For the third year in a row, lack of high-potential leaders is the most pressing concern for human resources executives, with 32 percent putting it at the top of their list in a recent survey by Right Management.

In 2011, 919 workers in Canada lost their lives to a disease or injury they incurred from work-related causes. Even more disturbing, is that eight of those who died were teenagers; twenty-six were between the ages of twenty and twenty-four years. There are close to three work-related deaths each day in Canada - each one leaving a trail of pain for the families impacted by the loss of a husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter.

In a move that echoes one made on this side of the Atlantic, the European Commission plans to review – and possibly eliminate -- regulations that it says are hindering business growth and job creation. In a reaction that echoes some heard on this side of the Atlantic, labor and workers’ rights advocates are not happy about the plan.

The European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament have reached agreement on a new Directive that addresses the risks of major accidents from offshore oil and gas operations in EU waters.

Two clothing factories in Bangladesh and Pakistan were inspected for safety conditions by independent auditing firms prior to 2012 fires that killed hundreds of employees, according to a new report by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO).

The European Commission has announced plans to amend five health and safety at work Directives, in order to align them with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), but critics charge that the changes won’t make workers any safer.

In your view, what are the big issues to watch out for in 2013? I think that climate change is going to be a big issue. That’s partly for the same reasons. There’s also a growing recognition of the effects that a change in climate is going to have on business.

Climate change could have a significant impact on worker productivity – particularly in certain parts of the word, according to a study published in the March issue of the journal, Nature Climate Change.

A proposed “carbon tax” would have a “devastating” impact on manufacturing and jobs, according to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), responding to climate-change legislation introduced recently in the Senate.