For this 28th April, the group bringing together all trade union centres from Senegal around OHS (the InterSyndicale Sécurité et Santé au Travail) will co-organise, along with governmental agencies and employer representatives a seminar/ceremony reinforcing stakeholders’ capacity on OHS-related prevention policies. The Senegalese employment minister will be present.
For more information on this event, please contact Ousmane Diop ousmdiop2004@yahoo.fr
In the context of the upcoming 28th April commemoration, the trade union confederation ZSSS has called on the government to adopt better regulations on occupational safety and health as it expressed support for a campaign to amend the directive on protection of workers from risks related to the exposure to carcinogens or mutagens.
More information available here
On the occasion of 28th April 2016, Bangladeshi unions will mobilise with a week of events, which will include meetings on compensation and rehabilitation for Rana Plaza victim workers, a commemoration of the tragedy on April 24th both with OSHE as a lead organiser and a demonstration on April 28th to honour all who died and got sick at work.
Last April 24th, in the occasion of 3rd anniversary of Rana Plaza Tragedy, the Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) organised a victim demonstration (9am morning) followed by meetings for Rana Plaza Survivors in Savar with mobilization of media. When it comes to April 28th, a workers demo will be organised in Dhaka calling for strong law and strong enforcement in workplaces.
The demo would be a joint endeavour by the Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE), Bangladesh Free Trade Unions Congress (BFTUC) and other associated trade unions and industrial federations.
The video “Growth with Tears” on the struggle of Rana Plaza victims and can be viewed below:
For more information, pl. contact Repon Chowdhury, BFTUC bftuc@agni.com repon.chowdhury@gmail.com
On 28th April, the Australian trade union movement will mobilise in all Australian provinces for occupational health and safety and to ensure we remember those who died or loose their health at work, and keep the fight for the living. A smart social media kit has been produced (something that hopefully will inspire others!) https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/victorianunions/pages/1798/attachments/original/1461051236/ohs_kit_digital.pdf?1461051236
For more information on Australian actions for 28th April, please contact Amy Jenkins, Victorian Trades Hall Council, ajenkins@vthc.org.au
On April 28, the Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job, CUPE is renewing its call for a comprehensive ban on asbestos in Canada—the number one cause of occupational death in Canada.
It’s estimated that asbestos-related diseases kill more than 2,000 people ever year in Canada. Many Canadians, including CUPE members, go to work every day in hospitals, schools, and other buildings that contain the deadly substance. Despite these facts, Canada continues to import asbestos in products like brake pads and cement pipes. In fact, just last year before losing power the Harper government actually made it easier to import products containing asbestos.
“The Harper government showed a repeated disregard for the health and safety of Canadians. This Liberal government now has an opportunity to show that they do care—that the lives of countless workers across Canada matter to them,” said CUPE National President Mark Hancock. “It’s time to catch up with the rest of the world. On April 28, we’re calling on the Trudeau government to ban the import, export and use of asbestos in Canada.”
The federal government recently announced that they have banned the use of asbestos in the construction or renovation of federal buildings, but Hancock says if they’re serious, the government must go further.
“We’re happy to see progress on this issue, but unless they ban it completely, banning it in federal buildings alone just creates a sad double-standard,” said Hancock. “Banning asbestos isn’t hard! Fifty-six countries around the world have done it. All workers deserve this basic protection.”
Beyond failing to impose a domestic ban, Canada has long been one of a small handful of countries that opposed adding chrysotile asbestos to the hazardous chemical list covered by the United Nations Rotterdam Convention. Including asbestos in the convention would help protect workers both here in Canada and abroad by making it more difficult to import and export the deadly product.
Take action:
Attachments Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau
http://cupe.ca/cupe-calls-full-asbestos-ban
On 24 April 2016 workers in Bangladesh and Pakistan remembered the dead and demanded improved factory safety and punishment to those responsible for the tragedy. IndustriALL website
Read more: Workers demand justice on third anniversary of Rana Plaza collapse
BWI affiliate, Construction and Building Materials Industry Workers’ Union in Ukraine “Profbud” has prepared a critique of current legislation on H&S in the Ukraine construction industry. The 90 page report will be presented to government and industry on 28th April in an International Workers Memorial Day event, with a strong recommendation to ratify C167. The report will then be translated and submitted to the ILO.
Next year at the ILC there will be a discussion, in the Committee for Application of Standards, on ILO C167 on H&S in construction. The BWI has alerted affiliates and advised on comments for the ILC discussion.
Ahead of International Workers’ Memorial Day the TUC has published the new edition of their best-selling guide to health and safety at work.
It is used by reps, officers, employers, professionals in the field and even enforcement officers.
This fifth edition is published at a time when the regulations that underpin workers’ protection are still under government scrutiny. It is no secret that cost-cutting and an obsession with ‘red tape’ lie behind the motives for reducing the impact of some laws, or even repealing others completely.
That is why trade union reps, officers and anyone with a practical interest in health and safety matters should have a copy of the 2016 edition of Hazards at Work. It explains the way unions organise to improve health, safety and welfare, how the law has changed in recent years and gives full details of the key legal provisions and how they are enforced.
As in previous editions, the ever-popular core of the book is the 24-chapter section on the common hazards and causes of ill health at work, and how to assess and prevent them.
The book is an A4 size, 368-page, single volume softback, with a section on people in ‘special’ categories, such as young workers, casual workers, agency workers and disabled workers. The book also contains HSE and other guidance, extensive checklists, case studies and web resources.
“There are still too many people living with, and dying of, workplace injuries and illnesses. This book is the TUC’s most comprehensive tool for understanding, assessing and dealing with workplace hazards.”
Frances O’Grady, TUC General Secretary
There are two ways you can get hold of your copy of Hazards at Work:
Briefing
https://www.tuc.org.uk/node/60270
For this 28th April, Norwegian national center LO and educational association AOF are organizing a meeting to focus on occupational health and safety challenges for Norwegian workers, while also looking into the international picture. The program includes posts about work and health, work-related diseases and injuries, and work life/work environment issues, seen from the social partners’ side as well as from the Labour Inspectorate.
The full programme can be downloaded here
Ljubljana, 22 April – The ZSSS trade union confederation has called on the government to adopt better regulations on occupational safety and health as it expressed support for a campaign to amend the directive on protection of workers from risks related to the exposure to carcinogens or mutagens.
https://english.sta.si/2255811/unions-demand-new-regulations-on-occupational-health