Sick building syndrome could be sidelining workers, said union leader Ed Ball.

And the Bermuda Public Service Association General Secretary said current laws needed new teeth to cut down on work-related illness and stress.

He said: "The Health and Safety Act needs to be beefed up. There aren't enough inspectors to enforce it.'' He said more were needed to visit companies to make sure they were complying with the law.

Mr. Ball's comments follow the release of the Wellness Report which showed one in four workers believed employers ignored work-related health hazards.

Chief concerns listed by adults polled in the survey were; bad air, excessive heat or cold, eye strain, lack of work space and strain from poorly designed work space.

Mr. Ball said too little was being done to address such concerns because employers were more concerned with profits.

He said: "Employers have to make more of an effort to make the workplace safe.

"If you go to work in Germany, Switzerland or Norway they spend a lot of money on making work spaces comfortable. But it hasn't caught on over here.'' Instead he said Bermuda was following America's lead where President George Bush had recently stamped on an initiative aimed at curbing carpal tunnel syndrome which is a wrist injury which hits computer operators.

"We need to put in certain safety guidelines,''said Mr. Ball.

Asked about the workplace findings of the Wellness report which gave a snapshot of the island's health Mr. Ball said: "I am not overly surprised because we have not really tried to put in health and safety measures here.'' He said office ventilators and filters needed to be looked at.

"Are buildings regularly checked for stagnant water? "There may be something wrong with the duct. With something like that the repercussions can be legionnaires' disease.'' The disease is a form of bacterial pneumonia.

He said "dead space'', where bad smells built up because they were not reached by ventilation could be the breeding ground for anaerobic germs.

"This could make people sick if they are not cleaned.'' "Quite a few people suffer from allergies as soon as they enter a building.

They get sick and start wheezing.'' "It's sick building syndrome.'' He said poor office furniture also affected health.

"The keyboard should be at a certain height to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.'' He added: "A lot of office space is too congested.'' And he said many building firms were dicing with danger by not putting safety fencing around open storeys where the walls had yet to be erected.

Road works were also inadequately cordoned off meaning children and animals could fall in the holes said Mr. Ball.

"We are probably waiting for a disaster to occur if something is not done.'' He said health and safety and the working environment were key bargaining points in collective agreements drawn up by his union.