The following details have been supplied by the TUC:
The Government’s attacks on health and safety, including swingeing cuts to the Health and Safety Executive’s budget and the erosion of its inspection and enforcement functions, could jeopardise long-term improvements in standards at work, retail union Usdaw has warned.
Speaking on the 1 October 40th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work Act taking effect, Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett said the law was “one of the most important pieces of legislation” ever introduced. “This legislation has stood the test of time, with much of it still used regularly by our army of Usdaw health and safety reps,” he said.
But he warned: “Today our concerns lie in enforcement and inspection of workplaces. The current government is obsessed with deregulation, claiming that health and safety inspections are not needed for ‘low risk’ workplaces such as shops and offices. It simply isn’t true that it’s only people who work in ‘dangerous’ industries who are at risk. Cuts and political interference from Ministers mean that most workplaces are no longer being inspected.”
