Employmentweb_low

policies and interventions
for export to riyadh, will bypass local papuans’ right to veto the project. another big issue is that these deals
will further entrench export-oriented agriculture. the heavy push over recent decades towards producing food
for external markets rather than internal ones is what has made the impact of the 2007–08 food crisis so hard
on so many people, particularly in asia and africa.
* For more information on grain and food security, go to: http://farmlandgrab.blogspot.com
Source
grain. (2008). Seized: The 2008 land grab for food and financial security. retrieved February 24, 2009, from
http://www.grain.org/briefings/id=212
case study 67. Is outsourcing the maintenance of U.S. airlines increasing safety risks - Joan benach, Michael Quinlan
and carles Muntaner
at the same time that concerns about terrorism have increased security controls in airports, especially in
the United states, the passenger rights issue has been given a low priority after 9/11 of 2001. as a
consequence, airline service has deteriorated with respect to arrival times, mishandled baggage, bumped
passengers, and consumer complaints. some reports have also highlighted a less commonly known issue:
airlines are increasing their reliance on overseas maintenance facilities, which are subject to less oversight
and fewer inspections. contracting this work has become an increasingly common practice, while major
carriers have shed over 100,000 airline jobs in the past five years. as airlines have struggled with massive
financial losses and sharp competition, many have shifted their maintenance work to outside vendors. in 2006,
more than half of the major U.s. airlines’ maintenance work was done by third-party vendors, compared with
just a third ten years ago.
What are, and what can be, the safety and health risks of the airline industry’s increasing reliance on outsourcing
airline maintenance While the airline industry and the Federal aviation administration claim that using third-party
workers is not a problem, a number of reports have claimed that poor maintenance by outside contractors is
increasing safety and health risk. similar problems have been identified in australia, where an audit of overseas
maintenance for Qantas identified fourteen safety breaches (sidney Morning Herald, 2007).
the extent of outsourcing airline maintenance to catastrophically compromise safety has already been
demonstrated. in 1996, a valujet dc-9 airliner crashed into the Florida everglades, killing all 110 on board. the
incident was clearly linked to the use of independent contractors on maintenance activities (rousseau &
libuser, 1997). in the two years prior to its crash, that same plane had made seven forced landings due to a
variety of malfunctions. investigators believed the crash was due to a fire sparked by oxygen generators in the
jet’s forward cargo hold. it was alleged the hazard could have been prevented had workers for the maintenance
firm, sabretech, fitted a three-cent safety cap to the generators, something the acting U.s. attorney guy lewis
described as a clear case of ”putting corporate profits ahead of public safety.” in december 1999, the by then
defunct (itself a regulatory issue) sabretech was convicted by a federal jury on nine counts in connection with
improper handling of oxygen generators blamed for the fire in the cargo hold of the doomed plane (Johnstone,
Quinlan, & Mayhew, 2001).
regulating outsourcing is already problematic (Johnstone et al., 2001), but these problems are exacerbated when
foreign contractors are involved because they are outside the normal jurisdiction of U.s. (or other national) oHs
legislation. air transport, like long haul trucking (saltzman & belzer, 2007), provides an example of how outsourcing
can potentially damage not only workers’ health but also public safety.
references
Johnstone, r., Quinlan, M., & Mayhew, c. (2001). outsourcing risk the regulation of oHs where contractors are employed.
Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal, 22(2,3), 351-393.
rousseau, d., & libuser, c. (1997). contingent workers in high risk environments. California Management Review, 39(2), 103-
121.
saltzman, g., & belzer, M. (2007). Truck driver occupational safety and health: 2003 conference report and selective literature
review. cincinnati: national institute for occupational safety and Health.
the sidney Morning Herald. (2007, March 21). Vaile wont condemn Qantas safety breach. retrieved February 25, 2008, from
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/doubts-emerge-about-Qantas-maintenance/2007/03/21/1174153097017.html
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