A health-conscious pensioner died after developing the asbestos cancer mesothelioma, decades after breathing in asbestos from the clothes of shipyard workers. Alison Corbett worked for just seven years in the offices of a shipyard more than 40 years ago. Ms Corbett's only contact with asbestos workers was when they came into the office with wages queries and other enquires. This tragic death demonstrates yet again that even limited exposure to asbestos can kill (see previous Cats).

On 23rd October 2010 members of Northampton Solidarity Federation joined the anti cuts march to demand an end to the cuts being imposed on the working class in the 'austerity budget' - the greatest attack on the working class in decades.

We join the fight against the cuts now because they will bring immediate and real hardship and suffering to working people.

But the answer does not really lie in a readjustment of the government's budget.

The real answer lies in a fundamental change in the way we organise our society and economy.

The fight over cuts is symptomatic of the fight between the wealthy, the capitalists, and the workers.

It concerns how the wealth generated in society is distributed: but a slight shift one way or the other is not enough.

It has now been accepted that Formaldehyde, a chemical to which millions of workers are exposed to, causes cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer had already concluded that formaldehyde was probably carcinogenic to humans, but new studies have now found hard evidence showing that formaldehyde causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans.

Formaldehyde is used mainly in the production of resins that are used as adhesives and binders for wood products, pulp, paper, glasswool and rockwool. It is also used extensively in the production of plastics and coatings, in textile finishing, in the manufacture of industrial chemicals, and as a disinfectant and preservative (formalin) used in labs and in morgues for embalming.

Back in May, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) held a ‘National Temporary Workers Week'. In reality, this was a propaganda exercise promoting the casualisation of work. In response, the Bristol Against Casualisation Campaign (BACC) held a series of counterevents under the title ‘Opposing Temporary Work Week'. BACC is a group of workers and trade unionists who have been organising against casualisation for the past three years or so.

During the week, there was the showing of ‘A Job to Win' at the Cube Cinema, Bristol. The event was co-hosted with the International Solidarity Movement and was introduced by a representative from BACC, who linked the part played by agencies in exploiting migrant labourers in Palestine with the role of agencies in promoting temporary work in the UK. The film was followed by a discussion that highlighted the growing exploitation of migrant workers in the UK, and how to forge solidarity with them.

Of course, a trade union is usually better than nothing - but if you have the chance, why not dissafilliate from the Labour Party or, better still, take the union under direct workers' control? Here.s two recent events to prove it.

Union Grows after Cutting Labour Ties

Since being thrown out of the Labour Party, the RMT, the biggest rail workers. union, has increased its membership by more than 3,000, and is one of the few trade unions in the country which is growing.

Even given this evidence, the union is still planning to take legal action to challenge the decision that it had effectively disaffiliated itself in February because it was giving financial support to other political parties. The RMT is still sending affiliation cheques to the party, but they are being returned.

As the Health and Safety jargon goes, 99% of accidents are preventable. Here are just a few examples of cases where negligence by employers - who would rather make extra profits than prevent accidents - has been exposed.

It looks as if Labour has finally overcome the “problem” of funding pensions. By raising the age of retirement to 70, Labour hopes that we will all drop dead before we are able to draw them. The treasury has commissioned reports from several right wing “pensions experts” who, surprise surprise, argued for an increase in the age of retirement. As one of them shamelessly put it, “the role of the state is to alleviate poverty and not to fund a long and active retirement with a good standard of living”.

The Labour Government repeatedly claims that there are more people in work than ever. “This year, for the first time, there are more than 30 million in the workforce” boasted Gordon Brown recently. But sadly, there.s more to it.

On the face of it, Labour.s record on employment is good. According to the International Labour Organisation, unemployment in Britain stands at 4.8%, not bad when compared with the Eurozone.s 9%. But, as always with Labour, the devil is in the detail.

Figures released by trade unions the TGWU and UCATT show that 104 people died at work in the North West of England in 2003-04, the highest of any region in England, Scotland or Wales. The number of major injuries at work during the same two-year period was 7,218, the second highest of any region. Not one single company director was prosecuted for these deaths or injuries.

In March 1996, when in opposition, Labour gave its support to a law for director liability when Michael Meacher MP said in Parliament, “Responsibility for health and safety must be vested at the highest level of each organisation. Companies should appoint an individual at board level with overall responsibility for health and safety.”