The following has been supplied by the TUC:
The government's drive to reduce regulation and enforcement of workplace health and safety is already causing harm at work, the union Unite has said. The union has been asking its union reps how the changes are impacting on standards at work, ahead of the government's own progress report later this year. Unite reps have so far reported a worrying deterioration they link to a government-ordered downgrading of safety protection, which includes slashing enforcement by a third, exempting most firms from preventive inspections and cutting the Health and Safety Executive's budget to the bone. Unite reps say they are feeling the pain at work, with some reporting employers have cut back on personal protective equipment at work and are failing to properly report legally reportable injuries. They also point to work overload as a result of public sector cuts, a lack of action on stress and mental health issues at work, poor management of asbestos at work and a failure to take preventive action to protect women from reproductive risks. Unite intends to collate a dossier to demonstrate the positive effect of unions on health and safety and the problems they are facing as the safety cuts bite.
