Occupational Health and Safety

International Influences and the New Epidemics

Chris Peterson, Claire Mayhew

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351842617
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Health Policy

This text provides a theoretical and empirical approach to investigating the nature of emerging OSH (Occupational Health and Safety) epidemics across the industrialized world. The author of each chapter in this book deals with exposure to a particular OSH hazard and examines the epidemic nature of the resulting ill-health or injury outcome. The authors also evaluate the contribution of globalization and neoliberal policies in creating workplace environments which foster such new OSH epidemics.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety: International Influences and the “New” Epidemics

Chris L. Peterson and Claire Mayhew

The industrial revolution brought together large numbers of workers under supervision in a single worksite for prolonged periods of time to conduct mechanized work for the first time in history. Since then, occupational health and safety (OHS) has been an important concern of organized labor and social-justice activists. Early testimonies to unsafe practices were recorded by writers who identified the squalor of the work and living condition of miners and their families in Manchester, Britain, as well as widespread injuries, morbidity, and mortality associated with work. Engels (1), his colleague Marx (2), and many of the early epidemiologists, including Snow, detailed a range of horrors that accompanied work in these early factories and mines, as well as the risks attendant to living in the shoddy housing and suburbs where the new industrial proletariat existed outside of their hours of labor (3). These risks and outcomes have also been well identified elsewhere, including in Mayhew (4) and in various works by Charles Dickens (5). Many of these “old” hazards and risks identified by the writers charting the course of the industrial revolution in Britain still remain, although the potency of these “epidemics” has been diminished by legal protective interventions and the work of OHS professionals and trade-union activists.

The endemic risks associated with work in these early factories spawned legislation which was initially aimed at protecting child workers and the morals of working women, but subsequently spread to cover most working men. From this early beginning in Britain, legislative interventions and other protective practices spread across the industrialized world. As a result, the proportion of workers who are killed, maimed, or suffer a chronic and disabling illness from work have decreased significantly. Nonetheless, even in an advanced industrialized country such as Australia, around 2,900 workers each year still die from a work-related injury or illness (6, 7, 8). Yet barely a quarter of these fatalities—let alone short-term injuries or illnesses—are formally reported to workers’ compensation authorities. The reasons why official databases are incomplete are complex, including lack of coverage for the self-employed (who are an increasing proportion of the labor force), because penalties result which influence the reporting behaviors of financially stressed employers (e.g., loss of no claim bonuses), restrictions on coverage (for example, with long-latency diseases where cause-effect relationships are unclear), and/or fear of reporting (e.g., if punitive sanctions are placed on the precariously employed workers) (9). That is, all the available evidence indicates that a significant number of known injuries and illnesses are not formally reported, recorded, or compiled.

In addition to these under-reported—but known—negative occupational health and safety incidents, as “new” forms of work-related injuries and illnesses emerge, their distinct signs and symptoms, risk factors, and causal pathways may be poorly recognized. Such emerging conditions are also likely to be subjected to intense suspicion and may even be “blamed on the victim” until such time as there are sufficient cases with clear objective cause-effect correlations for all facets of the new epidemic. For example, in the 1980s, Occupational Overuse Syndrome (also known as RSI) was almost universally denigrated as a psychosomatic condition until a more full-blown “epidemic” was extant with well-documented and widespread pre-condition work characteristics—such as excessive fine-motor movements required over an extended time period (10).

In this book, we argue that there are a range of similar nascent epidemics that are emerging across industrialized countries in this new century, the majority of which have their roots in the changing employment contract/labor process. That is, as the labor market and the organization of work change in a post-industrial society, the risks for new forms of epidemics rise. Unfortunately, these new epidemics are generally hidden because the shifts that have occurred in employment structures/the labor process over the past decade shield the extent of work-related injuries and illnesses from public view.

In this book, the key facets of these “new” epidemics are explored. Each of the different chapters was written by an author who was requested to illuminate the quite-specific risk factors associated with an emerging OHS threat. Many of these “new epidemics” were unknown a century—or even a decade—ago. The editors conclude that new forms of preventive interventions will be needed to reduce the potency of the “new epidemics.” Further, because these new risks are poorly controlled by existing OHS protective mechanisms, we believe that new forms of social contracts will need to be devised that permeate all working relationships and diverse forms of worksites if the widespread morbidity associated with modem labor processes are to be avoided. The founding principle behind this book was to chart these emerging risks associated with changing patterns of employment.

GLOBALIZATION AND THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF OHS

Globalization is now an established phenomenon. The term refers to the opening up of nation state borders, the dropping of some international trading regulations, the concept of “free trade,” deregulation of markets, and the exploitation of cheaper labor from developing countries. All these factors have fuelled the rapid growth of a globalized economy. The integration of stock markets within these international marketplaces, together with the continually rising power of cross-national conglomerates, has resulted in smaller economies and companies having far less influence on their financial futures. As a result, continual change in products, skill-demand shifts, downsizing of workforces, increasingly precariously employed workers, and the reduction of union coverage have become trademarks of the globalized economy. Thus, globalization poses threats and challenges, but cannot be disentangled from neo-liberal economic and social policies. Where open-market forces are allowed to dictate the terms of development, dominant corporations may use practices such as downsizing, shifting to locations where OHS regulation is less stringent, and restriction of social investment in communities where they operate. Overall, the consequences of globalization tend to be beneficial for those nations that are strong and dominant, and may result in increased impoverishment for poorer communities.

Concomitant with globalization has been increased pressure to deregulate many aspects of the OHS protections developed over the past two centuries—in line with the dominant neo-liberal economic ideology. While resistance to deregulation of OHS protections has been somewhat muted in countries such as the U.S., in many other industrialized countries (such as the European Union), there have been substantial paradigm shifts that have enhanced protection. For example, member states of the European Community are, over time, adopting the same regulatory and policy guidelines. As a result, nation states bordering the Mediterranean have begun to move toward acceptance of guidelines initiated in Scandinavia which are, arguably, of superior OHS protective value.

Mitchell (11) argues that “globalization” is likely to increase the number of work-related diseases and injuries during the 21st century because of pressures to deregulate protective standards, and because hazardous work processes have been rapidly relocating to the Third World. For example, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has estimated there are 250 million incidents per year, 335,000 fatalities, and approximately one million fatalities from illnesses caused by pollution and toxic materials (12). Further, approximately 350 carcinogenic chemicals and 3,000 allergenic chemicals are used in workplaces worldwide.

However, the increased economic competition associated with globalization means that greater resources are concentrated in the hands of fewer people and organizations (13). A number of multinational corporations have adopted a policy framework of downsizing in the industrialized world as a way of maintaining profitability, and of encouraging reduced union involvement in their workforces. These trends, coupled with the ability to manage and manipulate large volumes of capital, make it easier to exploit international labor and contribute less in social capital to the communities where they employ cheaper workers. Thus, the increased OHS risks are likely to be exacerbated in developing countries where most people are involved in mining and agriculture, do work that is physically demanding, and are exposed to parasites and infectious diseases in addition to “industrial” work-related risks. According to Mitchell (11), developed economies have undermined OHS protections at work in order to lower production costs and to win contracts from transnational corporations.

Within industrialized countries, Coburn (13) argues that globalization, as a real force and as ideology, has reinforced the dominant class position of business at both national and international levels. This business dominance of the market and the state has led to attacks on working class and social-citizenship rights. For example, the welfare state enacted in most of the Anglo-American nations has been undermined in ways that reinforce privately owned business power. Similarly, neo-liberal policies are increasingly restricting free access to healthcare, which is a basic tenant enacted during the post World War II years.

INTERNATIONAL CONTROLS AND DEVELOPMENTS

Walters (14) argues that the European Community (E.C.) represents a converse force to globalization, with improving OHS protective policies emerging over recent times in a number of member states. Overall, there appears to have been an emphasis on process rather than prescription, which reflects the changing political and economic landscape over the last few decades (14). However, this move is encapsulated within a paradigm shift away from setting prescribed OHS regulatory standards to one where duty holders are required to engage in risk identification, assessment, and control. For example, in Scandinavia there are strong labor protective standards that play a powerful role in the implementation and operation of OHS protection. In Britain, Scandinavia, and France there is a single central authority, and a relatively low level of autonomy for regional and local administrations. In corporatist systems such as Germany, co-determination (as well as local factors such as federalism in Germany and a dual system for making and enforcing law in the Netherlands) has a strong influence on OHS regulation. In France, OHS is heavily regulated with significant state involvement and a lower level of union association with policy making. Italy is quite different again, with significant overlap between the responsibilities of different authorities and a lot of conflict and debate between labor and capital. While OHS in Britain is much more deregulated than in many other parts of Europe, there is extensive guidance on risk control. To some extent, the British focus followed concern about widespread costs to the public purse. However, the E.U. Directive 89/391 Introduction of Measures to Encourage Improvement of Safety and Health of Workers at Work has been a watershed in ensuring OHS management systems were adopted across member states of the E.C. (15).

The implementation of international standards formulated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) can counteract the negative outcomes from globalization. However, many countries have not yet become signatories to the core Conventions and Recommendations established by the ILO, including Australia and the U.S. The editors of this book believe that the ILO Conventions and Recommendations, as well as the guides produced through the SafeWork program of the ILO, provide the basis for effective policies and strategies to enhance OHS protection. There are also other international developments that assist with protection of OHS, such as the Social and Economic Council of the U.N. that promotes a consistent world-wide system for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (16).

CHANGING PATTERNS OF EMPLOYMENT AND MOVE TO SERVICE INDUSTRIES

New “at-risk” groups of workers are being identified as employment patterns shift. In both the industrialized and developing world, new forms of labor employment are emerging, including home-based businesses, mobile worksites, and a range of forms of precarious short-term employment. At the same time, the industry-sector basis of much employment is changing. Both these shifts in employment have effects on OHS.

First, in terms of the labor-market changes associated with globalization, Quinlan (17) argues that labor-market restructuring is having a significant impact on occupational safety and health. Increasing use of short-term employment contracts, the unpicking of award structures, growth in precarious employment, decreasing levels of unionization, under-funding of state OHS authorities, and dispersion of workers across more—but smaller—organizations has resulted in increasing difficulty in enforcement of basic OHS standards (18).

Second, while employment in traditional industry sectors such as farming and manufacturing continues, the working population is increasingly concentrated in the “services” sector in nearly all industrialized countries, including in tourism, hospitality, healthcare, and recreation. Employment in the services industries is also commonly associated with smaller and more scattered worksites with higher turnover ratios. Further, the hazards and risks associated with work in the services industries are distinct from those in, for example, manufacturing or farming. Because the hazards and risks are different in the services industry, the OHS threats are distinct—and the most appropriate prevention strategies vary.

Third, the mobility of labor in the precarious labor force—particularly those in the services industry sectors—also means that exposure to hazards and risks may be short-term and there may be multiple exposures from different worksites, and hence tracking effects to causative agents will be very complex (particularly for long-latency diseases). But, because the labor process increasingly relies on a precariously employed workforce, the flow-on effects from exposure to hazards and risks may not be recognized as rapidly as those injuries and illnesses experienced by more traditional workers. Thus, interventions to reduce the potency of these “new” epidemics may not be sufficiently timely, and there are also likely to be fewer opportunities for researchers to conduct studies based on clear-cut cause-and-effect relationships.

BURDEN OF WORK-RELATED INJURY AND DISEASE THAT IS UNDER-REPORTED

In some Third World nations such as Latin Amer...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety: International Influences and the “New” Epidemics
• CHAPTER 2 International Developments and Their Influence on Occupational Health and Safety in Advanced Market Economies
• CHAPTER 3 Occupational Violence: The Emerging OHS Epidemic of the 21st Century
• CHAPTER 4 The Hidden Epidemic of Injuries and Illness Associated with the Global Expansion of Precarious Employment
• CHAPTER 5 Long-Latency Disease: The Long-Lasting Epidemics
• CHAPTER 6 Work-Related Injuries among Adolescent and Child Workers: The Non-Reported OHS Epidemic
• CHAPTER 7 The Epidemic of Stress
• CHAPTER 8 Pain Associated with Prolonged Constrained Standing: The Invisible Epidemic
• CHAPTER 9 The Discourse of Abuse in Return-to-Work: A Hidden Epidemic of Suffering
• CHAPTER 10 Occupational Health and Safety, and Occupational Rehabilitation: The Nature of the Prevention–Rehabilitation Continuum
• CHAPTER 11 Before the Epidemic Strikes: Identifying Warning Signs of an Emerging Epidemic and Conducting Baseline Empirical Studies in Industry
• CHAPTER 12 Conclusion: Models of Epidemics
• Contributors
• Index