{"id":8532,"date":"2016-04-28T13:30:14","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T12:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=8532"},"modified":"2016-04-27T17:17:05","modified_gmt":"2016-04-27T16:17:05","slug":"workers-lives-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=8532","title":{"rendered":"Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 lives at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Attempts by Tory ministers and unscrupulous bosses to dilute or circumvent health and safety legislation along the south coast must be resisted.<\/p>\n

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This is the core message that was the theme of this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s International Workers Memorial Day events in Portsmouth and Southampton today (April 28).<\/p>\n

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Unite appealed for workers, activists and the public to turn up to show solidarity.<\/p>\n

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In Portsmouth, the event was organised by the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trade council. A commemoration took place at Victoria Park, where attendees assembled for a minute\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s silence at noon.<\/p>\n

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In Southampton, the event was held in the East Park, Brunswick Place at 12.30pm.<\/p>\n

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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 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the last year that full figures are available.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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A total of 27.3m working days were lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury, costing an estimated \u00c2\u014114.3 billion due to injuries and ill health from working conditions in 2013\/14.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTory ministers driven by ideology, coupled with unscrupulous bosses trying to circumvent the regulations, are putting the lives of workers at risk,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Unite regional secretary for the south east Jennie Formby.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is not acceptable in 2016 in the great cities of Portsmouth and Southampton.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt 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,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite 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.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf 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,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Formby went on to say.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bInternational Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Memorial Day is about recognising the loss of those who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it home at the end of their working day.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a hard fact to swallow that more people are killed in work than in wars.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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