Unions take 'stand' on stilettos

Union members have voted to take a stand against the risks of wearing high heels in the workplace in favour of more "sensible shoes". Delegates at the TUC congress in Liverpool backed a motion requiring some employers to carry out risk assessments about workers' footwear.

The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists says lower limb injuries cost two million working days a year.
But some unions say individuals should be allowed to wear what they want.  TUC delegates heard some workers were forced to wear high heels as part of their dress code.

Lorraine Jones, of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, said women shop workers, cabin crew and other employees had to wear high heels as part of a dress code, but this did not apply to men. She said such shoes put seven times as much pressure on the ball of the foot as flat-soled options.

Insulting mother in-law …costs

An Italian man who insulted his absent mother-in-law in a fight with his wife has been ordered to pay his better half damages.

Italy`s supreme Cassation Court said the undisclosed damages should go to the spouse, ``even though she was not the target of the abuse, `` because the man indirectly damaged her own dignity by calling her mother a ``whore`` and ``a bitch``.

Run for your …life!

Burly construction workers scurried for cover when a naked blonde rushed at them on a Vienna construction site shouting: "Who wants me?"

The hard-hat hunks went flying when the woman turned the tables on them. "We like to chat up girls as they walk past: it's a tradition," said one builder. "But this woman was too much to handle and we just ran and hid until the police got here."

Police spokesman Mario Hejl said: "It turned out no one wanted her. The woman was detained and was put under a doctor's care."

Zoo elephant threw stone at woman

South Korean police, in one of their more heavyweight cases, are investigating whether a zoo elephant threw a stone at a woman visitor. The woman, known as Ms Kim, told police she was visiting the zoo at the Children's Grand Park in southeast Seoul on Monday when she noticed an elephant picking up a stone with its trunk.

After she turned away from 35-year-old Taesani, she was hit on the back of her head by a large stone, several newspapers reported.  She reported the incident to police in Gwangjin district who began an investigation.  They found that the scene of the alleged assault was out of range of security cameras.

"Though Ms Kim believes the elephant threw a stone at her, it's hard to conclude that the elephant attacked her since there are neither witnesses nor evidence,'' Dong-A Ilbo newspaper quoted a police source as saying.