News from around the World

News Archive

February 2002

News about IALI

Labour Inspection: the global view

A feature in the February 2002 edition of Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Occupational Safety and Health Journal explains what the International Association of Labour Inspectorates (IALI) is doing to ensure that labour inspection works in practice. The article by Sheila Pantry OBE looks at the goals of IALI which was founded in 1972 in order to provide a professional forum for the exchange of information and experience about the work of Labour Inspection and to promote closer cooperation between the authorities and institutions concerned with such work.

The Association is a non-governmental international organisation recognised by the International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland. During the May 2000 IALI conference which took place in Croatia, more than 100 participants from 20 countries discussed three main priorities for inspectors in the new Millennium:

• construction
• agriculture
• illegal employment

presents challenges both for developed and undeveloped countries. There is a strong recognition of the importance of labour inspectorates working together and the role of IALI in assisting this process.

IALI goals
The mission of the International Association of Labour Inspection is to:

• promote professional understanding of all aspects of labour inspection,
• provide opportunities for the exchange of experience in, and views about, labour inspection and the implementation of occupational health and safety and other employment legislation,
• disseminate information about all such matters, through its congress, technical symposia, workshops, international enquiries, reports and other publications in order to increase the professionalism, the impact and the efficiency of labour inspection throughout the world.

The Association, which has members from 80 countries, exists only for ideal ends. It renounces and bans any political or religious activity, any criticism of national systems of Labour Inspection and any interference in their working. In the addition it renounces any statement or attitude constituting an interference in affairs of the social partners' business.

For further information contact:
IALI web site www.iali-aiit.org/en or
IALI Secretariat, Malcolm Gifford, Health and Safety Executive, Daniel House, Bootle, Liverpool L20 7HE, UK | Tel: +44 (0)151 951 4486 | email: malcolm.gifford@hse.gsi.gov.uk

News from the UK

The Definitive Guide to Emergency Safety Showers, Eyebaths and Facewash Fountains

Since the start of manufacturing of chemical in bulk quantities for use by industry for cleaning and manufacturing purposes, there has been a requirement for emergency safety showers, eyebaths and facewash fountains.

The first legislation in the UK covering first aid in the workplace, where strong acids and dangerous corrosive liquids are used was The Chemical Works Regulations 1922 which remained in force for over 66 years until it was superseded by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988. The 1922 legislation required that for use in emergency the following:

• Adequate and readily accessible means of drenching with cold water, persons and the clothing of persons, who have become splashed with such liquid
• A sufficient number of eyewash bottles, filled with distilled water or other suitable liquid, kept in boxes or cupboards conveniently situated and clearly indicated by a distinctive sign shall be visible at all times.

Recently published by Hughes Safety Showers is The Definitive Guide to Emergency Safety Showers, Eyebaths and Facewash Fountains that provides guidance on design standards, types and applications, water temperature, materials of manufacture, location and installation, servicing and training. The 20 page booklet is filled with good advice and guidance and is a must for all inspectors, safety and health practitioners.

Contact: Hughes Safety Showers Ltd, Whitefield Road, Bredbury, Stockport, Cheshire SK6 2SS, UK | Tel: +44 (0) 161 430 6618 | Fax: +44 (0) 161 430 79228 | Email: info@hughes-safety-showers.co.uk | website www.hughes-safety-showers.co.uk
Price of the Guide is Sterling £5.00 or Euros 8.00 including post and packing.

News from the UK TUC

Working Time Directive having little impact on women working long hours

Despite Europe's working time directive, over 750,000 women in the UK are working in excess of its 48-hours-a-week limit according to a UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) report just published. The TUC report, About Time: a new agenda for shaping working life, finds that the European Working Time Directive has had very little impact on the long hours women work.

TUC General Secretary John Monks said:
'Britain's long hours culture is a national disgrace. It leads to stress, ill health and family strains. It's an indictment on how badly we manage work in the UK - we need to encourage men and women to balance their working life with their life outside work".

The UK tops the European long hours league, and is the only country that allows staff to opt out of the 48 hour limit. The average working week is 43.6 hours in the UK compared to an EU average of 40.3 hours. Many European countries, including those more productive than the UK, have tougher limits on hours. Austria, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and Sweden all have 39 or 40 hour limits, and France has a 35 hour week. But the EU is certain to end the UK opt out following a review in 2003, so the UK must start to tackle the long hours culture now, says the TUC report. Info on the TUC's work-life balance work can be found at: www.tuc.org.uk/workplace-issues/work-life-balance

News from Germany

Machinery Safety....impetus for early revision of EN 12999 Loader cranes says report in KANBRIEF

European standard EN 12999 Cranes - loader cranes contains safety requirements for the design, analysis and testing of leader cranes with hydraulic drives. After successfully passing the final vote with three abstentions (those of Germany, Portugal and Switzerland) the standard was ratified by CEN on 8 March 2001. The abstention by the German standardization body DIN was the consequence of a unanimous vote by German occupational health and safety representatives who had already expressed reservations in 2000 regarding safety aspects of the standard, certain provisions of which ran contrary in their view to the requirements of the Machinery Directive. One aspect concerned the facility for the crane operator to bridge the load torque limiter, which could potentially lead to component failure or tipping of the crane. As EN 12999 had been ratified by CEN but its reference not yet published in the Official Journal of the European Union, the safeguard clause had not initially been invoked formally against the standard.

At a European level, a session of the responsible CEN Working Group was convened in which the experts reached agreement on an amendment of EN 12999 which took the German reservations into account. Further information can be found in the very informative quarterly KANBRIEF 4/01 published by the Kommision Arbeitsschutz und Normung (KAN), Alte Heestr.111, D-53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany. Tel: +40 (0) 2241 231 3455 | Fax: +49 (0) 2241 231 3464 | Email: info@kan.de | web: www.kan.de

News from the USA

Fire Fighter Deaths from Tanker Truck Rollovers

Is the title of a new leaflet from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health contains case studies and a list of recommendations to reduce the risk of tanker truck rollovers. It also has references to further publications. Copies can be downloaded from the NIOSH website and in print format DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2002-111 Fire Fighter Deaths from Tanker Truck Rollover from: Publications, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati OH 45226-1998, USA. | Tel: +1 800 356 4674 | Email: pubstaft@cdc.gov | web: www.cdc.gov/niosh

NIOSH conducts the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Programme to determine factors that cause or contribute to fire fighter fatalities suffered in line of duty and to develop strategies for preventing similar incidents in future. More information is available at web: www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire.

News from the European Foundation

Working for a living.... new publications

Gender, Employment and working time preferences in Europe
by Colette Fagan and Tracey Warren
This report looks at the role played by gender in determining labour market participation It shows how women's and men's employment preferences are related to the kinds of jobs they do, as well as to their domestic circumstances, and compares the wishes of those who are currently employed with those of job seekers.
There is also an 8 page summary as well as the full report. ISBN 92 897 01161

Working Time Preferences at different phases of life
by Reija Lilja and Ulla Hamalainen
This survey involved 30,557 telephone assisted interviews with people aged between 16 and 64 across the 15 European Union Member States and Norway. This survey provides information on both the current situations and future preferences of those interviewed concerning employment.
There is a leaflet summary as well as the full report. ISBN 92 897 01080

Working Conditions in Atypical Work
The European Foundation's research into different forms of atypical work such as non-permanent; temporary agency; part-time and self employment. The recent research reveals that working conditions for all workers in the European Union have generally degenerated over the past few years.
There are huge difference between countries with the EU concerning the distribution of different forms of atypical work.
There is a leaflet summary as well as the full report. ISBN 92 897 01269

All available from the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. For further details about the content of the reports contact:
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Wyattville Road, Loughlinstown, Dublin 18, Ireland | Tel: + 353 1 2043100 | Fax: + 353 1 2826456, + 353 1 2824209 | Email: postmaster@eurofound.eu.int | or check the website www.eurofound.europa.eu

News from the NRPB

Know which Radiation Monitoring equipment to use!

Guidance on the choice, use and maintenance of hand-held radiation monitoring equipment, by P H Burgess
It is he duty of an employer to provide suitable instruments for the monitoring of controlled and supervised areas. Selection of suitable instruments can be an easy task in some circumstances, but a difficult task in others. It requires a detailed knowledge of the circumstances of potential radiation exposure. It is not always easy to predict which radiations may be present in occupied areas. This report aims to shed light on these problems and help make an informed choice of the appropriate radiation monitoring instrument, its use and maintenance.

Guidance on the choice, use and maintenance of hand-held radiation monitoring equipment, by P H Burgess. NRPB R326 ISBN 085951 461 7 £10.00
Available from the National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RQ, UK.
Email: information@nrpb.org.uk

Titles you may have missed...

Replace anecdotal guesswork with quantitative fact when evaluating safety management...
Managing for World Class Safety, by J M Stewart
Despite the extensive literature on safety, few tools have been available to help managers quantitatively assess the level of safety management and the quality of safety practices in organisations. Dr. Stewart, the author of Managing for World Class Safety and a former executive of Dupont, developed such a method, crafting a safety survey centering on a comprehensive questionnaire for employees at all levels, that reveal the true level of corporate commitment to safety. Based on research at five of the world's safest companies and five with very poor safety. By developing quantitative benchmark data, the author reasons in this 275 page book that it will be easier to convince reluctant management to undertake the fundamental change necessary for a "step change" in their company performance.
Managing for World Class Safety, by J M Stewart. 2002, Wiley-Interscience
ISBN 0471 443867 Sterling £59.50

New titles from the US Government Institutes

Environmental Biotreatment: Technologies for Air, Water, Soil, and Wastes
...provides a comprehensive, detailed analysis of the most up-to-date biotreatment remediation methods available.

Integrating Quality, Environmental, Health, and Safety Systems
...how to take advantage of the similarities that exist among your quality, environmental, health, and safety systems and how to integrate them into one efficient, time-saving, cost-effective system.

Implementing an ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System including Safety and Environmental Considerations
...provides a step-by-step approach to establishing an ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System that is processed-based, encompasses the principles of Total Quality Management and Continuous Improvement, and includes environmental and safety management considerations.