health and safety
Articles about health and safety, and struggles over health and safety in the workplace.
Miners' strikes in North and South America
Miners in Canada, Mexico and Peru are either currently striking or planning strike action.
In Canada the mining group Inco has been forced to cancel deliveries as a strike by 3300 workers at its Sudbury Mine in Ontario. Workers have been on strike for a week after negotiations on a new contract broke down.
Mexico: miners strike against government interference
Miners in Mexico launched an unlimited wildcat strike on Wednesday last week.
They are calling for the restoration of the head of the Mining and Metal Workers Union, Napoleon Gomez Urrutia, and for improved safety conditions after an accident at a Grupo Mexico mine left 65 of their colleagues dead.
Detroit bus drivers on wildcat strike
All of Detroit's bus drivers walked out yesterday over concerns about safety and crime.
About 800 bus drivers of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26 were involved in the stoppage.
Union president Henry Gaffney said that the strike grew from his members' frustration with the growing dangers on the unpatrolled buses - two drivers were assaulted in the last two days.
Congo: discrimination and illegal practices in cement factory
Congolese workers at a cement factory in Loutété are working in what they describe as slave conditions.
Workers for Société nouvelle des ciments du Congo (Sonocc), are being paid merely 20,000 CFA (£20) per month in spite of an agreement signed with management promising them 46,799 (£49). The supposed minimum wage in Congo is 50,000 CFA per month.
China: explosion kills 15 coal miners
At least 15 workers have been killed after an explosion in a coal mine in the northern province of Shanxi.
The horrendous safety record of chinese mines, as reported previously on libcom, results in around 5000 reported deaths a year. This April was particularly bloody with a a total of 80 workers reported killed or missing in accidents.
Death, industrial action and firings at LG Electronics in Poland
At least one worker fired after industrial action. Workers demand an end to forced overtime.
LG is one of the biggest and most important companies operating in Poland. The group owns a wide variety of investments, most notably its TV and LCD monitor/ screen production in Mlawa and Biskupice Podgórne (near Wroclaw) and its refrigerator and washing machine plant in Kobierzyce.
Italy: Dockers strike after death at work
Dockers across Italy are striking today after a docker was killed yesterday in Genoa.
The 40 year old was crushed by a falling pallet weighing two tons. The three main unions (Filt-Cgil, Fit-Cisl, Uil-Trasporti) called the strike after his death, demanding stricter application of safety regulations.
Belgium: Aviapartner workers strike after fatal accident.
After a fatal accident last wednesday airport workers in Ostende went on a wildcat strike.
A spokesman for Aviapartner, the airport management company stated that all workers would return to work by tomorrow morning after an agreement was reached. Managament agreed to increase the number of stuff on duty and to increased safety measures with dangerous substances.
Belgium: Strikes across rail network
Last Thursday a wildcat strike by train drivers at the Belgian station of Termonde lead to the cancellation of many services, a spokesman for the railway claimed not to know what had triggered the unofficial action.
A strike by conductors in Wallonia on Monday paralysed most of the rail services in the south of the country. The conductors were protesting at unsafe working conditions after three conductors were assaulted in the space of a few days.
Australia: Railway workers walk off over safety
Pacific National railway workers went on unofficial strike on Sunday, reportedly over safety issues.
Alison Ribbon reported that the strike was apparently unplanned and dubbed a "wildcat strike" by the railway union.
Safety issues surrounding Pacific National have been in the headlines recently, with three derailments involving the company's trains in less than a year.
A train carrying paper from Hobart to the Burnie port derailed near Ulverstone a week ago.
