2016, 2016 UK, Events listing

Hazards at Work – get your copy now!

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

Order your copy now!

There are two ways you can get hold of your copy of Hazards at Work:

Briefing

https://www.tuc.org.uk/node/60270

2016, 2016 Norway, Events listing

On 28 April Norwegian unions will engage with social partners and the administration on OHS

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

2016, 2016 Slovenia, Events listing

Slovenia: Unions demand new regulations on occupational health

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

2016 Canada, Events listing, graphics

Canada: CUPE events in Alberta

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Every day, workers around the world are injured and killed while trying to earn a living. In Alberta, workplace deaths number in the hundreds per year.

On April 28th we pause to remember those injured and killed while working, and re-commit to improving conditions so further deaths will not occur.

The last year has sadly seen its share of workplace deaths and injuries. However, there is some good news. Alberta has joined other provinces in Canada in protecting agricultural workers under labour and health and safety laws. In the first three months of 2016, WCB Alberta has approved 159 applications for compensation from farmworkers – applications that would have been denied last year.

There is still much more to be done. Workplace deaths are preventable. Please keep working to make our jobs safer.

Click here to find out about April 28 events in your area.

http://alberta.cupe.ca/2016/04/22/april-28-day-of-mourning/

2016, 2016 Brazil, Events listing, graphics

On 28 April Brazilian unions will highlight how work accidents and environmental disasters are linked

brazil2016On 28th April, all Brazilian trade union confederations will commemorate the victims of occupational diseases and accidents by highlighting the case of the Mariana industrial accident, where more than sixteen workers died and which represents the biggest environmental catastrophe in Brazilian history. In November 2015, the collapse of a mining dam in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais led to the spread of between 40-62m cubic metres of the water and sediment from iron ore extraction at an open-cast mine operated by Samarco, a joint venture between mining giants BHP Billiton and Vale. The health and environmental consequences of this disaster are huge.

Joining the international theme, trade unions will point out to deficiencies in OHS law and lack of compliance, as well as the need to secure good union representation for workers in the mining sector.

Activities will start tomorrow 26th April, with a visit to the Mariana site, followed by a seminar on the 27th and end on the 28th with a public audience in the Minas Gerais parliament.

The programme and full background for the day can be found here: http://metalurgicos.org.br/wp-content/uploads/folder-28-de-abril.pdf

For more information please contact Cleonice Caetano Souza, from UGT Brazil saudeseguranca@ugt.org.br

2016, 2016 Philippines, Events listing

Philippines: ALU and BWI to hold 28 April ceremonies at the gutted Kentex factory where 74 workers died

The Philippine government and businesses often brag of the country’s sustained impressive economic growth in the last five years, yet working Filipinos— many of which are young workers in the formal and informal sectors— who helped made this wealth possible remain measly-waged, accorded with inadequate social protection benefits, and are working in unhealthy and unsafe working conditions.

The Filipino working people’s unfortunate status is demonstrated by the May 13, 2015 Kentex factory fire incident in Valenzuela City which killed 74 workers—majority of which are young workers.  A post incident official government investigation showed grave violations of the general labour and occupational safety and health standards committed by Kentex employer despite a recent Certificate of Compliance (COC) inspection issued by government’s labor law compliance officers.The Associated Labor Unions (ALU) and its global union federation partner Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) deem that this economic affluence must be equitably shared with Filipino workers and their families through existing laws and established social protection mechanism. It is also an opportunity to improve working conditions to avoid risks to workplace accidents and deaths.

However, Philippine government statistics show both the government’s enforcement and the employers’ compliance efforts in making these levers work are inefficient. In the Labor Law Compliance System (LLCS) accomplishment for 2015, General Labour Standard (GLS) compliance in the country was only at 73.18 percent while the Occupational Safety and Health Standards compliance was at 66.94 percent covering a total of 50,161 establishments out of the more than 900,000 registered establishments nationwide.

This widespread employer irresponsibility and recurring government inconsistency is encouraging further labor and safety and health rights of workers at greater risk to the worst forms of exploitation and abuse. The weak enforcement and selective compliance with labour regulations exposes workers to underpayment of wages, non-payment of social protection benefits and imperils the lives of workers to unsafe and hazardous elements and conditions.

It is, therefore, timely for ALU and BWI to hold this year’s International Workers Memorial Day on April 28thcandle-lighting memorial ceremonies at the Kentex factory in Valenzuela City for ALU and BWI to send a strong message to government on the need for them to strongly enforce labor laws and make violators accountable.The gathering of unions at the site where workers died due to negligence of Kentex employers will also a call for the recalcitrant Filipino employers to faithfully comply with the established Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) and General Labour Standards (GLS).

Every candle that will be lighted, each poem that will be recited, each prayer that will be said by members of the union by the gate and walls of the gutted Kentex factory are actions symbolizing unions are vigilant and will always stood up for workers’ rights. The union-led commemoration at Kentex factory echoes BWI’s worldwide unions’ very urgent call for “Strong Laws, Strong Enforcement, and Strong Unions.”

2016, 2016 Belgium, Events listing

Belgian unions highlight the harassment of sick workers to mark 28 April

On 28th April, the Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique (FGTB) – Charleroi and the Centre de Défense et d’Action pour la Santé des Travailleurs (C-DAST) will organise a seminar in the Bois du Cazier. The seminar title is ‘After harassing the unemployed, now they harass the sick’. It will count with presentations on several occupational diseases and risks, as well as first hand testimonies of workers having suffered harassment after declaring occupational diseases. The event location is symbolic: a restored coal mine in which 262 miners died in 1956 following a technical accident.

You can download the programme here

For more information on FGTB Charleroi activities for this 28th April, please contact Philippe Vigneron, philippe.vigneron@accg.be

2016 Indonesia, Events listing

Indonesia: Local Initiative for OSH Network will mark 28 April in central Jakarta

Local Initiative for OSH Network (LION), BWI’s partner for “Ban Asbestos” in Indonesia initiated workers’ Memorial Day gathering at traffic circle of Hotel Indonesia (Bundaran HI), the landmark of the Central Jakarta.  The gathering will engage groups of Indonesia Ban Asbestos Network (INA-BAN) and port workers and building material unions. In this gathering, the groups will pay respect to the OSH victims and reminding people the hazard of asbestos that has been used massively in Indonesia to construct the buildings. The campaign tagline is paying respect to the construction workers who built the city. The poster and flyers with the slogan: “workplace is not a cemetery” reminds people that construction sector is still the most hazardous work in Indonesia that contributes to 32 percent of the occupational accident in the country.

2016, 2016 Bahrain, 2016 Bangladesh, 2016 Brazil, 2016 Burkina Faso, 2016 Costa Rica, 2016 Dominican Republic, 2016 Egypt, 2016 El Salvador, 2016 Gabon, 2016 Ghana, 2016 Guatemala, 2016 Honduras, 2016 India, 2016 Lebanon, 2016 Malawi, 2016 Morocco, 2016 Mozambique, 2016 Namibia, 2016 Nepal, 2016 Nicaragua, 2016 Nigeria, 2016 Pakistan, 2016 Palestine, 2016 Panama, 2016 Senegal, 2016 Sri Lanka, 2016 Tunisia, 2016 Uganda, 2016 Yemen, Events listing

Unions’ role on health and safety spreads across construction sites in AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST, ASIA and LATIN AMERICA

With affiliates from more than thirty countries running activities this April 28th, the Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) sets a high bar for other global union federations! From awareness raising actions in worksites to training and debates with Builders’ associations, from candle lighting ceremonies to rallies, this years’ 28th April counts with a strong mobilisation of construction workers.

As the list is growing as we write this post, stay tuned to the website 28april.org for updates. For more information on BWI events, please contact fiona.murie@bwint.org

AFRICA

In Burkina Faso  FTBBF union activists will organise an awareness raising activity in an interchange construction site in Ouagadougou.

In Gabon, UTBTPBSP union activists will highlight links between occupational health and safety and greening workplaces.

In Ghana Timber and Woodworkers’ Union (TWU) activists will engage in dialogue and health and safety management and participation training with companies on 27 and 28  April. The Construction and Building Material Workers’ union (CBMWU) activists will raise health and safety issues in the context of an activity on trade unions’ role on development and peacekeeping.

In Malawi, the BCCEAWU will organise a press briefing and a rally on OHS In Mauritius CMWEU plans to organise a public debate and campaign on OHS, including distribution of pamphlets calling for “health before profits”.

In Mozambique  SINTICIM plans to raise awareness of occupational safety and health issues in Chinese companies.

In Namibia MANWU plans to raise awareness of occupational safety and health issues in the workplace distributing banners calling for enforcing compliance with OHS standards.

In Nigeria, the CCESSA will run a public conference on OHS in construction and the NUCEFWW will launch an awareness raising campaign on OHS.

In Senegal, the SNTC/BTP will run a seminar on OHS in the construction sector.

In Uganda, the UBCCEAWU will organise a campaign on compliance with OHS standards in Chinese multinationals In Zimbabwe, CLAWUZ and ZCATWU will run awareness raising campaigns on OHS

MIDDLE EAST

A regional OHS campaign is to be launched in Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Palestine, Yemen and Bahrain. Details on activities are forthcoming.

ASIA

In Bangladesh, BBWWF will organise a candle light procession on OHS at Dhaka followed by a public meeting at the Press Club.

In India, activities are being run in different States Tamil Nadu: TKTMS will organise a public meeting of construction workers in Villupuram

Gujarat: BMS will run a workshop on health and safety in partnership with the Contractors Association, Builders Association (Gujarat chapter) to be attended by OHS victims and their families. Unions will also file compensation cases for some victims and organise a road show on OHS at Ahmenabad.

Rajasthan: AHBWU will organise a silicosis awareness-medical check up camp for workers in three locations.

Kerala: KKNTC will organise a public meeting for construction workrs and distribute OHS awareness raising materials. The union will also submit a memorandum to the Mayor at Ernakulam.

Uttar Pradesh: CFBWU will run an awareness raising workshop followed by a candle vigil at Allahabad.

Karnataka State: KKNTC will organise a demonstration in front of the Labour Commissioner’s office for better OHS for construction workers, followed by the submission of a memorandum and a press conference.

In Nepal, the BWI Nepal Affiliates Committee will run health and Safety awareness activities and demonstrate protective equipment usage at a construction site of a member-contractor of Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal (FCAN). In addition, CUPPEC will run an OHS awareness rally in five districts and CAWUN will organise a meeting in some construction sites.

In Pakistan, the PFBWW will be holding a health and safety seminar public meeting at the Tarbela Dam Extension Project located in Haripur district. The PCF will run a seminar on OHS for district leadership in Karachi.

In Sri Lanka, the NTUF will organise health and safety awareness sessions in three construction sites in Colombo.

LATIN AMERICA

In Brazil, several BWI affiliates will be mobilised for the day. SITICOMFLORIPA will organise an event with other unions in Brusque, Santa Catarina State, and will distribute flyers on OHS. SINTRAICCCM is running a month-long awareness campaign on OHS, which will conclude on April 28th with flyer distribution in an important square, run in conjunction with SINTECOMP.  SINTRACONST-ES will organise a workshop on mental health in working relationships. SITICOM-Chapeco will be running the Fourth edition of the National Seminar on work accidents’ prevention and workers’ health.

In Guatemala, the SINCS-G will release a press statement asking for compliance with national OHS law.

In Panama, SUNTRACS has run a month-long OHS campaign visiting worksites and holding debates with workers on OHS, labour inspectorates, organising picket lines and distributing OHS materials.

In Nicaragua, SNSCAASC will run assemblies in worksites on OHS. FITCM-N will organise a workshop on good practices on OSH.

In Dominican Republic, FENTICOMMC will run a capacity building workshop for leadership on Dominican Republic legislation.

In Honduras , SITRAINCEHSA will organise a minute of silence in the union and show posters of April 28th.

In El Salvador, SOICSCES will do an interview on OHS in Radio Arpas and run an awareness raising workshop for workers in a worksite.

In Costa Rica, a work stoppage will be organised so that workers can attend a presentation on OHS.

2016, 2016 Argentina, graphics

Argentina: Historias del mundo laboral – sin presiones

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Remember the dead, fight like hell for the living