Social inequalities in health: the impact of work

The initial data from the fifth European Working Conditions Survey were published in November 2010. The mine of information yielded by a survey of 44,000 workers clearly cannot be summed up in a single page. But one important thing stands out – when asked if their health and safety was at risk from their work, a quarter of workers answered "yes"... Find out more

Workers have little or no say in the organization of their work, and it is time that their views were properly recognised as being equally valid as those of employers and self-styled experts. What unions have to do is support their members in wresting back ownership of their labour. In one region of Italy, some hospitals assess the risks to... Find out more

Social inequalities in health are growing in most European countries. And with public health policies tending to ignore how working and employment conditions play into this, the rise of non-standard forms of employment could widen the gaps further still. Spain has mortality atlases broken down by small geographical areas. The higher the mortality... Find out more

In the city of Sheffield, birthplace of Britain’s stricken steel industry, an occupational health surgery carries on a pioneering scheme started over thirty years ago. In that time, the thousands of workers it has seen have mainly presented with the typical "smokestack industry" diseases of lung diseases and deafness. Now, it is psychosocial... Find out more

Although completely out of tune with the realities of today’s workplace, the ingrained stereotypes of man as breadwinner and woman as homemaker are proving hard to root out. They downplay how much running a home affects women's health. The combination of gender and social inequalities takes its worst toll on the physical and psychological health of... Find out more

Wide social inequalities in health are found in all European countries, but they are rarely put down to work. The social invisibility of the interplay between health and work is exacerbated by the lack of contact between works doctors and family doctors. How can these two key players for the health of workers interact more effectively? Two Belgian... Find out more

The country’s work accident figures may be falling and working conditions improving, especially since joining the EU and coming into line with its laws in 2006, but work is still not a safe nor yet healthy place to be for Romania’s five million employees. 38-year-old Bogdan is a casual construction worker. He doesn’t see himself as working in... Find out more

Does Sweden, with its famous "social model", still represent the example to be followed? When it comes to preventing occupational risks, the answer remains Yes. The country is successfully carrying on an experiment which began over 60 years ago. Over 2,000 regional safety representatives, appointed by the trade unions, are making sure that... Find out more

The happy ending to summer’s Chilean rescue saga and its hijack by politicians and the media have overshadowed the issue of the miners’ working conditions. A total disregard for safety measures and profit-chasing driven by copper prices were key to the accident happening. In August 2010, a tunnel collapse occurred in the privately-owned medium... Find out more