alert incorporates findings from 131 NIOSH investigations into sudden cardiac-related deaths in firefighters, an extensive review of scientific, professional, and medical literature and a review from 12 outside experts. It concludes that for firefighters, coronary artery disease and sudden cardiac death involve a combination of personal and work-related factors. Personal factors can include age, gender, family history, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol, obesity, and lack of exercise. Work-related factors include exposure to fire smoke, heavy physical exertion, heat stress, and other physical stresses. The alert makes recommendations for fire departments, firefighters and fire service agencies to reduce the risk of heart attacks and other sudden coronary events, including health screening, wellness and fitness programmes, proper use of personal protective equipment and proper management of the fire scene to reduce hazardous exposures including heat stress. Legislators in Ontario, Canada, are introducing a new law making heart attacks a compensated occupational disease in the province if they occur within 24 hours of a fire (Risks 305).

RESOURCES

Another dose of Hazards

The latest issue of the award-winning Hazards magazine - the only union-supported magazine written especially for union reps and health and safety activists - is out now. The 'What gorilla?' cover story reveals that accident rates are rising as enforcement activity drops off. It also points to new evidence showing the 'union effect' on safety is even more pronounced that previously thought - making the case for wide-ranging new rights for union safety reps clearer still. A factsheet on unions and occupational health services gives safety reps pointers on the cover you should have by law, and how to make OHS work for workers. A photofile on Palestine reveals how workplace health and safety is suffering as a consequence of the Israeli occupation and an economic crisis. The new issue of Hazards has lots more on cancer, asbestos, work diseases, safety prosecutions and compensation as well as news and resources from the UK and further afield. The magazine only exists because unions need it. It only survives because unions support it. Make sure all the safety reps in your workplace get it.

EVENTS AND COURSES
TUC two-day strains courses, October 2007

TUC Education is supporting and working with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work to promote awareness of musculoskeletal disorders. The organisations have developed a short course which will run in four locations around Britain - London, Manchester, Glasgow and South Wales - in October's European Heath and Safety Week. The course is intended to equip health and safety reps with the skills to address workplace strain injury risks. HSE trainers will attend the course to introduce new tools that reps can use. Euroweek this year has a musculoskeletal disorders theme.

TUC courses for safety reps
COURSES FOR AUGUST TO NOVEMBER 2007
USEFUL LINKS

Newsletter (5,800 words) issued 10 Aug 2007

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