Melody Kemp's Working for Life is a basic text for women workers, labor activists and trade union workers. It is meant to serve as a source book for women workers; just like occupational health workers have their 10-centimeter textbook of chemicals as a backup.

The book originally started as a handbook for labor inspectors, a simple handbook that could be stuck into back pockets. Melody was chief advisor on a project that was to improve the conditions of working women in Indonesia. After visiting about 125 factories, it became very clear to her that the labor inspectors ha d no idea of the way in which women were differently affected by occupational hazards.

Melody was staring out the window one night when she realized that the people who really needed this information were the women themselves. Most of them are not members of unions and there are hardly any workers' education programs for shop floor workers.

Materials coming from the trade unions in the industrialized world assume that readers are technically educated and understand the language of legislation. But women in the developing world do not have formal education. Where would women get information?

Wanting to use her experience as a woman in occupational health, and being a former trade union member, Melody wanted to speak with women workers to encourage them to know and become familiar with the language and "alchemy" of occupational health. She firmly believes that information is power and that with information women workers can feel the courage of the informed.

Working for Life is simple without oversimplifying things and without being patronizing. It actually speaks with women because they are the ones who get totally left out.

"Working for Life is not the only book in the world on occupational health but it maybe is the only one that is for women directly. It is a practical handbook, a how-to-do guide, a bit like Where There is No Doctor for workers", declares Melody. "I hope women will be able to pick it up and use it".