The following details have been supplied by the TUC:
The government’s persistent ideological attacks on key health and safety legislation threaten even more accidents, injuries and deaths at work, the TUC has warned.
Commenting on 28 April, International Workers’ Memorial Day, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The government says that the UK is a safe place to work and that we don’t need any more regulation. If only this were the case. With the UK ranked just 20th in the health and safety risk index of 34 developed nations, we’ve hardly got a record to be proud of.” She added: “Good employers who work closely with unions improving health and safety at work don’t see regulation as an intrusive burden. But rogue bosses, who are happy to cut corners and take risks with their employees’ lives, do. There is a real danger that further cuts and deregulation will destroy the workplace safety culture that has existed in Britain for many decades – with a disastrous effect on workers’ health and safety.”
The union head added “there is an alternative – a government that is committed to protecting workers and puts a stop to the large-scale negligence that claims the lives or health of far too many workers and costs the state billions of pounds.” TUC estimates over 20,000 people in the UK die prematurely every year as a result of their work
