News from around the World

News Archive

January 2002

News from Switzerland

ILO Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (ILO-OSH 2001)

A new major SafeWork product has just been published by the International Labour Office entitled Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems (ILO-OSH 2001).

It is expected that this will be used as the major tool across the world. Currently in English with the French and Spanish versions available from January 2002, the ILO Safework inform that the translation of the Guidelines into German, Portuguese and Japanese, by JISHA - the Japanese Industrial Safety and Health Administration are almost completed. Safework is also discussing with national authorities and agencies for the translation into other languages. The German government have already established a tripartite committee to develop a national framework on OSH Management System.

For further information contact:
ILO Safework, Geneva, Switzerland. Tel: 41 22 799 6740 Fax: +41 22 799 8516

Welcome www.ciscentres.org...
to the Information Network of the CIS Centres!

This Network is the product of the ongoing co-operation of the International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centres (CIS) and its National and Collaborating Centres all over the world. The goal of this Network is to help its members and the rest of the world to find information from the participating countries on subjects related to occupational safety and health (OSH).

The intention is to have a few pages in a uniform format for each Centre, to reinforce the idea that all are members of a network, with users led easily to the Centres own home sites. The CIS Centres Information Network can be accessed in three languages (English, French and Spanish).

Centres are invited to provide the content. The Centres site is mainly a gateway to all the institutional sites and CIS hopes to be able to provide a presence on the Centres site for those institutions that do not yet have one of their own, as well as to point users to those that do. In addition to the publicly available pages, the site also carries a closed discussion group area where Centres only will be able to exchange questions, facts and opinions.

European Centres
Since several of the European Centres are also members of the network organized by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Bilbao, and a few are national focal points, it needs to be said that the Centres portal is not intended to be competitive - indeed, the ILO appears as an international focal point on the Agency site - or necessarily even consciously complementary. The functionality of the Agency site has been a great inspiration to the designers of the Centres site, but care is being taken to avoid confusing users with too similar a look, in order to provide the world with two independent but mutually reinforcing portals.

CIS Database
The searchable CIS database of institutions in the field of occupational safety and health at www.ilo.org/cis, under the heading CIS Network - Direct Access, and the alphabetic directories at the CIS site will continue to provide the world with other routes of access to the Centres.

News from the ILO

Contribution of disabled people is being lost worldwide - to their own livelihood, to their families, to employers and to society as a whole - says ILO

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations specialised agency with global responsibility for labour and employment issues, launched a new Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace at a meeting in London to coincide with the International Day for Disabled Person, Monday 3rd December 2001. The background to the code is:

• The unemployment rate among disabled people is more than double the workforce as a hole, and often higher
• Many of the obstacles which people face in the search for jobs and at work arise as much, if not more, from social barriers, than from a genuine inability to work
• Unemployment among disabled persons is significantly higher than in the workforce as a whole - at least double this rate, but often higher, with some countries reporting a rate as high as 80% of the labour force of disabled person
• There are approximately 610 million persons with disabilities in the world, of whom 386 million are of working age, and 80% live in developing countries, mostly in rural areas

The new ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace, provides guidance to enterprises on how to recruit people with disabilities and maintain employment for workers who become disabled. It is the first of its kind and can be applied by all employers, in both developed and developing countries.

Also launched was a new guide, entitled Unlocking Potential: The New Disability Business Case, published by the Employers' Forum on Disability in association with the ILO will be introduced. In his introduction to this publication Göran Hultin, Executive Director of the Employment Sector of the ILO, says: "Unlocking Potential proposes a sophisticated business case argument and end with a call to action, reminding us that business, government, trade unions and the not-for-profit sector must combine forces if business is to benefit fully from the contribution of people with disabilities."

The ILO Code of Practice "Managing Disability in the Workplace" and "Unlocking Potential: The New Disability Business Case", are available through ILO London, Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP, UK Tel: 020 7828 6401 on request, free of charge.

ILO Code of Practice "Managing Disability in the Workplace" may also be accessed via the ILO website www.ilo.org/skills/pubs/WCMS_103324/lang--en/index.htm

News from China

2002 China International Forum on Work Safety (CWS2002) and International Exhibition for Occupational Safety and Health (COS+H 2002) to be held 9-12, Oct. 2002, Beijing, China

The following events will be held in October 2002 in Beijing:

Safety at work and protect workers' health in the 21st century
Time: October 9-12, 2002
Venue: Exhibition Hall of the World Trade Center, Beijing
Sponsor: State Administration of Work Safety, Peoples Republic of China

Work Safety and Occupational Health in the 21st Century
Time : October 10-12, 2002
Venue: China World Hotel, Beijing
Sponsors: State Administration of Work Safety, Peoples Republic of China
International Labour Organization (ILO)

News from Hazards Magazine

Hazards Magazine aims to be a source of up-to-date information for union safety representatives, but should be read by all those seeking health and safety information. The latest edition - No. 76 of this quarterly magazine is full of information, warnings, news items, reviews, events and latest outpourings from the Hazards Safety Watchdog.

Further information regarding subscriptions and orders contact:
Jawad Qasrawi, Hazards, PO Box 199, Sheffield S1 4YL, UK
Tel: +44 (0)114 267 8936 email: sub@hazards.org
web: www.hazards.org

News from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Third European survey on working conditions 2000
by Pascal Paoli and Damien Merllié

This report presents the main findings of the Third European survey on working conditions. The survey was carried out simultaneously in each of the 15 Member States of the European Union in March 2000. These surveys aim to provide an overview of the state of working conditions in the European Union, as well as indicating the nature and content of changes affecting the workforce and the quality of work. Since they are of a general nature, obviously they cannot address all the issues in detail. However, they do indicate the need for more detailed research, including qualitative research on specific issues.

60% of respondents consider their work affects their health. The health problems which are most prevalent are backache, stress, overall fatigue and muscular pains. The report is limited to a straightforward presentation of the results, but it is planned to carry out more detailed statistical analysis at a later stage and to product separate reports on specific issues.

Copies of the report Third European survey on working conditions 2000
by Pascal Paoli and Damien Merllié is available from the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. ISBN 9289701307 EUR25.

For further details about the content of the report 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.ie

News from the USA

NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards and other databases on CD-ROM

It would seem to be everyone's favourite pocket guide, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health NIOSH Pocket Guide (NPG) is intended as a source of general industrial hygiene information on several hundred chemicals/classes for workers, employers, and occupational health professionals.

The NPG does not contain an analysis of all pertinent data, rather it presents key information and data in abbreviated or tabular form for chemicals or substance groupings (e.g. cyanides, fluorides, manganese compounds) that are found in the work environment. The information found in the NPG should help users recognise and control occupational chemical hazards.

The Pocket Guide includes the following:

• Chemical Names, synonyms, trade names, conversion factors, CAS, RTECS, and DOT Numbers.
• NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limits (NIOSH RELs)
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs)
• NIOSH Immediate Dangerous to Life and Health values (NIOSH IDLHs) (documentation for those values can be found elsewhere on the NIOSH website)
• A physical description of the agent with chemical and physical properties
• Measurement methods
• Personal Protection and Sanitation Recommendations
• Respirator Recommendations
• Information on Health Hazards including route, symptoms, first aid and target organ information

Available in CD-ROM format as DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2001-145 from:
Publications, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati OH 45226-1998, USA. Tel: +1800-35-NIOSH | web: www.cdc.gov/niosh/

Titles you may have missed...

An Introduction to Fire Safety for Managers
R. Burchett,
H & H Scientific Consultants Ltd. HHSC Handbook No. 27 2001. ISBN 0948237414

Tolley's fire safety management handbook
K. Coules and C. Eskells
Butterworths Tolley, 2001 ISBN 07545 10654

American Public Health Association
Publications are now listed on the HHSC Website. In particular, please see:

Children's Environmental Health: reducing the risk in a dangerous world
Dona Schneider and Natalie Freeman
American Public Health Association. ISBN 0875532411

Control of Communicable Diseases Manual, 17th Edition
James Cair
American Public Health Association. ISBN 087553242X (softback)

Public Health Management of Disasters: The Practice Guide
Linda Y Landesman
American Public Health Association ISBN 0875530257

OEM Health Information Press
Low Back Pain: An Evidence-Based, Biopsychosocial Model for Clinical Management
J. Dereberg and J. T. Anderson
ISBN1883595347

News from Europe

European award scheme recognises good practices in the prevention of workplace accidents

Seventeen companies from across Europe received awards in recognition of their innovative approaches to preventing workplace accidents at an awards ceremony to be held in Brussels recently. The award scheme, organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, has uncovered a rich variety of effective approaches to preventing accidents at work.

The award-winning good practices ranged from an action plan devised by a Spanish engine components manufacturer that resulted in a 70% cut in accidents from slips, trips and falls, to a safety awareness campaign targeted at Belgium's fishing fleet and a successful 10-year partnership programme between employers and unions at a UK chemicals firm.

Each year, about 5 500 people are killed at work in the EU and 75 000 are so severely injured they have to stop full-time employment. Latest figures reveal that in 1998 the number of accidents leading to more than three days absence from work amounted to 4.7 million. It is estimated that work-related accidents cost the EU 150 million lost working days each year. Direct insurance costs alone are in the region of €20 billion annually. But the vast majority of such accidents are preventable.

The aim of the awards is to acknowledge and motivate good practice activities and stimulate the sharing of practical solutions to prevent work-related accidents. The award scheme forms part of the 2001 European Week for Safety and Health at Work. This saw thousands of activities focused on accident prevention taking place across Europe in October 2001.

Real workplace examples of effective good practices were nominated by Member States. They cover many different types of organisations - including small businesses, the public and private sectors, as well as trade unions working in partnership with employers, and national health and safety institutions.

The Agency and the European jury have been impressed by the quality of the good practices nominated by Member States. A key aim now is to make these practical solutions accessible via the Agency website and other media, so everyone can all benefit from these experiences.

All the award-winning and commended examples are published in a new report Accident Prevention in Practice which is available at http://osha.europa.eu/publications/reports/103.

http://osha.europa.eu

Further information:
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain,
e-mail: information@osha.eu.int, fax: +34 94 479 4383

Other publications

How to reduce workplace accidents
The Agency has also published an information report - which presents 22 accident prevention schemes from across Europe. It is available at http://osha.europa.eu/publications/reports/306.

Preventing accidents at work
The latest issue of the Agency's magazine Preventing accidents at work is available at http://osha.europa.eu/publications/magazine/4

News from Uganda

Onwards and upwards.....

The Uganda Department of Occupational Safety and Health has undertaken a number of activities this year, 2001. Five seminars on occupational safety and health were held in the year covering mainly agriculture and construction sectors. The seminars were distributed fairly according to the five regions of the country. Participants in the seminars included workers' representatives, employers and some stakeholders such as the Federation of Uganda Employers in the Country. The Department is very grateful to Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation, Kampala Office for providing the funding for these activities.

Appreciative feedback has been received from various groups and individuals who have attended and been motivated by the seminars which have contributed to their workplace safety and health awareness.

The Department of Occupational Safety and Health, with the cooperation of the ILO Area Office, Dar-Es-Salaam, undertook a Countrywide Survey exercise of workplaces with the aim of:

1. Establishing the total number of workplaces in the Country which require the Department's services as provided for by Law.
2. To identify the number of workplaces in the various sectors of the economy.
3. To establish the level of awareness of the Labour Laws by workers and employers and
4. To establish the total number of equipment and plants that require statutory examination and Inspections.

A total of 21 of the 56 Districts were covered in the Country. The Department hope to cover the remaining districts too, subject to availability of resources.

The Department has also recruited nine more Inspectors in various disciplines to boost its staffing. This is another step forward which the Department has achieved in addressing and improving Labour Inspections in Uganda.