From outrage to action on Europe’s work cancers

Few realise it, but Europe faces over 100,000 occupational cancer deaths a year, the equivalent of a passenger jet crash every day. According to researcher Laurent Vogel: “We can sum up in four words why 100,000 work-related cancer deaths are not a political priority; inequality, visibility, power and freedom.”

Vogel, a top health and safety expert at the European Trade Union Confederation’s research arm, ETUI, said air crashes tend to claim the lives of the likes of shareholders, senior managers and politicians, because “the privileged classes fly much more than the rest of the population… For the 100,000 deaths from occupational cancer, the opposite is true.”

Occupational cancers don’t make headlines, he says, because doctors are quick to ask about a patient’s lifestyle but rarely ask about risk factors at work. Vogel adds “combating occupational cancer requires measures that come into conflict with corporate profits. It is sometimes suggested that the war on cancer could be won by discovering new treatments or perfecting means of early detection. This naive and technocratic vision masks the struggle over public and social control of production choices.”

He says while airline companies have a vested interest in assuring passengers their planes are safe, “by contrast, the organisation of work and the choice of processes and substances are imposed on workers by the company’s management.”

Vogel notes: “There are plenty of reasons to be outraged. But if we want to convert this outrage into action, objectives need to be set.”

He outlines three complementary routes to stopping occupational cancer: Strong legislation; strong inspection; and strong trade union action. He concludes that whether or not the European Commission backs tighter rules on workplace cancer risks “will depend on our capacity to convert cancer into a political priority. With over 100,000 deaths a year, there is an urgent need to mobilise.”