Category Archives: Resources

USA: The Dirty Dozen 2019 – Employers who put workers and communities at risk

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health  (National COSH) has published its Dirty Dozen 2019 report, which shines a spotlight on companies that egregiously put workers’ in harm’s way.

It is released in honor of Workers’ Memorial Week – joining countless others in remembering workers who have suffered injury, illness or death on the job.

National COSH has asked for help spreading the message and have asked reader to:

Further details National Council for Occupational Safety and Health

@NationalCOSH

USA: National COSH “¿Están los empleadores haciendo lo suficiente para prevenir las muertes en el lugar de trabajo?”

Semana de lxs Trabajadores Fallecidxs es un buen momento para preguntar: “¿Están los empleadores haciendo lo suficiente para prevenir las muertes en el lugar de trabajo?” La mayoría de las lesiones y muertes en el trabajo se pueden prevenir cuando los trabajadores pueden hablar sobre los peligros sin castigo. Podemos hacer más de 5,100 muertes por trauma y más de 95,000 muertes por enfermedad ocupacional.

http://coshnetwork.org/workers-memorial-week-events-2019

California ● Connecticut ● Florida ● Georgia ● Idaho ● Illinois ● Indiana ● Iowa ● Kentucky ● Maine ● Massachusetts ●Minnesota ● Nebraska ● New Jersey ● New Hampshire ● New York● Oklahoma ● Oregon ● Pennsylvania ● Puerto Rico ● Rhode Island ● Texas ● Washington ● West Virginia ● Wisconsin

UK: Work cancer risk warning after government safety cuts

New evidence confirming a cancer risk to tyre and rubber workers may go ignored because of the UK government’s safety deregulation and cuts, the union Unite has warned. The union was commented after research published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine revealed that workers in the tyre and rubber industry remain at significant risk of developing cancers caused by exposure to N-nitrosamines and rubber dust.

Unite noted the study findings were “particularly timely as it comes just before International Workers’ Memorial Day as the theme for this year’s event is dangerous substances – get them out of the workplace,” with the 28 April global event having a particular focus on occupational cancer prevention. The union, which represents thousands of workers in the industry, says it is unable to properly address the new health concerns as there is no longer an effective body where it can raise such issues. It charges that this “is a result of the Conservative government’s attacks on safety laws.”

The union says the  UK government safety regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), previously had a Tyre and Rubber Industries Safety Action Group (TRISAG), with active involvement of both employers and unions, where safety concerns could be raised and dealt with. “However TRISAG has been scrapped as a result of government pressure and no similar body has replaced its work,” Unite says.

The new study confirms earlier findings that “N-nitrosamines exposures are associated with mortality from cancers of the bladder, lung, stomach, leukaemia, multiple myeloma, oesophagus, prostate, pancreas and liver.”

Unite national officer for the rubber industry Tony Devlin said: “This authoritative study is a stark reminder of the long-term health implications of being exposed to rubber. These dangers are being neglected as a direct result of the government’s cuts which are denying workers an effective voice in the corridors of power.” He added: “The lack of an effective forum to deal with exposure to cancer causing substances is another example of how the government has washed it hands of workplace health and safety. Cancer deaths will not be reduced unless effective measures are taken to cut exposure levels to N-nitrosamines and rubber dust.”

Unite news release. Mira Hidajat and others. Lifetime exposure to rubber dusts, fumes and N-nitrosamines and cancer mortality in a cohort of British rubber workers with 49 years follow-up, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, volume 76, number 4, pages 250-258, April 2019. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2018-105181
Cancers and their work causes: An ITUC/Hazards at-a-glance guide to cancer hazards. Also in French and Spanish.

USA: Heat campaign toolkit for Workers’ Memorial Week

HomePublic Citizen, the US public interest advocacy organisation, has published a Heat Campaign toolkit for Workers’ Memorial Week (#iwmd19 / #workerssmemorialweek) that includes graphics, sample Tweets, hashtags, handles, links and a sample letter. You can view the kit below and also download it here.

Heat Campaign Toolkit for Workers Memorial Week

Campaign Background

Excessive heat exposure endangers outdoor and indoor workers, as well as vulnerable populations. Heat is the leading weather-related killer, and it’s intensifying with climate change. Despite these warnings, the U.S. does not require workplace heat protections.

This #WorkersMemorialWeek, we’re raising awareness around workers who have died or suffered on the job as a result of dangerous heat, and we’re pushing for action and policy change to prevent future fatalities. Because a safe job is every worker’s right!

Hashtag

#WorkersMemorialWeek
#Calor
#BeatTheHeat

Handles (please add your org’s handle)

@OSHA_DOL
@Public_Citizen
@UFWF
@FarmwrkrJustice
@NationalCOSH

Action Links

Grassroots Petition to OSHA: http://bit.ly/Protect_Workers
Letter to the Editor Tool: https://bit.ly/2vgcc5J
Alert for FL Heat Legislation: https://bit.ly/2Xw4Hnl

Organizational Sign-On Letter

Add your organization to the following sign-on letter by 2:00 pm ET on 4/26, for OSHA to issue a heat standard for Workers Memorial Week: https://bit.ly/2PpJCIh

Tweets

Heat fatalities can affect everyone exposed to hot temps — from workers laboring in the hot sun to those who lack ventilation indoors. We need a national heat stress standard so employers are required to make worker safety a priority. #WorkersMemorialWeek http://bit.ly/Protect_Workers

18 of the 19 hottest years on record have occurred since 2001. While we desperately need bold action to stop climate change, @OSHA_DOL must move now to protect workers from the dangers of heat stress. #WorkersMemorialWeek https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/06/climate/fourth-hottest-year.html

Heat is the leading weather-related killer in the U.S. As greenhouse gas pollution increasingly warms the planet, the toll that heat takes on workers is getting worse. #WorkersMemorialWeek

From 1992 through 2017, exposure to excessive environmental heat killed 815 U.S. workers and seriously injured over 70,000. With accelerating climate change, worker injuries and deaths due to excessive heat exposure are projected to increase in the coming years. #WorkersMemorialWeek

260,000 U.S. workers are at risk of heat-related illnesses and deaths with no standard in place to protect them. This #WorkersMemorialWeek, we’re urging @OSHA_DOL to enact national heat stress protections that would keep our workers safe: http://bit.ly/Protect_Workers

On our current greenhouse gas emissions path, by 2100 nearly the entire southeastern U.S. will experience on average more than 85 deadly heat days per year. @OSHA_DOL must act now to protect workers from dangerous heat exposure. #WorkersMemorialWeek

The current epidemic of heat-related injuries and deaths will worsen in the coming years, as record-breaking summers become the norm. We need action to stop further climate change and protect workers from the temperature rise that’s already locked in. #WorkersMemorialWeek

The solutions to heat-related injuries are common-sense: hydration, shade, and rest breaks. But most employers won’t implement them voluntarily. @OSHA_DOL must enact a national heat stress standard to protect workers in danger. #WorkersMemorialWeek http://bit.ly/Protect_Workers

Heat fatalities can be prevented by access to water, shade and rest breaks. But many employers deny workers these basic needs — causing countless people to needlessly die every summer. Take action this #WorkersMemorialWeek to protect workers: http://bit.ly/Protect_Workers

Graphics

DOWNLOAD ALL GRAPHICS HERE

Shanna Devine
Worker Health and Safety Advocate
Public Citizen | Congress Watch
TEL: +1 202-454-5168
215 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003
URL: http://www.citizen.org
Twitter: @safeworkers

Germany: DGB – Bundesvorstand | Workers’ Memorial Day

Jedes Jahr am 28. April gedenken wir den verstorbenen und beruflich veranlasst verletzten und erkrankten Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmern.Durch Arbeitsunfälle und Folgen von Berufskrankheiten werden mehr Menschen getötet und verletzt als in Kriegen. Die Zahlen sprechen eine deutliche Sprache.

Allein in Deutschland sterben drei bis vier Menschen täglich auf der Arbeit, auf dem Weg dorthin oder an unfallbedingten bzw. berufskrankheitsbedingten Spätfo…lgen. Täglich ereignen sich hierzulande tausende Arbeitsunfälle. Glücklicher Weise ist die Zahl der Arbeitsunfälle in Deutschland zuletzt zurückgegangen. Aber dafür nimmt die Zahl der Berufskrankheiten zu.

Es ist wichtig, sich als Arbeitnehmer im Berufsleben vor diesen Gefahren zu schützen oder geschützt zu werden! Eine besonders hohe Gefahr für Arbeitsunfälle und Berufs-erkrankungen besteht in Deutschland u. a. für Leiharbeiter. Das Risiko für Leiharbeiterinnen und Leiharbeiter, einem Arbeitsunfall zum Opfer zu fallen, ist drei Mal so hoch wie das für Stammbelegschaften, bedingt durch hohe Fluktuationen und psychische Belastung. An all diese Missstände erinnert der Workers Memorial Day.

Logo Workers Memorial Day 2019DGB/IG BAU

Bereits 1984 rief erstmals die kanadische Gewerkschaft für Angestellte im öffentlichen Dienst dazu auf, der im Arbeitsleben verstorbenen Kolleginnen und Kollegen zu gedenken. Seither wird dieser Gedenktag am 28. April in vielen Ländern weltweit begangen, in immer mehr Ländern ist er ein offizieller Gedenktag.

Seit dem Jahr 2011 rufen der DGB und die IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt jeweils am 28. April dazu auf, der Kolleginnen und Kollegen zu gedenken, die im Rahmen ihrer beruflichen Tätigkeit durch Unfall oder Berufskrankheit ihr Leben lassen mussten.

Wir laden jeden ein, diesen Gedenktag mit uns auf unserer zentralen Gedenkveranstaltung in der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche in Berlin zu begehen. Wir rufen dazu auf, der verstorbenen Kolleginnen und Kollegen auch bundesweit in Betrieben, auf Baustellen und in Objekten zu gedenken.

Nicht nur das Gedenken an die Verstorbenen ist uns wichtig. Wir kämpfen auch für die Gesunderhaltung der heute Beschäftigten.

Website des DGB


Der Einladungsflyer zum Download:

Tasmania: Events in Hobart and Launceston to mark International Workers’ Memorial Day

Every year, unions hold a day of remembrance for workers who have died, been injured, or become ill because of their job.

We gather to mourn the deaths, injuries and illnesses that have occurred and vow to do everything we can to prevent any more.

This year the Hobart service will be held at Parliament Lawns, 11:00-11:30am on Saturday 27 April 2019.

The Launceston event will be held at the Workers’ Memorial Park in Elizabeth Gardens, 10.00am on Sunday 28 April 2019.

Hobart International Workers’ Memorial Day 2019 Facebook event here.

Hobart International Workers’ Memorial Day flyer.pdf

Launceston International Workers’ Memorial Day 2019 Facebook event here.

Launceston International Workers’ Memorial Day flyer.pdf

https://www.unionstas.com.au/news/latest-news/international-workers-memorial-day-hobart-27-april-2019/

New Zealand: Rail and Maritime Transport Union 28 April poster promotes action nationwide

The 28 April 2019 poster shown below has been circulated to all RMTU branches in New Zealand. You can download it here.

Global: Worldwide support for International Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April 2019!

With four days to go to International Workers’ Memorial Day on 28 April 2019, unions and safety campaigns in over 50 countries have already had their activities and resources added to the ITUC 28 April website and featured on the global events map.

If events are taking place in your country, make sure we know about them! We particularly want to hear from national union centres and national unions and campaigns.

 

28 April resources

Other tools

Find out more

 

ITUC 28 April website, facebook page and twitter hashtag #iwmd19.

 

USA: National COSH – Worker Memorial Week, 2019 Fatality List Resources

Thank you to the worker health and safety activist community for all the work going on around the world to remember those who were injured, made ill or killed on the job. This annual activity fuels our work to fight for more prevention programs to stop the daily physical and emotional toll that work has on so many workers.

Below are some links to specific information about workplace fatalities that may be helpful as we try to highlight specific recent fatality cases.

Other resources are available on the COSH Website and AFL-CIO’s toolkit

If you have additional information on fatality cases that should be included in the COSH Fatality Database, please let us know. peter@nationalcosh.org

Peter Dooley,MS,CIH, CSP
Senior Project Coordinator, National COSH
3360 E 25th ST
Tucson AZ 85713
734-320-5160 [c]

Global/Turkey: BWI 28 April poster – Unions make work safer! [TURKISH]

BWI has published an International Workers’ Memorial Day poster in multiple languages, including Turkish. [here]