Workers’ lives at risk

Attempts by Tory ministers and unscrupulous bosses to dilute or circumvent health and safety legislation along the south coast must be resisted.

This is the core message that was the theme of this year’s International Workers Memorial Day events in Portsmouth and Southampton today (April 28).

Unite appealed for workers, activists and the public to turn up to show solidarity.

In Portsmouth, the event was organised by the city’s trade council. A commemoration took place at Victoria Park, where attendees assembled for a minute’s silence at noon.

In Southampton, the event was held in the East Park, Brunswick Place at 12.30pm.

These events took place against a background that, according to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) UK statistics, saw 142 workers killed at work in 2014/15 across the country – the last year that full figures are available.

During that year, 1.2m working people suffered from a work-related illness; 76,000 injuries to employees were reported under Riddor (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations); and 611,000 injuries occurred at work according to the Labour Force Survey.

A total of 27.3m working days were lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury, costing an estimated ÂŁ14.3 billion due to injuries and ill health from working conditions in 2013/14.

The Tories have taken the axe to health and safety by cutting the budget as part of the civil service cuts; removing the approved code of practice and construction (design and management) regulations; deregulation; and removing much of ill health at work reporting from Riddor.

“Tory ministers driven by ideology, coupled with unscrupulous bosses trying to circumvent the regulations, are putting the lives of workers at risk,” said Unite regional secretary for the south east Jennie Formby.

“This is not acceptable in 2016 in the great cities of Portsmouth and Southampton.

“It is a fact that unionised workplaces are safer, yet the government is hell-bent on trying to block unions from protecting the health and safety of our members,” she added.

“Unite recognises that there are employers who neglect the safety of their workforces, so we assiduously campaign for stronger laws and enforcement action to fight these abuses along the south coast from Dover to the Solent.

“If the government continues to battle with unions protecting their members in the workplace, by limiting the training provided to health and safety representatives and reducing the right to strike, we will see more deaths in the workplace,” Formby went on to say.

“International Workers’ Memorial Day is about recognising the loss of those who don’t make it home at the end of their working day.  It’s a hard fact to swallow that more people are killed in work than in wars.”

• Pic by Mark Harvey