Review

Look at your back in anger

EUROPE UNDER STRAIN
Rory O’Neill
European Trade Union Technical Bureau for Health and Safety, 1999, £14.00

The back of this book states that ‘Europe Under Strain is part of the TUCB’s support for the ETUC campaign on musculoskeletal disorders’. This sentence contains two acronyms that will, I am sure, be unfamiliar to many people and I am left with the same level of clarity about the rationale for, and focus of, the book itself.

It focuses on workplace-related musculoskeletal disorders and some of the initiatives developed to combat them. These disorders are an important occupational issue, as over 44 million workers in the European Union, or 30 per cent of the workforce, will suffer back problems as a result of their jobs. A similar proportion will be affected by work-related repetitive strain disorders.

The book offers an overview of what has been done at an European level — through trade union initiatives — to improve policy and practice in order to reduce the incidence of strains. Such actions include raising awareness, developing methods to combat and/or prevent musculoskeletal disorders, developing legislation and preventive measures.

The various activities are illustrated via a series of case studies from both the EU and from further afield. The case studies from Japan, New Zealand and the US, however, while interesting, do not necessarily fit into the European model and may detract from the rationale of this volume, which the author claims is to provide a resource to achieving adequate frameworks and resources within the EU. However, the book primarily documents what has been done in this area and, therefore, may ultimately offer more of a historical record than a resource for action.

The book is split into two sections, with the first addressing Europe’s strain injuries epidemic and the second covering prevention, yet some of the information, such as epidemiological data relating to strains, crops up in both.

I am neither clear as to the intended readership of this book, since trade union members campaigning in this area are already likely to be aware of current activities, nor am I sure what message other readers will be left with after reading it.