: te Swedish unions are trying to improve the total work environment — not just safety and health in the narrow North American sense.

THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1979

tion of more than 50 percent was achieved in one year throught the in- troduction of chain brakes.

Researchers from the College of Forestry didn’t have to dig very far to find that slips and falls while climbing onto equipment are a major cause of injuries. Employers traditionally have argued that the only answer to the problem is pep talks to encourage workers not to be so ‘‘careless.’” Lad- ders leading up to the cab are often either not provided or jerry-rigged so that they are easily broken. With some prodding, Swedish manufac- turers have solved the problem. They now build into logging machines a set of hydraulic stairs which is raised and lowered automatically as the machine is turned on and off.

“In the past, we only worried about the work environment after a machine was built,’’ said Ake Ullman, safety director for the Osa forestry equipment company. ‘‘Now - we find we can discuss work environ- ment ahead of time and put it right in at the design stage.’’

Physical stress. Studies in the forestry industry confirmed workers’ reports that large numbers of loggers, especially older workers, suffer back problems. Employers, union mem- bers and researchers together devel- oped a system for using one log as a bench and then falling other trees on top of it. Under this system, buckers don’t have to bend over as far.

Noting that this technique might not always be practical, tour member Verna Ledger, IWA Region I safety director, commented, ‘‘The point is not whether we can adopt every solu- tion the Swedes have found. The point is that we can adopt their way of thinking and then find our own

answers. ““Their concern for older workers

and people with back trouble is typi- cal of their concern for the total work environment and for the total worker,”’ she said. ‘‘That’s what we

have to learn from.”’ ePsychological stress. At the Ala

Company sawmill, the IWA group

saw a booth in the trimming plant that was constructed for use by two operators monitoring a conveyor belt. The two-person booth protected the workers from noise and dust without forcing them to spend an en- tire shift totally isolated from other people.

When IWA tour members entered the booth, the workers were talking and listening to a radio. The operators’ controls were embedded in the arms of their chairs, so that the workers’ arms were supported all day. The two men rotated with a third worker who was physically

forestry company, schedules of eight hours’ work plus a total of an hour for lunch and breaks had been changed to reduce operator stress. Under the new system, each operator worked three hours on the machine, three hours off it, and then three hours on.

Workers told the IWA group that because of the three-hour break they could produce as much in six hours on the machine as in eight under the old system. One of the company’s shifts began three hours after the other, so the equipment was in use

for 12 hours. ‘You can’t keep cutting or buck-

ing for an entire shift without getting tired and making mistakes,’’ said a young worker operating a limber- bucker. ‘‘It’s bad for your health because of all the pressure, it’s bad for safety, and it’s bad for produc- tion.”’

eUnsafe payment systems. A wildcat strike by Swedish forestry workers in 1975 ended the piece rate

yp. SOs

ABOVE: A Swedish logger shows Joel Hembree the steps which are automatically

system in many companies. A Work Environment Fund study found that the new hourly rate system resulted in 30 percent fewer accidents and 35 percent less lost time. Yet there was no evidence of a decline in produc- tivity.

eUncomfortable protective gear. Swedes, like workers all over the world, do not like to wear uncom- fortable protective clothing. College of Forestry researchers surveyed 2,000 loggers to find out their specific complaints. Not surprisingly, the workers said their hard hats were too heavy, eye protection blocked their vision, and ear muffs created too much pressure. Following the survey, equipment manufacturers were per- suaded to design much more comfor- table gear than is generally used in North America.

Work environment and politics

Why have Swedish employers accept- ed expensive work environment pro-

. e-ta.- es ; <=

gto ea. he

lowered when the machine is turned off. BELOW: IWA study tour members are shown

with two Austrian escorts (left an

d sixth from left) and Austrian union official Josef

Salomon (third from left). Tour members, from left, are Quint Rahberger, Region Ill

safety coordinator; Denny Scott, researc

h department; Bob Whitmarsh, Local 3-38;

-80; llivan, Division erna L er, Region | safety director; Ross Davies, Local 1-80; Jim Sul b ’ a pecan industries, State of Washington; Ed Pickard, B.C. Workers’ Comp. Board;

Mary Montford and her husband,

Melvin, of Local 5-347; and Bob Walls, Local 4-33.

grams? One reason is that they had to. The basic structure of the system was created under the labor-backed Social Democratic party, which until 1976 had been in power for 44 years. About 90 percent of Swedish workers are unionized, compared to 20 per- cent in the U.S. and 31 percent in Canada. :

Most employers also see work en- vironment improvement as a way to reduce absenteeism, wildcat strikes, and other results of worker unrest. When many North American em- ployers resort to the stick, their Swedish counterparts often try to use the carrot. |

‘When we have a national absen- tee rate of 10 percent, we have to start asking questions about the motiva- tion of the 90 percent who do come to work,”’ said Dr. Rolf Lindblom, a work design specialist for the Swed- ish employers’ confederation. ‘‘What can we do to make work more rewar- ~ ding, more satisfying, and with less danger?’’

.In addition to increasing worker motivation and productivity, some employers hope that work environ- ment improvement -will take the steam out of growing union demands for control over -the Swedish econ- omy. A new law provides for “‘co- determination,’’ or employer consul- tation with unions in making business decisions, and the Swedish labor movement is proposing eventual union control of all of the country’s businesses, 90 percent of which are

now privately owned. : “‘Our goal is to reduce conflict,”

‘said C.G. Sandberg, an employers’

confederation psychiatrist. ‘‘When- ever there is a concentration of resources, Or power, you get a ‘we and them’ psychology. We want to | improve communication, to solve problems people have, so this kind of conflict will not occur.’’

Ironically, Swedish unionists see the work environment movement as part of their overall drive toward “economic democracy.’” They want not only to save lives, but to improve _ the quality of life on the job as well.

“‘The fight to have more power in the workplace was the logical next step for Swedish workers,’’ said Birger Viklund of the Swedish unions’ Work Quality Center.

‘““For decades we fought for political democracy—the right to participate in government,”’ he said. ‘‘Then we fought for social democ- racy, or security for every person to have a job, health care, and a place to live. Now we want economic democ- racy, which means not only a larger share of the wealth but also- more control over working conditions.

““We don’t believe that a few peo- ple should have all the control over decisions that affect the lives of so many,.”’