{"id":12232,"date":"2017-04-28T16:34:22","date_gmt":"2017-04-28T15:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=12232"},"modified":"2017-05-01T16:00:08","modified_gmt":"2017-05-01T15:00:08","slug":"one-death-one-many","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=12232","title":{"rendered":"‘One death is one too many’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Just as Unite members, mostly in construction, gathered at the building worker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s statue in London to mark International Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Memorial Day (IWMD) today (April 28), news broke that yet another of their fellow brothers in construction fell to his death that very morning at a site not even a mile away.<\/p>\n

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It is thought that the man took his own life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Workplace suicides are among the many causes of death in construction, which is rife with hazards from accidents to exposure to toxic materials.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But construction is not the only sector where going to work can actually mean risking your life. Each year 2m people across all sectors are killed at work globally — more than die in war.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On International Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Memorial Day, Unite members across the UK joined other trade unionists around the globe to say that one death is one death too many.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking at today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s event in London, Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail (pictured below) told of the pain that families who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost loved ones at work must go through in their fight for justice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"IWMD<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Justice fight<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A Unite freedom of information request discovered that the average time between when a person is killed at work and the employer is convicted is 1,234 days \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s over three years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd mostly there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only a fine, and not a custodial sentence,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Cartmail noted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She called on all parties ahead of the general election in June to commit to taking action to speed up the justice system, as she slammed the present Tory government for slashing the number of health and safety inspectors who help stop deaths from happening in the first place.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m afraid to say some bosses do put their profits before your safety,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Standing up for health and safety in itself can be dangerous.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The blacklisting scandal, in which trade unionists fighting for safer workplaces were put on a list, spied on by police and in some cases couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t find work for decades, shows just how entrenched the forces unions are fighting against are.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And blacklisting continues to this day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cartmail said Unite was calling on the government to undertake an independent inquiry into blacklisting as well as reinvestment in health and safety and a review that will speed up the justice system for those who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve died at work at the hands of employers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bLet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s make the punishment fit the crime \u00e2\u20ac\u201c why not imprison them?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she demanded.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vulnerable workers<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"IWMD<\/p>\n

Unite London regional secretary Pete Kavanagh (pictured above) hailed the merger of construction union Ucatt with Unite which was completed last year, saying that together the unions were stronger and would be a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bpower to be reckoned with.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s International Worker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Memorial Day theme is to defend those who are most vulnerable in the workplace, Kavanagh explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhether they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re migrant workers with English as a second language who often don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand their rights at work, or whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s women working in male-dominated sectors, being harassed and not treated with respect, this year, we fight harder than ever before for those groups of our members,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe welcome them into our union and say to them this is a union for all workers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Danish Building Trades general secretary Gunde Odgaard came to today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s event to emphasise that health and safety concerns defy borders.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTrades unions have always been international \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the movement was founded on international solidarity and cooperation,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told UNITElive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bPromoting health and safety; trying to eliminate hazardous substances like asbestos; taking action to help those with musculoskeletal problems that plague our members their entire working lives \u00e2\u20ac\u201c these are all international issues because they are universal.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Strength in numbers<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Unite member Rachel Penfold, 23, an apprentice at Battersea Power Station (pictured below), joined fellow construction workers today to pay her respects to those who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve died.<\/p>\n

\"iwmd<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bConstruction is the most dangerous sector to work in,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bToday reminds us why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so important to be part of the union \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here to protect us.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite member Sophie Gowland, 27, who works for construction firm Blu 3 UK Ltd., agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to be out here today to remember those who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been killed at work because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve died doing something that each of us expected to do every day and there needs to be more measures\u00c2\u00a0 in place to stop it,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a new Unite member, Gowland encourages other young people to join.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen you just begin working, you need someone to give that knowledge and support to help you succeed,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe union gives you support; it gives you power and it stands for equality. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strength in numbers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For Unite convenor at Battersea Power Station Declan Murphy\u00c2\u00a0(pictured below) International Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Memorial Day hits close to home.<\/p>\n

\"IWMD<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn the years I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spent working in construction, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve personally known six people who have died on site, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had many injuries myself,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told UNITElive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sick of seeing my friends and colleagues murdered on site just to earn a living.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Murphy believes the best way to stop workplace deaths and injuries is through support of a trade union.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs Sophie said, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strength in numbers,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn construction there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a culture of fear \u00e2\u20ac\u201c people are afraid to speak up for themselves because so many of them are on insecure contracts. But being in the union, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s someone else there to stand up for them and that gives them the confidence to speak out about health and safety.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s London event drew to a close today, 43 black balloons were released into the air \u00e2\u20ac\u201c one for each construction worker who has died on site in the UK in the last year alone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cartmail exhorted members to remember those 43 who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve needlessly died \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as well as the many thousands who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been killed in years past \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but, she added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bfor God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sake let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stand up together and fight for the living.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

\"IWMD<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just as Unite members, mostly in construction, gathered at the building worker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s statue in London to mark International Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Memorial Day (IWMD) today (April 28), news broke that yet another of their fellow brothers in construction fell to his death that very morning at a site not even a mile away.   It is thought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12239,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[167,516],"wps_subtitle":"Unite joins the world in remembering fallen workers","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12232"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12232"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12242,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12232\/revisions\/12242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}