MPs mark Workers’ Memorial Day, warning safety cuts are putting lives at risk

Parliamentarians and bereaved families will come together in Parliament on 28 April to mark Workers’ Memorial Day. And they’ll remember those who have lost their lives because of work.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health will host the event. It will include contributions from:

• Prof Julia Waters, sister of the late headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life following an Ofsted inspection.
• Fiona and Barry, who worked alongside murdered transport worker Jorge Ortega.
• Anne Davies, widow of firefighter Jeff Simpson, who died from cancer caused by chemicals he was exposed to in burning buildings.
• Kate Bell, assistant general secretary, Trades Union Congress.

Workers’ Memorial Day is an international day of remembrance, backed by the United Nations, for those who have died due to work-related injury or illness.

The parliamentary memorial will bring together MPs, peers, trade unions, families and workers affected by preventable workplace deaths.

MPs and peers in the All-Party Parliamentary Group have raised serious concerns about the capacity of the Health and Safety Executive. This department has seen its funding reduce by almost half since 2010.

These cuts have limited its ability to carry out proactive inspections and enforcement. And this is increasing the risk that unsafe employers go unchecked.

At the same time, work-related mental ill health is rising, yet there are significant gaps in how the system responds. The Health and Safety Executive does not currently investigate work-related suicides, meaning potential systemic causes go unexamined.

Policymakers are calling for this to change, so that work-related suicides are treated with the same seriousness as other workplace deaths.

They are also calling for restoration of the regulator’s pre-2010 budget. This would help it respond to modern workplace risks, including the growing crisis of violence at work.

Workers’ Memorial Day a chance to ‘confront failures’

Ian Lavery, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, said:

Workers’ Memorial Day is about remembering those who have lost their lives because of work, but it is also about confronting the failures that continue to put workers at risk today.

There is a growing crisis of violence at work. When 8 in 10 public-facing workers are experiencing abuse, it is clear that far too many workers are being left without the protection they deserve.

We are also seeing rising levels of work-related mental ill health, yet work-related suicides are not even investigated by the Health and Safety Executive. That cannot be right. These deaths must be recognised, properly investigated, and used to prevent future tragedies.

At the same time, the Health and Safety Executive has had its funding cut in half over the last decade. That has real consequences: fewer inspections, weaker enforcement, and less capacity to deal with growing risks like stress and violence.

If we are serious about protecting workers, government must act — by restoring funding to the regulator and expanding its capacity. No one should lose their life or their health simply for doing their job.

Julia Waters will say:

Work-related suicides are not treated with the same seriousness as other workplace deaths. Until they are recognised, investigated and acted on, the risk of future deaths remains.

Featured image via the Canary