The health and safety
of the world's working class

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Violence in the Workplace—a Global Problem
By Gustavo Capdevila, IPS, 20 July 1998. Earning the daily bread can cost not only sweat, but also physical integrity, health, sexual privacy—and even life itself, says the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in a new report on violence in the workplace.
World Health And Safety Norms At Risk? ISO or ILO?
ICEM Update, 8 February 2000. A row is brewing between two Geneva-based international agencies over who is to codify worldwide occupational health and safety management norms. Workers' right to a global say on workplace health and safety could be under threat if the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) next month votes itself competent to tackle this issue.
Surveying the damage: Unions are the experts at spotting workplace ill health
Hazards, 1 August 2000. Union research is the best way to track down workplace ill-health and find the solutions to Britain's sick workplaces. What you can do. Techniques for stress reduction.
How to Fix the Pains of Work
By Nancy A. Melville, Health Scout, Sunday 12 November 2000. Coping on the job with Repetitive stress or overuse syndrome. Working at the computer.
Stress: The effects
BBC News, Monday 25 June 2001. Stress for some people results in serious illness and death. Some jobs, particularly in the public services, are thought to be particularly stressful. It is to employers's interest to cut down on stress.
‘Spotlight’ on Jukka Takala, Director of ILO Safe Work
ICFTU OnLine..., 25 April 2002. Brussels 25 April, 2002 (ICFTU OnLine): Events observing the Day of Mourning for Dead and Injured Workers are taking place worldwide on 28th April. To explain the issues at stake on this day, the ICFTU is launching a series of interviews, the first of these is here with Jukka Takala.
Work is three times as deadly as war, says UN
By Andrew Osborn, The Guardian (London), Thursday 2 May 2002. The ILO named agriculture, construction and mining as the three most dangerous occupations. The total is now three times the annual number of deaths in wars every year (650,000), or the equivalent of a September 11 tragedy every day. Wealthy countries export the problem.
Deadly Boring Jobs
By Ben Shouse, Science NOW, 31 May 2002. Workers who have little control over how they do their jobs have an increased risk of death from any cause. Giving employees more freedom could benefit their health.
The modern workplace is a weapon of mass destruction
From Eric Lee, 28 April 2003. April 28 is Workers Memorial Day, which shares the same acronym (WMD) as ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’. In the modern world, the workplace has become a weapon of mass destruction. What you can do about it. On-line resources.
Death by work
By Ignacio Ramonet, Le Monde diplomatique, June 2003. THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) has just published a report (1), largely ignored in the press, claiming that every year 270 million employees are injured worldwide in accidents in the workplace and 160 million affected by work-related illnesses. The blood tax in relation to current debate about pensions and retirement.
UNI supports CWA campaign on safety for media workers in war zones
UNI, 5 April 2004. Independent and accurate news coverage of military conflicts depends on the ability of journalists and media workers, no matter what news agency they work for, to stay out of harm's way and be free from fear that they are being targeted. Iraq and Palestine.
April 28: World Day for Safety and Health at Work: work kills more than wars
By Luc Demaret and Ahmed Khalef, Dissent Voice, 27 April 2004. Many tragedies could be prevented, the ILO believes. And yet, twenty years after the Bhopal disaster, which killed 2,500 people and injured 200,000 in the space of a few hours, the situation has scarcely improved.
China: Can China improve work safety?
Asian Labour News, 8 May 2004. Despite the title, it's more about the history of work safety in the US. At the core an interesting issue (without actually stating it): how do the Chinese go about develop[ing the] basic legal institutions that are the key to improving work safety in China?