Today's post is shared from the Internal Labour Organization ilo.org
This study reviews the literature on the link between working conditions, safety and health and skills development, on the one hand, and increased productivity on the other, with a specific focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The writers find research evidence of an association between good workplace practices and various types of positive enterprise-level outcomes. These positive outcomes include reduced employee turnover, improved profitability and higher levels of customer satisfaction. The literature surveyed consists in the main of studies of high-income economies and rather than unpacking the influence of different practices these studies serves to affirm that practices have best results when they are employed together. So, for example, a coherent ‘bundle of practices’ , combining good occupational safety and health and training with improved working hours and wages will generally improve productivity, innovation and employee retention. The review also finds evidence of a cause and effect, suggesting that better management practices lead to improved business outcomes rather than vice versa. Despite all of the above, the review highlights that more research is needed. In particular, the researchers note the lack of literature analysing the complexity of the relationship between working conditions, safety and health, skills development, and firm outcomes. They also note the need for research in this area in developing and emerging... |
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(c) 2010-2024 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Can better working conditions improve the performance of SMEs?
OSHA releases new resources to better protect workers from hazardous chemicals
Each year in the United States, tens of thousands of workers are made sick or die from occupational exposures to the thousands of hazardous chemicals that are used in workplaces every day. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today launched two new web resources to assist companies with keeping their workers safe.
While many chemicals are suspected of being harmful, OSHA's exposure standards are out-of-date and inadequately protective for the small number of chemicals that are regulated in the workplace. The first resource OSHA has created is a toolkit to identify safer chemicals that can be used in place of more hazardous ones. This toolkit walks employers and workers step-by-step through information, methods,
tools and guidance to either eliminate hazardous chemicals or make informed substitution decisions in the workplace by finding a safer chemical, material, product or process. The toolkit is available at http://www.osha.gov/dsg/safer_chemicals/index.html.
"We know that the most efficient and effective way to protect workers from hazardous chemicals is by eliminating or replacing those chemicals with safer alternatives whenever possible," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.
While many chemicals are suspected of being harmful, OSHA's exposure standards are out-of-date and inadequately protective for the small number of chemicals that are regulated in the workplace. The first resource OSHA has created is a toolkit to identify safer chemicals that can be used in place of more hazardous ones. This toolkit walks employers and workers step-by-step through information, methods,
tools and guidance to either eliminate hazardous chemicals or make informed substitution decisions in the workplace by finding a safer chemical, material, product or process. The toolkit is available at http://www.osha.gov/dsg/safer_chemicals/index.html.
"We know that the most efficient and effective way to protect workers from hazardous chemicals is by eliminating or replacing those chemicals with safer alternatives whenever possible," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.
LAX shooting suspect identified; TSA agent dead
Tim Kauffman, a spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees in Washington, told the Associated Press that the victim who died was a Transportation Security Administration officer. He said the union's information came from its local officials in Los Angeles. Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as 23-year-old Paul Ciancia. Airport police chief Patrick Gannon said the gunman forced his way past a TSA checkpoint into the heart of LAX Terminal 3. He said authorities believe the gunman acted alone. Ciancia, a U.S. citizen, was shot in the face in the confrontation with police, a federal law enforcement official said. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the suspect had survived the shooting but his condition was not immediately known. One TSA officer is the only person confirmed dead, the official said. Gannon said the shooting began at 9:20 a.m. PT, when the suspect pulled an "assault rifle" out of a bag and began to open fire in LAX Terminal 3. "He proceeded up to... |
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California state Sen. Ron Calderon accepted $88,000 in bribes, FBI affidavit alleges
California workers' compensation scandal headlines the news over medical treatment bribes. Today's post is shared from sacbee.com
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
State Sen. Ron Calderon accepted about $88,000 in bribes from an undercover FBI agent posing as a film studio owner and a Southern California hospital executive during a wide-ranging probe into his conduct as a legislator, according to a 124-page affidavit published online Wednesday by cable news network Al Jazeera America.
No charges have been filed against Calderon, a Democrat from Montebello. His attorney, Mark Geragos, did not return calls Wednesday. The federal affidavit, filed with the court under seal as the FBI sought a search warrant for Calderon’s office, alleges that he worked with interest groups in a pay-to-play fashion, accepting money in exchange for promises to carry or amend legislation to their benefit. It details an arrangement to funnel money for the Calderon family’s later use through a nonprofit organization run by his brother Tom Calderon. It describes an instance in which Calderon hired a female undercover agent as a staff member as a favor to another undercover agent despite her apparent lack of qualifications for the job. It says that as Calderon steered legislation, he asked those he thought would benefit to secure jobs for his children, Jessica and Zachary. “One way you could be a real help to (my daughter) is, you got any work?” Calderon said to an undercover agent posing as the film studio owner during a June 2012 dinner in Pico Rivera, according to the affidavit. “I told you, man, anything... |
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As Robot-Assisted Surgery Expands, Are Patients And Providers Getting Enough Information?
Today's post is shared from kaiserhealthnews.org.
The use of robotic surgical systems is expanding rapidly, but hospitals, patients and regulators may not be getting enough information to determine whether the high tech approach is worth its cost. Problems resulting from surgery using robotic equipment—including deaths—have been reported late, inaccurately or not at all to the Food and Drug Administration, according to one study. The FDA assesses and approves products based on reported device-related complications. If a medical device malfunctions, hospitals are required to report the incident to the manufacturer, which then reports it to the agency. The FDA, in turn, creates a report for its Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database. The use of surgical robots has grown rapidly since it was first approved for laparoscopic surgery (a type of surgery that uses smaller incisions than in traditional surgery) by the FDA in 2000. Between 2007 and 2011 the number of da Vinci systems installed increased by 75 percent in the United... |
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EPA Fines Phoenix-based Company $95,000 for PCB violations
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has required Veolia ES Technical Solutions, LLC to pay a $95,000 civil penalty for failure to properly manage PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) at its Jefferson Avenue facility in Phoenix, Ariz. The violations stemmed from two inspections in 2008 and 2010. EPA inspectors found the company used PCB-contaminated structures, and improperly stored and disposed of PCBs in violation of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.“Our goal is to safeguard workers and nearby communities from the health hazards of PCBs,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “This settlement ensures that Veolia will take necessary steps to improve its storage and disposal practices.”Veolia Environmental Services North America, the parent company of Veolia ES Technical Solutions, LLC, employs over 5,400 staff generating $1.1 billion in revenues in 2012. The company specializes in the management, treatment and disposal of waste. PCBs are man-made organic chemicals used in paints, industrial equipment, plastics, and cooling oil for electrical transformers. More than 1.5 billion pounds of PCBs were manufactured in the United States before the EPA banned the production of this chemical class in 1978, and many PCB-containing materials are still in use today.... |
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Former Winchester, Idaho hotel owner settles with EPA for asbestos demolition violations
(Seattle – October 28, 2013) BBA Winchester LLC, the owner of a former hotel located in Winchester, Idaho has settled with EPA and agreed to pay a $21,000 fine for asbestos safety and environmental violations from improper demolition of the hotel.
“This is an unfortunate example that when asbestos is not properly removed before demolition, the entire debris pile becomes contaminated, putting people at risk, and greatly increasing disposal costs,” said Scott Downey, Manager of the Air and Hazardous Waste Compliance Unit at the EPA Seattle office. “Because this owner failed to check for asbestos before demolition, their $2,000 demolition project ballooned into a $55,000 asbestos waste cleanup and disposal problem.”In response to public complaints, EPA inspected the demolition site of the former hotel in 2012. BBA Winchester LLC demolished the 100-year-old hotel in late 2011 or early 2012, without first inspecting the building for asbestos, removing asbestos materials, or notifying EPA, as required by law. The demolition was in a residential neighborhood and the contaminated debris was unsecured for more than a year, prompting community concerns about asbestos health risks. EPA inspectors collected samples from the site that showed the demolition debris contained regulated asbestos waste. After confirming the debris was... |
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