News from around the World

News Archive

July 2005

EIRO comparative study on industrial action 2000-4: Decreasing levels of industrial action in Europe in the past five years

Figures on number of working days lost per 1,000 employees in the last five years show a very low level of industrial action in some of the new European Union (EU) Member States (Estonia, Lithuania and Poland) and in some of the old ones (Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). A recent study by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions found that the highest level of industrial action was found in Spain (219.7 days lost per 1,000 workers), Italy (134.7 days) and Austria (103.5 days).

The report from the Foundation's European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) reviews trends and developments in industrial action in 2000-2004. It also examines the causes for industrial action and looks at dispute resolution in the various countries.

'In comparison with the past, the early 2000s have been a time of relative industrial peace in many European countries,' says Willy Buschak, the Foundation's Acting Director, in response to the report. 'In the 1980s, days lost to industrial action in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the UK averaged over 400 days lost per 1000 workers.'

The study found that the sectors most affected by industrial action in 2000-2004 were transport and communications, industry/manufacturing and the broad public sector. Distribution of industrial action between private and public sector varies considerably between the countries considered.

Industrial action is one of the most high-profile aspects of industrial relations, not least in terms of media coverage and public impact and attention. It is seen by some commentators as an important indicator of whether or not industrial relations systems are functioning well, with some viewing industrial action as a sign that a system is malfunctioning. Others regard it as a relatively normal feature of a healthy and well-functioning system.

However, industrial action is an area where international comparisons are notoriously difficult. This is largely because the way in which statistics are produced differs greatly between countries, with the definition of the industrial action recorded varying considerably, and the data being collected by a variety of official and other bodies.

More information is available from: http://eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/articles/developments-in-industrial-action-2000-4

For further information, contact John Hurley on telephone +353-1-204 3209, mobile +353-86-8340578, or email joh@eurofound.eu.int. Also contact Camilla Galli da Bino, Information Liaison Officer, on telephone +353-1-2043125, or email gdb@eurofound.eu.int

Chemical Industry Unions and Employers united on REACH

The Social Partners of the chemical industry - ECEG, European Chemical Employers Group, EMCEF, European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers Federation - and Cefic jointly appreciate that their common Position "REACH and health safety management" in the framework of the sectoral Social Dialogue has been taken into consideration at the European Parliament first vote on REACH by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.

The Social Partners are committed to contribute to a successful implementation of an improved and workable REACH but also to share their joint long experience in contributing to regulation in chemicals management with other sectors.

ECEG, EMCEF and Cefic are committed to joint initiatives in the areas of occupational health, of capacity building with the social partners in the new and future EU countries EU member-states and the development of the Responsible Care programme at national and European levels. The initiatives of the Social Partners will be discussed further at the plenary session of the Social Dialogue Meeting, 15 September in London.

The Social Partners are convinced that these steps will help to add necessary social aspects to the regulation of chemical substances, to make REACH successful and to improve the competitiveness of the Chemical Industry in Europe. Only a successful REACH will enhance confidence of customers and consumers in chemical substances and related products and thus improve trust in the chemical industry. Simplified but effective chemicals legislation will furthermore help to deliver environmental and health benefits in an efficient way without jeopardising businesses and jobs.

The Social Partners of the Chemical Industry are convinced that REACH must be workable and that a new style of industrial policy aimed at creating the right framework conditions for business is essential for future success. This implies that both social partners and authorities have responsibilities for achieving long-term success. If only the authorities take action and the social partners fail to play their part, the strategy will fail, and vice versa.

Making REACH successful for Europe therefore requires clarity on the scope of REACH in order to avoid duplication of legislation and a risk-based decision-making process. Further initiatives are required to transfer good practices already achieved in the chemical industry.

The Social Partners therefore call upon the Council, the EU Commission and the European Parliament to take these results into consideration in the ongoing discussions on REACH.

We need a common sense approach to risk management - says UK's Lord Hunt

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath called for a common sense approach to risk management as he formally launched a debate on the causes of risk aversion in health and safety on 13 July 2005.

Speaking at the launch organised by the Health and Safety Executive in the House of Lords he said:

"Since 1974 when the Health and Safety at Work Act was passed, the rate of workplace fatalities has dropped by two thirds. The hazards in construction have if anything got greater since the 1970's, but the rate of fatal accidents has fallen dramatically. But yet there is a perception that things are getting worse.

"We must concentrate our efforts on the big issues that cause real harm and suffering and remember that excessive risk aversion does damage too. It hits organisational efficiency, competitiveness, restricts personal freedoms and damages the cause of protecting people form real harm. We know that something is seriously wrong when we read stories of schools asking children to wear goggles to play conkers in the playground.

"It is my intention to bring about a balanced approach to risk that will have at its heart an emphasis on the importance of communicating risk effectively."

As part of HSE's determination to build an integrated debate, today's launch includes a new web forum and discussion document. Providing an opportunity for everyone to be involved in the debate and take part in live discussions that will ultimately benefit UK society as a whole. The discussion document will provide an in-depth look at the issues and backdrop that has led to the perception of risk aversion.

Both the web forum and discussion document can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/risk/debate.htm

The HSE is seeking to involve key opinion formers from all areas, including the media, CBI and Local Government through round table events, a web forum and other events designed to get people communicating and get to the root causes of risk aversion

HSE Deputy Director General Jonathan Rees added:

"HSE's approach to regulation is very much based on sensible risk management. Risk is ubiquitous. Some degree of risk whether financial, environmental or in terms of safety is necessary for progress. We are fortunate in the way the Health and Safety at Work Act was drafted over 30 years ago. In its concept, it is goal setting rather than prescriptive. It also lays the primary responsibility for ensuring health and safety on those who create the risk and those who work with them and not with the regulator. This approach therefore leaves room for innovation to take account of different circumstances such as the significant changes of the economy over the last thirty years".

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is committed to further the message that risk is something that should not be eliminated but effectively managed. A wider debate on risk was called for by the Prime Minister in a speech at an event held by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on 26 May 2005.

The Bilbao-based European Agency for Safety and Health at Work launches its annual report, summarising the Agency's activities in a year which saw the EU's membership grow from 15 to 25 Member States

'The enlargement has provided us with a much larger pool of experience and expertise to share among Member States', say Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, the Agency's Director, and Luis Lopes, the Chairperson of the Agency's Administrative Board, in the report's opening statement.

The Agency capitalised on this by intensifying its pan-European programmes, including the European Week 2004 on construction. The campaign culminated in bringing together top representative bodies in Europe's EUR 900 billion construction industry and of the Dutch EU presidency to sign a landmark declaration committing its signatories to improve the industry's safety and health standards.

Other 2004 highlights include:

• SME Funding Scheme promoting health and safety in European small and medium-sized companies - an independent evaluation last year showed the recent scheme reached more than 700 000 SMEs.
• Exploring the commercial value of occupational safety and health - with a new report and a working paper the Agency pinpointed criteria for commercially productive CSR strategy and a strong link between higher OSH standards and higher productivity.
• Devising an enlargement action plan for 2005-2006 with two main thrusts: mass information campaign in the new Member States and knowledge transfer adapting SME Funding Schemes' expertise to new Member States' individual circumstances.
• Focusing on high-risk sectors, with new factsheets published on violence and other hazards in education sector, and special web features developed for the construction and fishing industries.
• Addressing the issues of disability and gender with the help of new information materials, a dedicated web feature and a seminar.
• Mainstreaming OSH into education - a report analysing 32 initiatives across Europe described how to successfully integrate OSH into school and university curricula.
• Monitoring tomorrow's risks by collecting and analysing the data required to launch a Risk Observatory in 2005.

In 2004 the Agency produced and distributed more than 4 million copies of publications in up to 20 languages. The number of visitors on the Agency's website doubled to nearly 3 million.

The annual report can be downloaded from the agency website http://osha.europa.eu

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

Un-Social Europe by Charles Woolfson

Alarm bells should be ringing about work safety in the new European Union (EU) member-states. Unfortunately, EU policies may only worsen the situation.

Europe is in crisis. The future of the EU constitution is in doubt. So too, in some eyes, is the notion of a 'social Europe' - and part of the blame for that is being attached to last year's enlargement. For some, enlargement has become associated with 'social dumping' and a 'race to the bottom' in which the new member states are acting as a Trojan horse for neo-liberal ideas.

Whatever the merits or demerits of these interpretations, there is major reason to worry about safety standards in the new EU member states, home to 43 million of the EU's roughly 200m workers.

On paper, there should be few reasons for such fears since the accession process harmonised large chunks of legislation. In practice, though, the average workplace in the new member states is more dangerous, more unhealthy and more unhappy than it is in the old member states, the EU15. But the trends may be worsening; in the Baltic states a deterioration seems clear. At the same time, a new approach to regulating the European workplace may only exacerbate existing problems in these countries - and for the same reasons that the adoption of EU regulations has failed to lift health and safety standards.

Over the past 15 years, the transition to a free market, globalisation and the EU accession process have transformed the Central and Eastern European workplace. Since 1989, privatisation, restructuring, the change in the business landscape and the growth of unemployment, the workforce has become radically more 'flexible'. Liberal economists say this has helped make the region the fastest growing in the EU; but it has also helped ensure that their health and safety records are poorer than in Western Europe.

Figures show that, as a whole, Central and East Europeans are three times as likely to die at work as those in the EU15, with seven of the eight new members (leaving out Cyprus and Malta) reporting fatality rates higher than the EU15's average. Subjective measures suggest that feelings of fatigue are almost twice as high in the new member states. Working hours are considerably longer and more atypical (night work or shift work). Workplaces tend to be noisier, hotter and more polluted. Workers complain of more health problems, but take less sick leave. Asserting worker rights is hard: trade unions in these countries are generally weak and information about employee rights is harder to find.

The trends are also worrying. In the EU15, the risk of death at work has fallen by 25% since 1998. In some of the new member states - Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia - the trend may also be downward. But in Latvia and Lithuania and to a lesser extent in Hungary safety records appear to be worsening. Overall, the average fatal-accident rate appears to be rising across the region.

Such figures need to be treated cautiously. Only relatively few years of comparable data are available, arguably making categorical statements of longer-term trends premature. Still, it is clear from almost every measure that workers in the Baltic states are the most vulnerable in the new EU and are becoming more vulnerable still.

Part of the reason for the continuing difference - in some cases, growing difference - in safety levels is the nature of these transition economies. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dominate these economies. These are typically twice as unsafe as large companies. Second, the growth of part-time and fixed-term contracts, plus a sharp decline in trade-union membership, have created a significant imbalance in power between employers and employees, with the result that in sizable parts of the economy labour-protection standards are almost non-existent.

Third, different experiences, expectations and responses to the world of work combine to undermine efforts to improve safety. Workers retain an attachment to hazard pay, for example, welcoming the money as a top-up to low wages rather than pushing to eliminate the risk at source. Job insecurity means there is sometimes tacit collusion between employees and employers to avoid or resist regulations.

The result is that EU legislation has not become embedded. And by Western European standards, regulation is weak. Where rules seem unclear or where they differ from domestic preferences, resistance to EU laws emerges. This resistance is in part a post-communist reflex and in part a reflection of the business-first mindset created by the 1990s struggle to create new, competitive market economies. But there is also an ideological element.

While the candidate countries were introducing new EU regulations, they were also being faced with the vigorous promotion of neo-liberal ideas and programs by organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, urging them to remove "red tape and other regulatory obstacles to private-sector activity". Such arguments found a ready audience in the new post-communist market economies and have left their imprint in tough anti-strike legislation, for example.

Yet, in some respects, the new member states are simply reflecting what has increasingly become the dominant approach at the EU level: to soften regulation and to encourage more flexible ways of promoting health and safety in the workplace, particularly through self-regulation.

This may have merit in advanced regulatory systems, but it seems likely only to aggravate existing problems in the new market economies, with their weaker regulatory systems. Self-regulation also assumes a reasonable balance of negotiating power, as well as dialogue. But in the fragmented labour markets of the Baltic states and other economies in the region, the odds are stacked in favour of employers and dialogue is limited.

By loosening regulations, 'soft laws' give local politicians and businesses more opportunity to follow their liberal instincts. That raises the possibility that the divergence in safety levels between new and older EU members will continue to grow. To avoid that, there should be an intermediate period before softer legislation is introduced, with more consultation with employees and the risks they face, and with the threat of sticks against employers being combined with the offer of carrots to them.

Charles Woolfson holds the Marie Curie chair at the University of Latvia and is professor of labour studies in Glasgow University's school of law. A longer version of this article was published in the online magazine Transitions Online www.tol.org

Charles is also a speaker at EurOhse2005 conference www.eurohse2005.com
Book your place at the conference now!
Charles Woolfson BA, PhD, Marie Curie Chair, EuroFaculty, University of Latvia, Raina Blvd 19, LV-1586, Riga, Latvia | Email: woolfson@eurofaculty.lv | Web: www.eurofaculty.lv/MarieCurie | Tel: +370-610-05044 | FAX: +370-(5)-2153802

Professor of Labour Studies, School of Law, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8RT, UK Email: c.woolfson@law.gla.ac.uk

Research shows importance of safety representatives in the workplace

A UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report confirms evidence of a positive link between the appointment of safety representatives and levels of health and safety awareness and performance.

The findings of the report, The role and effectiveness of safety representatives in influencing workplace health and safety, show how safety representatives encourage worker participation in risk management and how consultation on health and safety helps to improve the working environment.

Copies are available from HSE's website at: www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr363.htm. The report focuses on case studies from two major and potentially hazardous industries, chemicals and construction.

It highlights the importance of the context in which consultation takes place. It also identifies a need for more research. In particular, it calls for more detailed analysis of what forms of worker participation work best and how they might be improved. HSE sees the report as a contribution to the delivery of its strategy on the role of employees in health and safety risk management. It set up a Worker Involvement Programme in January 2005 to encourage more and better employee participation in health and safety management. Evidence from a number of sources suggests that good employee participation leads to better health and safety at work.

Stuart Bristow, HSE's worker involvement programme manager commented, "HSE's Worker Involvement Programme represents a step change in our approach to encouraging worker involvement in health and safety. This report provides valuable support to the case for the effectiveness of employee participation and its recommendation for further analysis is in line with our strategy."

Hugh Robertson, TUC's senior policy advisor on health and safety, welcomed the report stating, "The TUC is pleased to see further evidence of the effect that unions and consultation with the workforce have in improving the safety culture within an organisation. We now need further research to ensure that we know what factors lead to this effect."

The Worker Involvement Programme is dedicated to securing more and better worker involvement in sensible health and safety risk management. The programme has been undertaken because workplaces where workers are involved in taking decisions about health and safety are safer and healthier workplaces. By persuading more employers to involve their staff in taking decisions about health and safety risks and how they should be managed, and encouraging more workers to become involved, the programme will make a significant contribution to the Health and Safety Commission's vision for a safer and healthier workforce.

For further information on the programme, visit: www.hse.gov.uk/workers

1st announcement for conference Social Dialogue and Work Environment in the Post-Enlargement context in the new Member States of the European Union: 28 September 2006, Riga, Latvia

The purpose of the Conference is to act as a vehicle for dissemination of ongoing research results relating to issues of social dialogue and work environment in the Baltic States and more widely in the new Member States in the post enlargement context. The themes of industrial relations and safety and health in the workplace have been neglected at an academic level, certainly in teaching and to some degree in research. Yet, important issues of labour standards, forms of employee representation, corporate social responsibility, labour migration and economic competitiveness are directly related to such concerns. The adoption of a significant body of European legislation in the form of the acquis communautaire, means that a significant new area of policy implementation has emerged which is relevant to the integration of the new Member States in the wider Europe. The conference will seek to take stock of the existing knowledge base in the area and also present new results.

One body of research results to be presented will be the findings of the Marie Curie comparative Baltic research project conducted in collaboration with Baltic Doctoral students. However, it's also intended that the Conference acts as a forum of dissemination of current research results on labour and working environment issues produced by ongoing research activity by other scholars active in the Baltic universities, and more widely in the post-communist new Member States.

The proposed outcomes of the event:

• Exploration of potential synergies between a variety of disparate researchers and research organisations with a few to creating added value, in a previously neglected area. Among them would be the further development of the Baltic Centre of Labour Studies;
• Institutional output - the Conference will help in bringing together institutions dealing with labour market issues and promote better cooperation among them;
• Identification of the areas necessary for research - the Conference will be a benchmarking event, taking a stock of the existing research and seeking to identify the areas where further research incentives are required;
• Public policy initiatives- the Conference aims at creating a receptive policy environment with local stakeholder involvement, particularly of the social partners (trade unions and employers).
• Sustainability - the Conference will form a basis further discussions in the areas related to social dialogue and work environment and the exploration of funding and teaching opportunities.

The main Conference target:

• Students and academics performing research and interested in the issues of European Studies, economic and political development, law, administration and social dialogue and work environment;
• Public policy makers; trade unions and employers organisations
• Institutions involved in the management of the European Social Fund;
• Other persons interested in the themes to be discussed.

The organisers would welcome papers both from within the Baltic region and more widely, from the new European Union Member States or accession Central and East European countries.

It is envisaged that about 100 people will be participating in the event. There is no participation fee for the participants from the Baltic States or other new Member States. Participation fee for the participants of the other countries is 250 EUR. The conference organisers will seek to provide a small number of bursaries towards the costs of travel and accommodation of authors of accepted peer reviewed abstracts from new Member States. The organisers however cannot at this stage guarantee such support.

Abstracts, from 500 to 1000 words, should be sent by July 1, 2006 to Ms. Ieva Sloka | Email: Ieva.Sloka@lu.lv.

The abstracts in Times New Roman point size 12 should include the following information:

• Title
• Authors and affiliations;
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions

The full Conference papers will be considered for publication by the Scientific Committee, in collaboration with Charles Woolfson, who is guest editor of a volume of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health (Editor-in-chief Dr Joe Ladou, USA) scheduled for publication in 2007.

The participants will be notified on whether they are invited to present the paper by July 15, 2006. Persons interested in participating in the Conference without presenting a paper are invited to inform Ms Ieva Sloka: Ieva.Sloka@lu.lv.

The Scientific Committee
Laurent Vogel, Health and Safety Department, ETUI-REHS, Brussels; Professor Linda Clarke, University of Westminster, UK; Emeritus Professor Charles Levenstein, University of Massachusetts, Lowell; Dr. Jan Popma, senior researcher, Hugo Sinzheimer Instituut, The Netherlands; Professor Andrew Watterson, University of Stirling, UK.

Official Sponsor
European Institute for Construction Labour Research

The Conference Organiser
The event is organised under the banner of the Marie Curie Chair Project. Marie Curie chairs are European-level appointments, across both the Member States and Candidate Countries, under the Framework 6 programme. The mission of the Marie Curie chair for the Baltic States is to conduct a personal research programme, and to provide doctoral and post-graduate supervision in dissertation and thesis work, and to encourage new research, especially in the field of work environment and social dialogue. Another important task of the chair is to provide individual career advice to younger researchers who may be considering physical mobility in the context of the new enlarged Europe.

The holder of the Marie Curie chair for the Baltic States is senior Scottish academic Charles Woolfson, from the School of Law, University of Glasgow. For more information, please contact the website www.eurofaculty.lv/MarieCurie.

What is the electronic driver licence check?

As part of the Road Safety Bill currently going through parliament in the UK, the Government is 'reviewing road traffic offences involving bad driving'. New charges are proposed for causing death by careless and illegal (such as disqualified or unlicensed) driving. This has brought driver licence checks into focus for the UK fleet industry.

• Fleet News (April 28 2005) described how licence checks carried out by UK fleets have uncovered staff driving illegally on work business, including 1 in 1,500 driving on a provisional licence. According to Fleet News the results demonstrate the importance of fleets carrying out regular licence checks, as an integral part of any company's risk assessment strategy.
• Brake's Fleet Safety Forum News (May 2005) highlighted that 1 in 6 fleet drivers in the UK have 3 or more points on their licence. Speeding, drink driving, running red lights, careless driving and incorrect insurance are the most common offences - all of which are strong predictors of accident involvement.
• Commercial Motor (May 26 2005) reported on a 'desperate' truck driver threatened with jail for driving when disqualified and using a duplicate licence to obtain work. They concluded that 'it is essential to check drivers' licences with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) before offering them employment'.
• Research undertaken by Dr Barry Watson from the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety suggests that in Australia unlicensed drivers are involved in almost 10% of the national road toll. In the UK, it is estimated that there are over 1 million unlicensed drivers. Licence endorsements, for example for speeding, have been clearly linked to higher accident rates. Drivers who park in illegal places are more likely to engage in other criminal activities.
• More positively, US research published by NAFA Fleet Executive in May 2005, showed that conducting the US equivalent motor vehicle record (MVR) checks is good business, because MVR checks help predict driver risk and reduces costs. The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) specifies the steps required in an MVR program, recommending that polices regarding driver licensing should be clear and uniformly enforced by fleet mangers. Failing to act on negative information revealed in MVR checks can be ruinous, with negligent hiring and entrustment lawsuits resulting in increasingly high judgments.

Interactive Driving Systems has helped many organisations in the US to successfully undertake their MVR checks online. The data is fed directly into the Virtual Fleet Risk Manager's information system, allowing drivers to be effectively indexed and relevant risk management countermeasures generated depending on their violation/offence record.

We are delighted to announce that we have teamed up with Intelligent Data Systems to provide a similar innovative electronic Licence Check service for the UK. The service will allow employers to check the licences of employees and others who drive on company business in order to confirm: (1) their licence is valid, (2) employee is licensed to drive the vehicle allocated to them and (3) details of any driving licence endorsements.

The Licence Check service combines the risk assessment and information management systems of the award winning Virtual Fleet Risk Manager with the unique process offered by Intelligent Data Systems. More details are show below:

• Unique electronic data interface, enabling checking and verification of individual driving licences and delivery of results in a secure web based format.
• The only electronic solution available in the UK, it submits and receives licence information electronically to highlight organisational exposure to 'at risk' drivers, who can be helped with tailored risk management programs, including more frequent Licence Checks than for low risk drivers.
• Bespoke online reporting structure for individual clients through secure dedicated password protected web pages with instant access to driver records.
• Simple to implement - clients provide an Excel spreadsheet of participant driver names, employee numbers and addresses, after which the entire process is fully managed - providing an effective intervention with minimum operational disruption.
• Through the Virtual Fleet Risk Manager, licence records are linked and indexed with other important fleet information, such as risk assessment, crash and training outcomes, to provide 24/7/365 data visibility online.
• The whole process is managed electronically, with the potential for human data errors, minimised.

For details, and a demonstration, of the electronic driver Licence Check service and how it can help to manage your work-related road safety in the UK or USA, please contact us:

• UK / Europe - Andy Cuerden | Email: andycuerden@roadrisk.net | Tel: (01484) 400399
• USA / Americas - Ed Dubens | Email: Eddubens@roadrisk.net | Tel: 0609 465 4001

Dr Will Murray, Research Director, Interactive Driving Systems, UK - AUSTRALIA - EU - USA | Tel: +44 (0)1484-400399 | Mobile: +44 (0)7713-415454 | Email: willmurray@roadrisk.net | Web: www.virtualriskmanager.net, www.highwaycode.net and www.vfsm.net.

Homeland Defense Journal invites you to attend a unique and timely training event on: Terrorism and the Suicide Bomb Attack Recognition, prevention and response planning

Wednesday, 14 September 2005, NRECA Executive Conference Centre (Lobby Level - Conference Room CC1) 4301 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22203, USA.

With the very recent attacks in London, the FBI and DHS are warning state and local partners to be on the alert for suicide bombers. The threat is not only with individuals who strap themselves with explosives, but with terrorists using large vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (LVBIED) and man-portable/hand-carried IEDs. Homeland Defense Journal's Terrorism and the Suicide Bomb Attack - based on U.S. and other international case studies - is designed for advanced levels of government and security personnel to provide you with relevant information about the motivation, training, equipment, techniques and operational methods used by terrorist bombers, with particular attention on the suicide bomber.

Homeland Defense Journal's Terrorism and the Suicide Bomb Attack will provide you with background on the different bombing methods employed by different terror groups, assist you with detection techniques for Suicide Terrorists, help you to understand what an effective protective policy might look like, and give considerable detail about attempted and actual incidents that have occurred in the United States and overseas.

This workshop is not only designed for local, state and federal agencies dealing with today's security concerns, but will also be of extreme value if you are a security manager for a government building, school or corporate headquarters. By gaining an understanding of who the terrorists are, how different terrorist groups gather intelligence and operate, the nature of terrorist explosive devices, and how the devices may be detected and stopped, you will be able to work more closely with your security staff and local agencies in creating security plans that may mitigate or avoid disasters.

What You Will Learn

• The nature of explosives and terrorist devices
• The different methods used by terrorist groups in committing their attacks
• Operational terrorist attack details and how terrorist success may be prevented
• U.S. experience from recent suicide bombings and lessons learned
• How to respond safely to bomb threats and actual incidents

You'll see specific incident photographs and videos of actual post-attack scenes and footage shot by terrorists detailing bomb-making instructions. Mock suicide terrorist explosive devices ranging from a "shoe bomb" to suicide vests will be used during the workshop to illustrate various teaching points. (These are training aids only and all simulated explosive materials are completely inert.)

Topics You Will Cover

• The history of terrorist bombings
• The rationale and justifications of suicide terror bombings
• The organization, recruitment and training of suicide bombers
• Modus Operandi and profiles of suicide bombers
• Technical details about IED construction and concealment techniques
• Types of devices used such as bombs in trucks, boats, gliders and other conveyances
• Dealing with the armed suicide bomber, combined attacks and secondary devices
• The outlines of a successful bomb threat and response plan

Who Should Attend

• Federal, state and local security planners involved with Homeland Security
• Law enforcement, emergency responders and private security companies
• Military personnel involved in security, protection or counter-terrorism
• Ship and air safety officers
• Corporate security officers
• Homeland security experts and officials

About the Speaker

Leo West, an EOD and Counterterrorism Consultant with Telemus Solutions, is a retired FBI Supervisor having over 26 years experience as an Agent in the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. His extensive experience in various counterterrorism, criminal and crime scene investigations includes 7½ years on the Chicago Terrorism Task Force and over 9 years as a senior Forensic Examiner in the FBI Laboratory's Explosives Unit. He was Program Manager of the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC), is a currently certified Bomb Technician, and is a recognized Court Expert in explosives and hazardous devices.

Mr. West was the senior supervisor in charge of all FBI Laboratory activities in the 9/11 investigation and has led forensic and crime scene investigative teams at domestic and foreign bombing incidents including those at the World Trade Center, Oklahoma City, Khobar Towers, TWA 800, the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania, the USS Cole, the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, the French ship LIMBURG, as well as suicide bombings in Casablanca and Istanbul.

Mr. West has organized and instructed at numerous training courses in bombing and counterterrorism matters to many foreign and domestic police agencies, military and critical infrastructure security forces, and he is an advisor to the National Institute of Justice Technical Working Group on Bombing Investigations. Mr. West attended the Hazardous Devices School, the Naval EOD School, and received numerous explosives, CBRN, arson, tactical and terrorism-related training courses in the U.S. and abroad. His formal education includes an M.F.S. from George Washington University and an M.P.A. from Indiana University.

Our Sponsors

• Homeland Defense Journal
• Medical Planning Resources, Inc.
• INPUT at www.input.com or (703) 707-3500

If you would like to become a sponsor or exhibitor at this event, please contact Cara Lombardi, (703) 807-2743.

Registration Fee

• Industry - $495 per person**
• Small Business ($100 employees or less) - $395 per person**
• Government - $295 per person**

** All registrations must be paid by the course start date (or paid at the registration desk.) Each attendee must show a valid Driver's License or Government ID to be allowed in the course. Market*Access reserves the right to deny attendance to any person.

Market*Access International, 4301 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1003, Arlington, VA 22203

EurOhse2005 One-day Masterclass on Fire Risk Assessment and Business Continuity Planning and Management, 29 November 2005, Stratford

This One-day Masterclass on Fire Risk Assessment and Business Continuity Planning and Management is to be presented on 29 November 2005 at the Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK by Les Moseley - Director of the Coventry Centre for Disaster Management and Programme Manager - University of Coventry, UK and Dennis Davies CBE, OStJ, QFSM, CEng, CCMI, FIFireE(Life), MEI - Independent Fire Adviser - International Committee for the Prevention and Extinction of Fire (CTIF) and formerly HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services, Scotland.

The Masterclass aims to build on existing knowledge and skills in Risk and Hazard Analysis for Fire Risk Assessment and develop further knowledge in Continuity Planning.

Learning Objectives

At the completion of the workshop participants will have:

• Increased their knowledge of current practice in Risk Profiling
• Practiced Hazard Analysis
• Developed further knowledge in Fire Risk Assessment
• Carried out a Business Impact Analysis
• Considered the needs of Business Continuity Management for their company/organisation.

The Masterclass is aimed at: OSH managers, risk managers and emergency and business continuity planners in industry, commerce and local and central government.

Content of the day:

• Case studies based on real incidents
• Current Fire Risk Assessment models
• Development and application of Business Impact Analysis tools
• Emergency and Business Continuity Planning

Les Moseley is Director of the Coventry Centre for Disaster Management and Programme Manager for the professional diploma courses including the Diploma in Business Continuity Management. Before joining Coventry University, Les spent 16 years in the British Fire Service as a Senior Officer and 14 years working in Emergency Planning. Immediately before joining the University he was Chief Emergency Planning Officer and Principal Officer with the West Midlands Fire & Civil Defence Authority and prior tothis, County Emergency Planning Officer for Warwickshire County Council. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Civil Defence and Disaster Studies, a Graduate Member of the Institution of Fire Engineers and a Member of the Emergency Planning Society. Les' research interests include vulnerability assessment, preparedness planning and the management of disasters. Les is also an advisor to the International Civil Defence Organisation and the World Health Organisation and regularly support them in education initiatives worldwide. Les is also a regular contributor to the local and national media and recently appeared on BBC2's 'If ...the lights go out' and 'Terror Alert' on Sky One.

Dennis Davies became an independent fire adviser, working with government and commercial clients in 2004 after 39 years active involvement in the fire service. As HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland he was responsible for assessing the performance of all Scotland's' brigades and advising Ministers and the Scottish Executive on fire matters. Between 1986 and 1999 he was the Chief Fire Officer for Cheshire Fire Brigade.

Dennis joined the fire service in 1965 in his hometown Walsall. He subsequently transferred on promotion to Cheshire 1971 and, having served in a very wide range of safety, technical and operational posts became the Brigade's Chief Fire Officer. The area has a significant petrochemical industry and his experience includes command management at and contingency planning for major incidents. The Brigade was also extremely active and innovative in the promotion of community safety.

The Chairman for the day is Professor Peter Waterhouse, the Honorary Visiting Professor of Occupational Safety in the Robens Centre of the European Institute of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, UK.

This is a unique opportunity to attend this Masterclass to be given by two international experts ...make sure that you have a place and make your reservation now!

Organised by Angel Business Publications and Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd, the Masterclass will be followed by the EurOhse2005 conference that will be held on 30 November 2005 - 1 December 2005 at the Stratford Manor Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, UK. This is the third year for this very popular, informative conference that keeps you up-to-date and provides excellent networking opportunities and will provide key points for future activities for all those responsible for securing good standards of health and safety in the workplace, and excellent networking opportunities. 14 eminent speakers with backgrounds in government, inspectorates, industry, research and education will discuss a range of topics.

Chairmen for the two days will be John Howard OBE, CEO RoSPA and Dr Peter Waterhouse, Robens Institute.

Why not book both the Masterclass and the EurOhse2005 conference?
For further details contact: EurOhse 2005 and Masterclass, Jesse Bhadal, Conference Manager, Angel Business Communications Ltd, 34 Warwick Road, Kenilworth CV8 1HE, Warwickshire, UK | Tel: +44 (0) 1926 512424 | Fax: +44 (0) 1926 512948 | email: jesse@angelbc.co.uk

For further details contact the programme organiser Sheila Pantry at Tel: +44 (0) 1909 771024 or Email: sp@sheilapantry.com

OSH UPDATE: New Internet-based service is available and already being used worldwide
Why not try this new service today? Over 500,000 records

Want to keep up-to-date in worldwide occupational health, safety, hygiene, road safety, water safety, environment trends and the latest information? Do budget constraints not allow you to buy all the journals, newsletters and documents that contain the latest information? Can't afford the time to search for the latest information, legislation and standards? No staff to search for this information? And no time yourself to spend hours searching for information?

Then this newly launched, very affordable Internet based service OSH UPDATE, from Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd is the answer for you. Powered by Head Software International's Headfast/Discovery Internet publishing software, OSH UPDATE is now available and is updated monthly www.oshupdate.com

It NOW contains ten bibliographic databases from worldwide authoritative sources such as:

• UK Health and Safety Executive HSELINE,
• UK Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA),
• NIOSHTICS US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH),
• Canada Ryerson University RILOSH
• CISDOC the International Labour Office CIS Health and Safety Centre,
• ILO Recommendations, Protocols and Conventions
• European Union legislation and other legislation sources and
• OSH standards specifications including those from the British Standards Institution.
• Publications from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
• UK Legislation covering health, safety, environment, fire

OSH UPDATE records has links to the full text where possible.

OSH UPDATE will expand - we are continuing to make agreements with other well-known information producers around the world and these databases will also be included. As well as the latest information, many reference sources go back 80 or more years and so a valuable tool for researchers.

This new aggregation of databases contains thousands of relevant references with abstracts or keywords and will keep you and your colleagues alerted to hot topics such as the health risks of nanotechnology, corporate killing and corporate social responsibility, bio-terrorism, management of road risks, preparedness and business continuity, risk assessment.

The title price for a single user via the Internet is GBP250.00/Euros 360.00 /US$ 450.00 per year - less than 68 pence/1 Euro /1.2 dollars per day

The price* (see below for further details) reflects our aim to bring health and safety guidance, advice, research, journal articles, papers, standards to the attention of health and safety practitioners and managers, researchers, trade union safety representatives, occupational physicians, information specialists in industry, colleges and universities, government staff, inspectors, university and college safety directors, university and college lecturers and those in training - at a cost that is affordable and a service that is time efficient.

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ORDER FORM FOR 30 DAY FREE TRIAL OSH UPDATE

If you are interested in taking up this service on a 30 DAY FREE trial please complete the OSH UPDATE Interest Form, or contact us to ask further questions.

Sheila Pantry OBE BA FCLIP, Sheila Pantry Associates Ltd | 85 The Meadows, Todwick, Sheffield S26 1JG, UK | Tel: +44 (0) 1909 771024 | Fax: +44 (0) 1909 772829 | Email: sp@sheilapantry.com | www.sheilapantry.com | www.oshworld.com | www.shebuyersguide.com | www.oshupdate.com
Electronic Products: Environment and Waste Plus | Fire Worldwide | OSH Ireland | OSH UPDATE

*Subscription for one year - monthly updates OSH UPDATE

• Single user GBP 250.00 per year
• 2 - 4 simultaneous users GBP 375.00 per year
• 5 - 8 simultaneous users GBP 500.00 per year
• 9 - 12 simultaneous users GBP 750.00 per year
• 13 - 16 simultaneous users GBP 1000.00 per year
• if more simultaneous users are required then please ask price