Health and Safety

Overview

Chair:
Claire Marie Fortin, Health
and Safety Officer, Labour
Education Studies Centre, CLC.

Speaker:
Jeanne Stellman, Executive
Director, Women's Occupational
Health Resource Centre, School
of Public Health, Colombia
University

Post-World War II. with the age of plastics and atomic energy, and with the development of chemicals (5 million chemicals are known today), saw the massive introduction of macro technology. Many health hazards resulted from this revolution, a large number of which are still unrecognized and, worse still, unstudied.

An analogous situation has arisen today with the massive introduction of micro technology. Unstudied health problems are; of growing concern.

We are witness to the re-creation of the factory in the office: the replication of the problems of the chemical workplace. It is confiscating our skills, and breaking them up into routine tasks in a dangerous work environment. Office work is now following the mass-production theory: if you interchange parts of a job on an assembly line, you can also interchange workers. We are losing the individuality that might also be a major loss to society.

In considering the health and safety aspects of the new micro technology, one must realize that usually, the design of video display terminals (VDTs) and computers includes little concern for the human, the other extremity of the machine. Work areas leave no place for a personal touch. Workers are isolated in the machine/ operator interface, and social interaction deteriorates. Indoor pollution is aggravated, although most employers will not recognize it. Finally, keystroke supervision or monitoring creates undue stress, and can eventually result in physical disease.

To counteract these negative effects in the short term, individuals should pursue demands such as: 10 minute breaks every hour, or 15 minutes every two hours; antiglare screens and frequent eye examinations; proper shades on windows and document holders on the machine; proper lighting and adequate chairs. Workers should help themselves by exercising frequently and sitting properly (using foot rests, for example).

In the long term, more research is needed, especially on the effects of radiation. We must improve the education of business people, machine designers and managers alike. We need more openness in worker-management communications, less confrontation and more cooperation. Job redesign, to allow for rotation among a variety of tasks, would certainly reduce fatigue and boredom, and contribute to an increase in the knowledge and skills of workers.