OSHA Proposes a Workplace Heat Standard

OSHA’s proposed new workplace heat standard requires employers to develop a plan to identify and address heat hazards. This plan must include monitoring heat conditions, providing water, and training employees about heat safety. The standard also sets requirements for acclimatization for new and returning employees.

The New York Game: A Baseball Tale Steeped in Labor Struggles

Kevin Baker's "The New York Game" isn't just a love letter to baseball and the Big Apple. It's a rich tapestry that weaves the evolution of America's pastime with the burgeoning organized labor movement and the fight for workplace safety. While baseball takes center stage, Baker doesn't shy away from the harsh realities early ballplayers face.

OSHA Cites Oakland NJ Company with $257,931 in Penalties

A U.S. Department of Labor inspection in June 2023 at an Oakland, NJ manufacturing company — that followed reports of two workers being injured — found employees exposed to dozens of serious safety and health hazards.

Workers' Compensation Judges Exempt from Gun Permit Requirement

A Federal Judge, in a multifaceted decision, upheld a New Jersey law exemption that allows specific individuals to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Workers’ compensation judges actively handling cases are one of the groups of individuals who are exempt from the permit requirement. 

United Hospital Supply Corp. faces $498K in penalties after amputation incident

An employee's first day of work at a southern New Jersey manufacturing facility ended tragically when he suffered the amputation of three fingers while operating a press brake without required safety guards, similar to violations cited by federal safety investigators at the facility in 2010 and 2015.

NJ Supreme Court Enhances Workplace Safety and Adopts an Updated Standard for Medical Causation

A divided NJ Supreme Court upheld a verdict for an employee who suffered mesothelioma, a fatal cancer, as a result of a product manufacturer’s failure to warn of the lethal nature of the product in the workplace. The Court acknowledged that even minor exposure to asbestos could cause disease.

"Unmasking COVID" in 2022, Where Are We Now?

A panel of infectious disease experts and public health specialists of the Veterans Administration who have been involved in the national COVID response discuss strategies to contain the spread of the Omicron variant and stay safe.

Investing for the Next Pandemic

Preparing for the next pandemic is an essential need for all employers, employees, and insurance companies.  The failure of the public health system to handle COVID-19 is evident as the death toll (675,400) fatalities) has now exceeded the 1918 Spanish Flu mortality rate.  The US CDC is encouraging preparation by announcing the opportunity for final investment. It is also incumbent upon the workers’ compensation industry to expand its efforts for pandemic preparation  

National COVID-19 Aerosol Workplace Standard Urged

Leading public health and workplace safety experts have urged the Biden Administration to invoke immediate measures to reduce the aerosol spread based COVID-19 virus. In a letter to the national pandemic response team leaders, the experts have stated that urgent action is needed on a national scale.

Protecting Workers During the Pandemic

Workplace safety is a significant issue in the waning days of the Trump Administration as Congress struggles to pass legislation before the end of the calendar year when CARES Act support terminates for many American workers. As the winter/holiday season coronavirus surge challenges hospital capacity and causing additional closure of non-essential jobs, the Republicans remain adamant about restricting lawsuits against employers.

Investigative Reporting: "Should NJ hospitals be required to tell public about staff COVID-19 outbreaks?"

Northjersey.com reporters Lindy Washburn and Dustin Racioppi have published an insightful.  investigative article on the incidence of COVIS-19 occurring in New Jersey hospitals.

The Biden Plan to Strengthen Safety in the Workplace Anticipated

As New Jersey re-implement stricter controls to contain the new surge the COVID-19, a stronger federal policy appears to be on the horizon from the incoming Biden Administration. Employers will need to prepare for the anticipated rules.

Testing Can’t Promise You a Rose Garden. But What Can It Promise?

Developing a pandemic preparedness strategy for the workplace is critical in control of COVID-19. Today's guest author, Michael Gelman, MD PhD, discusses the how the application of the latest medical information can achieve that goal.

The events of the past week have made it very clear:

Michael A Gelman MD PhD

there is no testing strategy that, alone, can guarantee safety from COVID-19. Rather, a strategy of targeted layered containment represents the best hope for reducing the risk of transmission. Even with the best testing achievable, masks help; distancing helps; being outdoors helps; reducing mass gatherings definitely helps; and in extremis, closing in-person schools and non-essential businesses helps. That’s why Governor Cuomo’s cluster action initiative, as advised by multiple nationally-recognized epidemiologists, is being implemented. It’s uncomfortable and onerous - but the shutdown in March and April was uncomfortable and onerous, and until there’s a lot more immunity than there is now, it’s the best we can do.

Workplace Testing - Pandemic Preparedness Strategy for Success

Maintaining a safe workplace is a crucial strategy in the era of COVID-19. Today's guest author, Michael Gelman, MD PhD, discusses how testing can play a critical role going forward.

A lot of people are getting very excited about Michael Mina’s proposed strategy of cheap, rapid, frequent testing. From his Op-Ed in the Times, to his appearance on TWiV, to this article in the Atlantic, there’s a lot of hope around the potential for inexpensive antigen tests, like the Abbott BinaxNow - which quickly got bought up by the Department of Health and Human Services through December’s anticipated production. It’s possible that another company funded by a U.S. Government initiative might come out with something as good, or better, in the near future. (And no, I don’t have any inside information on any of this. Not that I haven’t asked around.) All this comes amid the CDC’s controversial revision of its testing guidelines, as well as a recent FDA statement that points out the unknowns around repurposing a test, which was originally developed for diagnosis, to screen large numbers of asymptomatic persons. Meanwhile, another Times article points out what many of us have known for months: that a positive PCR test late in the course of illness may be more of a hindrance than a help. 

Health Care Workers' Hazard: Cloth Based Masked Face Masks

Infection in the workplace is now becoming a major concern as new epidemics of disease spread worldwide facilitated by the ever increasing global transportation network. The recent and urgent concerns over Flu, Ebola, Measles and Polio highlight the need to protect health workers.

A recent study published the British Medical Journal focuses on the inadequacy of current medical practices. The study of Clinical respiratory illness (CRI), influenza-like illness (ILI) and laboratory-confirmed the spread of respiratory virus infection and highlights the the problems with cloth face masks.

"We have provided the first clinical efficacy data of cloth masks, which suggest HCWs should not use cloth masks as protection against respiratory infection. Cloth masks resulted in significantly higher rates of infection than medical masks, and also performed worse than the control arm. The controls were HCWs who observed standard practice, which involved mask use in the majority, albeit with lower compliance than in the intervention arms. The control HCWs also used medical masks more often than cloth masks. When we analysed all mask-wearers including controls, the higher risk of cloth masks was seen for laboratory-confirmed respiratory viral infection."

Click here to read the entire report.
"A cluster randomised trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers"
BMJ Open 2015;5:e006577 doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006577

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Mexican Consulate, Labor Dept. Partner On Worker Protection

Today's post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from indianapublicmedia.org

Photo: Sam Klemet/WFYI Students walk outside the Mexican Consulate in Indianapolis. The United States Department of Labor is partnering with Mexican Consulates across the country, including in Indiana, to ensure worker protection. Juan Manuel Solana Morales says some Mexicans who come to the United States to work, often don’t know about all of their rights. “Sadly, we have detected that when we have new immigrants, they have different laws, different knowledge, different culture,” said Juan Manuel Solana Morales. “And, when they arrive here in the United States, sometimes they don’t understand the kind of rights that they have.” Morales is the Consul of Mexico in Indianapolis.

Saving Money, Poisoning Workers

This is a case for employers to act with moral responsibility to maintain a safe work environment, stronger regulations and changes in statutory provisions to make the workplace safer. This post was shared by Jordan Barab and comes from www.nytimes.com

The workers at Royale Comfort Seating in Taylorsville, N.C., had a simple but grueling job. For 10 hours at a stretch they spray-glued pieces of polyurethane foam into shapes that became the spongy filling of cushions sold to many top furniture brands. Unfortunately, the glue contained a dangerous chemical known as n-propyl bromide, or nPB, and the spray guns left a yellowish fog in the air that coated everything in sight. Exposure to the toxic fumes left some workers so dizzy at the end of the day that they walked as if drunk.

Worse yet, many developed long-term ailments. One worker can no longer stand or sit for more than 20 minutes without feeling excruciating pain in her spine and legs. Another lost control of his hands and could not put on clothes without help.

Jersey City, NJ, theatrical equipment company cited by OSHA for exposing workers to workplace safety and health hazards

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Acadia Scenic Inc., which builds scenery for the entertainment industry, with 22 safety and health violations, including two willful. The citations followed an April inspection, prompted by the agency's Health-High-Hazard Top 50 Local Emphasis Program and its Amputations and Combustible Dust Emphasis Program. Proposed penalties total $49,600.

The willful violations, with $28,000 in penalties, were cited for a lack of guarding on hand-fed circular ripsaws and crosscut table saws. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.

The 19 serious violations, with $21,200 in penalties, include the company's failure to keep the workplace clean and orderly; prevent accumulations of explosive dust; provide railings on stairs; establish or implement a written respiratory protection program for workers required to wear respirators; have fire extinguishers mounted and readily accessible for use; and provide an educational program on the general principles of fire extinguisher use and hazards involved for workers expected to fight incipient stage fires.

The company was also cited for failing to provide machine guarding for a miter saw; provide spreaders and nonkickback devices on two hand-fed circular ripsaws; properly adjust a work rest on grinding machinery; determine each employee's exposure to methylene chloride; provide appropriate gloves and eyewash facilities for workers using methylene chloride-containing adhesives; and develop and implement a written hazard communication program that includes training for workers exposed to hazardous chemicals. A serious violation occurs when there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

"Each of these hazards threaten the company's ability to provide employees with a safe and healthful work environment, and should be corrected immediately," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Office. "OSHA will continue to hold employers responsible when they fail to protect their workers."

Inspectors also cited the company for one other-than-serious violation, which carries a $400 penalty, for not recording a workplace injury on the employer's OSHA Form 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

Acadia Scenic Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, ask for an informal conference with OSHA's area director in Parsippany or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

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• OSHA fines South River, NJ, masonry contractor nearly $91,000 for fall, scaffold hazard
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Safety and Health Topics: Heat Stress

The International Call for Fashion Safety - Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh

MAY 13, 2013 

Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh

The undersigned parties are committed to the goal of a safe and sustainable Bangladeshi ReadyMade Garment ("RMG") industry in which no worker needs to fear fires, building collapses, or 

other accidents that could be prevented with reasonable health and safety measures. 

The signatories to this Agreement agree to establish a fire and building safety program in 

Bangladesh for a period of five years. 

The programme will build on the National Action Plan on Fire Safety (NAP), which expressly 

welcomes the development and implementation by any stakeholder of any other activities that 

would constitute a meaningful contribution to improving fire safety in Bangladesh. The 

signatories commit to align this programme and its activities with the NAP and to ensure a close 

collaboration, including for example by establishing common programme, liaison and advisory 

structures.

The signatories also welcome a strong role for the International Labour Organization (ILO), 

through the Bangladesh office as well as through international programmes, to ensure that both 

the National Action Plan, and the programme foreseen by the signatories of this Agreement, get 

implemented. 

The signatories shall develop and agree an Implementation Plan within 45 days of signing this 

Agreement. The nongovernmental organisations which are signatories to the Joint Memorandum 

of Understanding on Fire and Building Safety (dated March 15, 2012), having stated their 

intention to support the implementation of this programme, shall, at their own election, be signed 

witnesses to this Agreement. 

This Agreement commits the signatories to finance and implement a programme that will take 

cognizance of the Practical Activities described in the NAP involving, at minimum, the following 

elements:

SCOPE: The agreement covers all suppliers producing products for the signatory companies. 

The signatories shall designate these suppliers as falling into the following categories, according 

to which they shall require these supplier to accept inspections and implement remediation 

measures in their factories according to the following breakdown: 

1. Safety inspections, remediation and fire safety training at facilities representing, in the 

aggregate, not less than 30%, approximately, of each signatory company’s annual 

production in Bangladesh by volume (“Tier 1 factories”).

2. Inspection and remediation at any remaining major or long-term suppliers to each 

company (“Tier 2 factories”). Together, Tier 1 and Tier 2 factories shall represent not less 

than 65%, approximately, of each signatory company’s production in Bangladesh by 

volume. 

3. Limited initial inspections to identify high risks at facilities with occasional orders, onetime orders or those for which a company’s orders represent less than 10% of the MAY 13, 2013 

factory’s production in Bangladesh by volume (“Tier 3 factories”). Nothing in this 

paragraph shall be deemed to alleviate the obligation of each signatory company to 

ensure that those factories it designates as Tier 3 represent, in the aggregate, no more than 

35%, approximately, of its production in Bangladesh by volume. Facilities determined, as 

a result of initial inspection, to be high risk shall be subject to the same treatment as if 

they were Tier 2 factories. 

GOVERNANCE:

4. The signatories shall appoint a Steering Committee (SC) with equal representation 

chosen by the trade union signatories and company signatories (maximum 3 seats each) 

and a representative from and chosen by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as a 

neutral chair. The SC shall have responsibility for the selection, contracting, 

compensation and review of the performance of a Safety Inspector and a Training 

Coordinator; oversight and approval of the programme budget; oversight of financial 

reporting and hiring of auditors; and such other management duties as may be required. 

The SC will strive to reach decision by consensus, but, in the absence of consensus, 

decisions will be made by majority vote. In order to develop the activity of the SC, a 

Governance regulation will be developed. 

5. Dispute resolution. Any dispute between the parties to, and arising under, the terms of 

this Agreement shall first be presented to and decided by the SC, which shall decide the 

dispute by majority vote of the SC within a maximum of 21 days of a petition being filed by 

one of the parties. Upon request of either party, the decision of the SC may be appealed to 

a final and binding arbitration process. Any arbitration award shall be enforceable in a 

court of law of the domicile of the signatory against whom enforcement is sought and 

shall be subject to The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign 

Arbitral Awards (The New York Convention), where applicable. The process for binding 

arbitration, including, but not limited to, the allocation of costs relating to any arbitration 

and the process for selection of the Arbitrator, shall be governed by the UNCITRAL 

Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration 1985 (with amendments as adopted 

in 2006). 

6. The signatories shall appoint an Advisory Board involving brands and retailers, suppliers, 

government institutions, trade unions, and NGOs. . The advisory board will ensure all 

stakeholders, local and international, can engage in constructive dialogue with each other 

and provide feedback and input to the SC, thereby enhancing quality, efficiency, 

credibility and synergy. The SC will consult the parties to the NAP to determine the 

feasibility of a shared advisory structure. 

7. Administration and management of the programme will be developed by the SC in 

consultation with the 'High-Level Tripartite Committee' established to implement and 

oversee the National Action Plan on Fire Safety, as well as with the Ministry of Labour 

and Employment of Bangladesh (MoLE), the ILO and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für 

Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), to maximize synergy at operational level; 

and the SC may make use of the offices of GIZ for administrative coordination and 

support.

CREDIBLE INSPECTIONS:

8. A qualified Safety Inspector, with fire and building safety expertise and impeccable 

credentials, and who is independent of and not concurrently employed by companies, 

trade unions or factories, shall be appointed by the SC. Providing the Chief Inspector acts 

in a manner consistent with his or her mandate under the provisions of this Agreement, 

and unless there is clear evidence of malfeasance or incompetence on his or her part, the 

SC shall not restrict or otherwise interfere with the Chief Inspector’s performance of the 

duties set forth in the Agreement as he or she sees fit, including the scheduling of 

inspections and the publishing of reports.

9. Thorough and credible safety inspections of Tier 1, 2 and 3 factories shall be carried out 

by skilled personnel selected by and acting under the direction of the Safety Inspector, 

based on internationally recognized workplace safety standards and/or national standards 

(once the review foreseen under the NAP is completed in June 2013). The Safety 

Inspector shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure that an initial inspection of each 

factory covered by this Agreement shall be carried out within the first two years of the 

term of this Agreement. The Safety Inspector will be available to provide input into the 

NAP legislative review and to support capacity building work regarding inspections by 

the MoLE foreseen under the NAP. 

10. Where a signatory company’s inspection programme, in the opinion of the Safety 

Inspector, meets or exceeds the standards of thorough and credible inspections, as defined 

by the Safety Inspector, it will be considered an integral part of the programme activities 

set forth in this Agreement. Signatory companies wishing to have their inspection 

programme so considered shall provide the Safety Inspector full access to the findings of 

their inspections and he or she will integrate these into reporting and remediation 

activities. Notwithstanding this provision, all factories within the scope of this Agreement 

shall still be subject to all the provisions of this Agreement, including but not limited to a 

least one safety inspection carried out by personnel acting under the direction of the 

Safety Inspector. 

11. Written Inspection Reports of all factories inspected under the programme shall be 

prepared by the Safety Inspector within two (2) weeks of the date of inspection and 

shared upon completion with factory management, the factory’s health and safety 

committee, worker representatives (where one or more unions are present), signatory 

companies and the SC. Where, in the opinion of the Safety Inspector, there is not a 

functioning health and safety committee at the factory, the report will be shared with the 

unions which are the signatories to this Agreement. Within a timeline agreed by the SC, 

but no greater than six weeks, the Safety Inspector shall disclose the Inspection Report to 

the public, accompanied by the factory’s remediation plan, if any. In the event that, in 

the opinion of the Safety Inspector, the inspection identifies a severe and imminent 

danger to worker safety, he or she shall immediately inform factory management, the 

factory’s health and safety committee, worker representatives (where one or more unions 

are present), the Steering Committee and unions which are signatories to this Agreement, 

and direct a remediation plan.

REMEDIATION:

12. Where corrective actions are identified by the Safety Inspector as necessary to bring a 

factory into compliance with building, fire and electrical safety standards, the signatory 

company or companies that have designated that factory as a Tier 1, 2, or 3 supplier, shall 

require that factory to implement these corrective actions, according to a schedule that is 

mandatory and time-bound, with sufficient time allotted for all major renovations.

13. Signatory companies shall require their supplier factories that are inspected under the 

Program to maintain workers’ employment relationship and regular income during any 

period that a factory (or portion of a factory) is closed for renovations necessary to 

complete such Corrective Actions for a period of no longer than six months. . Failure to 

do so may trigger a notice, warning and ultimately termination of the business 

relationship as described in paragraph 21. 

14. Signatory companies shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that any workers whose 

employment is terminated as a result of any loss of orders at a factory are offered 

employment with safe suppliers, if necessary by actively working with other suppliers to 

provide hiring preferences to these workers.

15. Signatory companies shall require their supplier factories to respect the right of a worker 

to refuse work that he or she has reasonable justification to believe is unsafe, without 

suffering discrimination or loss of pay, including the right to refuse to enter or to remain 

inside a building that he or she has reasonable justification to believe is unsafe for 

occupation. 

TRAINING:

16. The Training Coordinator appointed by the SC shall establish an extensive fire and building 

safety training program. The training program shall be delivered by a selected skilled 

personnel by the Training Coordinator at Tier 1 facilities for workers, managers and 

security staff to be delivered with involvement of trade unions and specialized local 

experts. These training programmes shall cover basic safety procedures and precautions, 

as well as enable workers to voice concerns and actively participate in activities to ensure 

their own safety. Signatory companies shall require their suppliers to provide access to 

their factories to training teams designated by the Training Coordinator that include 

safety training experts as well as qualified union representatives to provide safety training 

to workers and management on a regular basis. 

17. Health and Safety Committees shall be required by the signatory companies in all 

Bangladesh factories that supply them, which shall function in accordance with 

Bangladeshi law, and be comprised of workers and managers from the applicable factory. 

Worker members shall comprise no less than 50% of the committee and shall be chosen 

by the factory’s trade union, if present, and by democratic election among the workers 

where there is no trade union present.

COMPLAINTS PROCESS:

18. The Safety Inspector shall establish a worker complaint process and mechanism that 

ensures that workers from factories supplying signatory companies can raise in a timely 

fashion concerns about health and safety risks, safely and confidentially, with the Safety 

Inspector. This should be aligned with the Hotline to be established under the NAP. 

TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING:

19. The SC shall make publicly available and regularly update information on key aspects of 

the programme, including:

a. a single aggregated list of all suppliers in Bangladesh (including sub-contractors) 

used by the signatory companies, based on data which shall be provided to the SC 

and regularly updated by each of the signatory companies, and which shall 

indicate which factories on this list have been designated by that company as Tier 

1 factories and which have been designated by that company as Tier 2 factories, 

however volume data and information linking specific companies to specific 

factories will be kept confidential, 

b. Written Inspection Reports, which shall be developed by the Safety Inspector for 

all factories inspected under this programme, shall be disclosed to interested 

parties and the public as set forth in paragraph 11 of this Agreement. 

Public statements by the Safety Inspector identifying any factory that is not acting 

expeditiously to implement remedial recommendations. 

c. Quarterly Aggregate Reports that summarize both aggregated industry 

compliance data as well as a detailed review of findings, remedial 

recommendations, and progress on remediation to date for all factories at which 

inspections have been completed.

20. The signatories to this Agreement shall work together with other organizations such as ILO 

and the High-Level Tripartite Committee and the Bangladeshi Government to encourage 

the establishment of a protocol seeking to ensure that suppliers which participate fully in 

the inspection and remediation activities of this Agreement shall not be penalised as a 

result of the transparency provisions of this Agreement. The objectives of the protocol 

are to (i) support and motivate the employer to take remediation efforts in the interest of 

the workforce and the sector and (ii) expedite prompt legal action where the supplier 

refuses to undertake the remedial action required to become compliant with national law. 

SUPPLIER INCENTIVES: 

21. Each signatory company shall require that its suppliers in Bangladesh participate fully in 

the inspection, remediation, health and safety and, where applicable, training activities, as 

described in the Agreement. If a supplier fails to do so, the signatory will promptly

implement a notice and warning process leading to termination of the business 

relationship if these efforts do not succeed. 

22. In order to induce Tier 1 and Tier 2 factories to comply with upgrade and remediation 

requirements of the program, participating brands and retailers will negotiate commercial terms 

with their suppliers which ensure that it is financially feasible for the factories to maintain safe 

workplaces and comply with upgrade and remediation requirements instituted by the Safety 

Inspector. Each signatory company may, at its option, use alternative means to ensure factories 

have the financial capacity to comply with remediation requirements, including but not limited to 

joint investments, providing loans, accessing donor or government support, through offering 

business incentives or through paying for renovations directly. 

23. Signatory companies to this agreement are committed to maintaining long-term sourcing 

relationships with Bangladesh, as is demonstrated by their commitment to this five-year 

programme. Signatory companies shall continue business at order volumes comparable to or 

greater than those that existed in the year preceding the inception of this Agreement with Tier 1 

and Tier 2 factories at least through the first two years of the term of this Agreement, provided 

that (a) such business is commercially viable for each company and (b) the factory continues to 

substantially meet the company’s terms and comply with the company’s requirements of its 

supplier factories under this agreement. 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT:

24. In addition to their obligations pursuant to this Agreement, signatory companies shall 

also assume responsibility for funding the activities of the SC, Safety Inspector and 

Training Coordinator as set forth in this Agreement, with each company contributing its 

equitable share of the funding in accordance with a formula to be established in the 

Implementation Plan. The SC shall be empowered to seek contributions from 

governmental and other donors to contribute to costs. Each signatory company shall 

contribute funding for these activities in proportion to the annual volume of each 

company’s garment production in Bangladesh relative to the respective annual volumes 

of garment production of the other signatory companies, subject to a maximum 

contribution of $500,000 per year for each year of the term of this Agreement. A sliding 

scale of minimum contributions based on factors such as revenues and annual volume in 

Bangladesh will be defined in the Implementation Plan with annual revisions, while 

ensuring sufficient funding for the adequate implementation of the Accord and the Plan. 

25. The SC shall ensure that there are credible, robust, and transparent procedures for the 

accounting and oversight of all contributed funds.

See also: 

Public Outrage Over Factory Conditions Spurs Labor Deal (NY Times) 

......................................

UNI Global Press Release

Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are waking up to the fact they must take an initiative on Bangladesh garment factory safety.Global commerce union leaders are urging all governments to commit to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety and push for its speedy implementation. 

The Netherlands Government has called on Dutch retailers to sign the Accord and discussed financial support to improve conditions for the Bangladeshi garment industry. Other European governments, notably France, Denmark and Norway have also shown support. In the U.S. a group of leading Senators has written to retail CEOs who have not signed up, including Walmart and Gap, urging them to reconsider.

The legally binding Accord, driven by IndustriALL and UNI Global Union and the NGOs, the Clean Clothes Campaign and the Worker Rights Consortium, has a critical mass of support from leading retailers around the world with more than 35 brands confirmed:

H&M, Inditex, C&A, PVH, Tchibo, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Primark, El Corte Inglés, jbc, Mango, Carrefour, KiK, Helly Hansen, G-Star, Aldi, New Look, Mothercare, Loblaws, Sainsbury’s, Benetton, N Brown Group, Stockmann, WE Europe, Esprit, Rewe, Next, Lidl, Hess Natur, Switcher, Abercrombie & Fitch, John Lewis, Charles Vögele, V&D, Otto Group, s.Oliver, Bonmarche, HEMA, Comtex.

UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings said, “There can be no excuses from the retail sector for not signing up to the Accord, when Walmart alone spends $2.5 billion per year on advertising and Gap $653 million.” 

The trade unions committed to take the message back to their home governments to insist the retail sector backs the deal and that grass root members of parliament mobilise to support it.

Union leaders said it was time for governments to step up.

Per Tønnesen, President of the Danish union HK HANDEL said, “We welcome the fact that the Danish Trade Minister has raised the Bangladesh Factory Safety deal and shown support. This is an important step to convince Danish brands to sign the Accord. All Danish retail companies must be urged to support the Accord. HK HANDEL is looking forward to playing its part in rolling out the implementation plan and the governments should be on-board.” 

John Hannett, General Secretary of USDAW in the UK and President of UNI Europa Commerce said, “The British Government must get behind the Bangladeshi Safety deal but so must politicians of every political persuasion. The big UK retailers have shown their support for the Accord and now it’s up to the politicians to help convince those who have not yet signed. The French Commerce Minister has called on companies, unions and NGOs to come together to discuss concrete steps to improve factory safety in Bangladesh and the Dutch have made their position clear and are considering financial support – the UK must not drag its heels.” 

Michael Bride, of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union of North America said, "We applaud the group of eight U.S. Senators, led by Sherrod Brown, Tom Harkin and Dick Durbin, for calling on those brands yet to sign the Accord to reconsider. U.S. corporations should understand that their efforts to excuse themselves from human rights obligations which companies elsewhere have signed up to will be neither easily forgotten nor forgiven. The U.S. Government has a responsibility to ensure that companies located in its jurisdiction are not permitted to adhere to a lesser standard on human rights and safety than companies in the rest of the world."

The shoe factory collapse in Cambodia earlier this week has underlined that factory safety is not an issue confined to Bangladesh and that such an agreement is vital for the whole retail industry. 

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• OSHA Moves to Protect Temporary Workers
• The Government Must Lead The Way in Workplace Health and Safety
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• OSHA's Intent Is Not To Preempt State Tort Law Claims by the HazCom Standard
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Hyde Park Corner - A New Place on Facebook for Discussions

Congratulations to my good friend, Stephen Embry, on the inauguration of his new page on Facebook to post  discussions about current topics, including workplace safety. His new page is called The Hyde Park Corner.

To commemorate the inauguration of The Hyde Park Corner,
I stopped by in London today to see and

hear what was happening actually at The Hyde Park Corner. 

I must say that things are a lot more significant and current on Steve's page. I would encourage you to visit it in the near future.