Transcript European Work Hazards Network Conference 2006

International Occupational
Health and Safety Risk
Transfers
Andrew Watterson
Occupational and Environmental Health Research
Group
Improving Health Outcomes Research Programme
University of Stirling, Scotland
International Occupational Health and
Safety Risk Transfers Workshop
Workshop framework
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The issues
Case studies
Controls and standards
Trade union/NGO actions
Campaigning
The issues
• Increase/reduction of ‘risks’ (hazards/exposures - export)
in materials, processes, work organisations etc
• Increase/decrease in numbers of workers exposed
• Increase/decrease in types of workers exposed and
possible community/environmental exposures
• Increase/decrease in monitoring, surveillance of hazards
and risks
• Increase/decrease in regulation/inspection/enforcement
of laws on risk movement and risk arrival
• Increase/decrease in civil society checks and balances
on risk transfer. Freedom of information, media
investigation, rights of trade unions and NGOs.
International Occupational Health
and Safety Risk Transfers
• Through capital movement – companies
and industries
• Through science and technology
movement – such as biotechnology
techniques, nanotechnology, nuclear
technology
• Through labour movement
Trends which may lead to OHSE
issues?
Movement of people
• Between countries
• Within countries
Movement of industries
and services
• High wage to low
wage countries and
regions
• High technology to
low technology
• High technology to
high skills, low wages
and low technology
Case studies
from workshop members
Risk transfer from Latvia:
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In December 2004, Swedish trade unions launched a boycott of Laval &
Partneri, a Latvian construction firm doing building work near Stockholm,
calling for the Latvian workers involved to be paid the same as their
Swedish counterparts. The conflict has attracted considerable attention
in Latvia, with the government stating that EU free market rules are being
breached, and employers' organisations and trade unions becoming
involved
•
The Latvian company obtained a contact to build a school building. The
construction work started in late 2004, and 14 Latvian building workers
are involved.
Risk control in Latvia?
• Baltcom GSM, a limited liability company,
incorporated in Latvia to construct and operate a
mobile communications network using the GSM
900 standard. The commercial service launch of the
company took place on 18 March 1997
• “ During the selection and planning of buildings and
construction activities, Baltcom has taken account
of all relevant environmental and worker health and
safety standards. Technical inspectors, with
responsibility for occupational health and safety, will
be responsible for enforcing health and safety
requirements to ensure prevention of accidents,
work safety and occupational health. Noise and
exhaust emissions from emergency power
generators will meet international standards”.
Examples
Roznov
Promoters and inhibitors of occupational and
environmental health standards
How to export OHSE promoters with risks?
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Promoters
Effective standards (EU,ILO and other)
Inhibitors
economic decline – low wages,
conditions
Effective information
de-regulation
Effective training
non-enforcement
Effective enforcement
weak/passive workforce
Committed managers
workforce
◄ foreign investment?►
Adequate investment/economy
professionalized workforce?
Strong workplace organization
isolated workforce/community
TUs
no TUs/sweetheart TUs
Active environmental NGOs
inactive or uninterested NGOs
Vigilant media
captured media/
lack of information about hazards
Modifiers:
Regional and national economic, political and social variations.
Company variations
Enforcement traditions and resources
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Underpinning controls on risk transfer in the
electronics industry
the development of a charter for labor inspectors that offers meaningful
protection and support for them in their work, adequate staff and resources,
and promotes best practice and autonomy from industry and state influences
national governments’ commitment to introducing enforcing good health and
safety laws – prescriptive where necessary and risk based where appropriate that are properly enforced and linked to meaningful criminal and civil sanctions
for those companies that break the OHSE laws.
government and industry recognition of the rights of workers to organize
generally and specifically on occupational health and safety matters linked to
rights to receive information, negotiate with companies, inspect workplaces and
stop work when hazardous conditions are identified
an organized, well equipped – in terms of information education, rights –
workforce which has clear trade union rights to address workplace health and
safety. These will provide both another line in enforcing regulation – perhaps
through the Swedish worker rights not only to inspect workplaces but to stop
work in potentially dangerous situations.
an alert, active and independent media not cowed or corralled by government
and industry
community and environmental groups willing to work with trade unions and
employees to press for effective enforcement of work environment as well as
wider environmental laws.
better educated and informed boards and managers who take the rhetoric of
corporate governance and OHSM systems and apply them to raising standards
and practices further in their own semiconductor plants
Country
TU
Strength
+ -
Environmental
group strength
+ -
Russia
--
+
Belarus
----
Poland
Research
reports
Cancer
reports
Repro
reports
State of
Occup med
+ -
Yes
No
Yes
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No
No
No
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Yes - 2
No
No
?+ +
Czech
?+
++
No
No
No
?+
Slovakia
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No
No
No
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Romania
-
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No
No
No
?
UK
+++
++++
Yes
Yes
few
Yes
+
USA
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++++
Yes
Yes
few
Yes
++
Agricultural risk transfer?
Polish agricultural workers in UK
Chinese cocklers on Morecambe
Bay UK
Controls
Legislative safeguards at various
levels
Obstacles to regulation of risks
that underpin economic drivers
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Nature of organizations – technical and political controls over civil
servants and local government officers
Lack of transparency and limited or no freedom of information
rights
Lack of resources to support staff workloads/ needs, fund
investigations and possible prosecutions
Lack of staff – enforcement, technical, scientific and legal staff - to
pursue prosecutions
Patronage – overt and covert of those who do the bidding of those
who control or employ them.
Political and commercial interference – difficult to assess but
indicated by recent research
Lack of accountability – technocratic decision-making divorced
from public accountability?
Legal constraints in drafting of laws and legal constraints in
operations of courts.
Which bodies act and how?
1. Organisations
• ILO
• WTO- in the past IMF linked to World Bank
• EU – genetic modification, antibiotics in food
• National legislation
2. Actions
• Health and safety laws and codes ( general laws and specific
controls eg gangmaster laws in UK
• Inspections
• Enforcement through labour inspectors and courts
• Prior informed consent – on materials and not processes, work
organisation
ILO policy affecting risk transfer
ILO Convention 139 1974 on Cancer causing substances calls for the
substitution of known cancer causing substances
Article 1
• 1. Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall periodically determine
the carcinogenic substances and agents to which occupational exposure
shall be prohibited or made subject to authorisation or control, and those to
which other provisions of this Convention shall apply.
2. Exemptions from prohibition may only be granted by issue of a certificate
specifying in each case the conditions to be met.
Article 2
• 1. Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall make every effort to
have carcinogenic substances and agents to which workers may be exposed
in the course of their work replaced by non-carcinogenic substances or
agents or by less harmful substances or agents; in the choice of substitute
substances or agents account shall be taken of their carcinogenic, toxic and
other properties.
ILO action on risk transfer
• The International Labour Office (ILO) is to
pursue a global ban on asbestos, the
world’s biggest ever industrial killer. The
landmark decision came with the adoption
of a resolution on 14 June 2006 at the ILO
conference in Geneva and followed a high
level union campaign ( Source: Hazards
2006)
ILO C187 Convention concerning the promotional
framework for occupational safety and health,
2006
• Article 2
• 1. Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall promote
continuous improvement of occupational safety and health to
prevent occupational injuries, diseases and deaths, by the
development, in consultation with the most representative
organizations of employers and workers, of a national policy,
national system and national programme.
• 2. Each Member shall take active steps towards achieving
progressively a safe and healthy working environment through a
national system and national programmes on occupational safety
and health by taking into account the principles set out in
instruments of the International Labour Organization (ILO) relevant
to the promotional framework for occupational safety and health.
• 3. Each Member, in consultation with the most representative
organizations of employers and workers, shall periodically consider
what measures could be taken to ratify relevant occupational safety
and health Conventions of the ILO.
ILO C184 Safety and Health in Agriculture
Convention, 2001
• Article 4
• 1. In the light of national conditions and practice
and after consulting the representative
organizations of employers and workers
concerned, Members shall formulate, carry out
and periodically review a coherent national
policy on safety and health in agriculture. This
policy shall have the aim of preventing accidents
and injury to health arising out of, linked with, or
occurring in the course of work, by eliminating,
minimizing or controlling hazards in the
agricultural working environment.
ILO Standards
for migrant workers
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C97Migration for Employment Convention (Revised)1949
R86Migration for Employment Recommendation (Revised)1949
C143Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention1975
R151Migrant Workers Recommendation1975
C118Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention1962
C157Maintenance of Social Security Rights Convention1982
R167Maintenance of Social Security Rights Recommendation1983
EU controls
EU directives that may impact on
risk transfer
• General directives
• Specific directives such as REACH
WTO
• The WTO, the Environment and Health and Safety Standards
“Because the WTO is more powerful than its predecessors, critics
claim that it poses a threat to national sovereignty. Concerns about
the ability of nations to set their own environmental and health and
safety agendas have figured prominently in these critiques. In
addition, critics suggest that the WTO prioritises trade objectives at
the expense of environmental and health and safety objectives.”
“The paper explores the extent to which the WTO has been able to
reconcile trade, environmental and health and safety objectives by
analysing its rulings on these matters. Overall, this analysis
suggests that the WTO dispute resolution process has balanced all
three sets of objectives. However, it is important to note the small
number of disputes to date; only 21of the 175 disputes before the
WTO involve environmental and OHS matters. WTO has only made
a decision in 6 cases ( Kelly T The World Economy 2006)
WTO
• 4 health and safety cases raised but only one was OHS: others
related to food. “The WTO upheld France's asbestos ban, the other
three rulings went against the country imposing health and safety
restrictions”.
( Kelly 2006)
• “The WTO appellate body upheld the panel’s findings that France's
ban could be justified under the agreement’s health & safety
exemptions. The panel rejected Canada’s claim that controlled use
of asbestos could meet France’s health & safety objectives. While
the panel recognized that controlled use reduces risks to certain
individuals involved in the manufacturing or processing of asbestos,
it ruled that controlled use did not offer protection sufficient to meet
the level of risk acceptable to France. The appellate body concurred
emphasizing WTO members’ right to set their own risk levels (WTO
2000c and 2001a). “ (Kelly 2006)
World Bank and risk controls
International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation (IFC the World Bank's
private-sector lending arm) today posted additional sector-specific draft
environmental, health and safety guidelines which it proposes to adopt
for 63 different sectors. The sector guidelines posted in August have a
closing date for consultation of 30 September. The sectors currently
Cover 20 industries and more will follow:
• Geothermal Power Generation, Electric Power Transmission and
• Distribution, Poultry Processing, Breweries, and Offshore Oil and
Gas
• Development.
The IFC will accept comments on these guidelines. Emphasis is mainly
on pollution
ITGWFU view on what should be in
IFC consultation
a)
The relevant ILO Conventions and
Instruments that address occupational and
environmental protection or promotion,
b)
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational
Enterprises and other guidelines for the related
oversight of governments, e.g. for chemicals,
and
c)
Global agreements and guidelines for the
protection of the environment by UNEP, WHO
and others.
TU/ NGO controls and wider
campaigning
Campaigning? Who, what, how etc
• Through NGOs
• International trade secretariats/ Global Union Federations
eg BWI etc
- EWHN and Hazards groups
- PAN Europe on pesticides
- ICRT on electronics
- TIE
- No Sweat campaign targets consumers on clothes
- War on Want on poverty
- CAFOD on food, electronics
- Collegium Ramazzini on asbestos
- WWF and FOE on pollution
Trade Union actions
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International
Regional – ETUC ►ETUI-REHS ►Nanocap
National
Sectoral
Workplace
Other elements that TUs may engage with?
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR?)
• ISO 14001(environment) and OHSAS 18001
(occupational health and occupational safety).
International Framework Agreements BWI view
2004
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“ Risk management, became one of the strongest components for MNCs to sign
Global
Company Agreements with Union Federations which have a global network of
member organisations around the world.
The value added for MNCs is that TUs are able to discover severe workplace
problems (which are not solved locally) at an early stage and take action before it
becomes an issue for the media and the image of the company is damaged. Workers
and their trade unions function as an alerting system for partner companies, which
receive "in house" information on bad management practices, corruption and
bribery in subsidiary companies or in the supply chain.
Multinational companies signing Global Company Agreements with Global Union
Federations (GUF) commit themselves to respect workersÕ rights based on the core
conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The company should also agree to offer decent wages and working conditions as
well as to provide a safe and healthy working environment; and in many cases they
contain a complaint and/or monitoring system and cover also suppliers and
subcontractors.
Some consider framework agreements to be negotiated codes of conduct with
complaints systems; however, this is not a useful way of looking at these
agreements which are qualitatively different from codes of conduct.
These framework agreements constitute a formal recognition of social partnership
at the global level. These agreements provide a global framework for protecting
trade union rights and encouraging social dialogue and collective bargaining.
Therefore they complement and do not substitute for agreements at the national or
local level. “
International Framework Agreements
Global Union Agreements Agreements concluded between
Transnational Companies and Global Union Federations
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* Agreement
includes explicit health and safety clauses.
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Company
Country Sector
Euradius *
Global Print industry
RoyalBAM Grp* Global Construction
Securitas *
Global Security services
PSA
Peugot/Citroën* France Auto industry
Arcelor *
Global
Metal Industry
Lafarge *
Global
Construction
Stabilio *
Germany Retail
Gebr. Röchling* Germany Auto supply
BMW *
Germany Automotive
EADS *
Netherlands Aerospace
Veidekke *
Norway Construction
Rhodia *
France Chemical
Electricite de France
(EDF Group) * France Energy
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UNI = Union Network International
HAZARDS MAGAZINE • WORKERS' HEALTH INTERNATIONAL NEWS 2006
GUF
UNI
BWI
UNI
Year
2006
2006
2006
IMF
IMF
BWI/ICEM
BWI
IMF
IMF
IMF
BWI
ICEM
2006
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
ICEM
2005
International Trade union action
On specific issues:-
BWI campaign on asbestos bans through
ILO
International controls on corporate
harm?
• Corporate homicide laws (Australian and Italian
models?)
- that apply both to workplace fatal injuries
and fatal diseases
• Corporate harm laws that would cover injury and
non-fatal diseases
• Laws that would allow companies that transfer
and fail to control risks to be prosecuted in their
‘home’ countries
• Recovery of costs – personal, medical, economic
– from those companies that damage workers in
risk transfer enterprises. OHSE ‘polluter pays
principle