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Totally forgotten amongst that appalling toll of deaths are those members of the public killed as a result of the lack of adherence to workplace health and safety within the construction industry, haulage drivers who suffer exhaustion at the wheel, taxi drivers subjected to violence from the public; and dock workers crushed by automated machinery. These were the human beings remembered by the many speakers attending the hour long memorial ceremony attended by ordinary members of the public, trade union members, and the families of the victims of death and injuries as a result of a culture of health and safety ignorance amongst employers. Contrary to what the Toy led Con-Dem(ned) government would have the public believe, speaker after speaker reminded the crowd gathered, that the UK is not a shining example of workplace health and safety awareness and best practice, nor is it a society imbued with a health and safety compensation culture; but it is in fact only 20th on the league of statistics workplace health and safety deaths and injuries of western countries. Amongst the key speakers were Unite's General Secretary Len McCluskey, CWU's General Secretary Bill Hayes, Liverpool Labour MP Maria Eagle, and Diane Fos from Thompsons Solicitors. But perhaps the most heart rendering speech came from Dawn Adams co-founder of Families Against Corporate Killers, who spoke of the loss of her six year old son Samuel who was killed at the Trafford Centre in Manchester by a unrestrained heavy barrier that fell on him.
She explained about the foundation of FACK (Families Against Corporate Killers) in 2006 condemned the government of all political shades for the lack of accountability of employers, who don't care and get away with killing their workers and members of the public. Dawn held a picture of her son in her hands as she spoke with emotion and tears about her families terrible and needless loss. Accompanied at the microphone with Dawn was Patricia who held FACK's logo up for all to see and later gave out leaflets containing information about FACK and the support groups lobbying and work. Local Labour MP Maria Eagle did a good job of attacking the Tory policies on workers rights and health and safety at work protection, whilst stating that the Labour party needs to do far better when it returns to power. Opening her contribution, she said: “Worldwide, work kills more than war – that is why we are here today – to remember the 20,000 people who died prematurely in the UK last year as a result of injuries or accidents caused by their work and the 1.9 million people living with the consequences of work-related illness or injury.”
“This Government’s safety plans are deadly. We are facing unprecedented attacks from a Government that cares more about the job security of one misbehaving minister manoeuvring to give Rupert Murdoch what he wants than the health and safety of any working person. Which sees safety standards as “red tape” and mesothelioma victims as part of a “compensation culture.” But the most damning thing in her speech was, as reported by Unionsafety last, the behaviour of a government minister during the House of Commons debate on the Legal Aid bill going through parliament: “To see Jonathan Djanogly smirking and giggling his way through the debate about his plans to force mesothelioma victims to pay their legal costs out of their damages was truly sickening. This attitude, laughing at the victims of serious industrial disease whilst enacting laws which can leave dying victims of asbestos with no damages and a bill in their final days encapsulates perfectly what this Government thinks of rights at work and health and safety standards. Caricature, ridicule, abolish – that’s their approach” She concluded: “The answer to work-related accidents and illness, the way to cut the toll of deaths and ongoing suffering in our nation and worldwide is well known – it is trades union organisation – it is rights at work. Health and safety reps have been estimated to prevent 8,000 to 13,000 accidents a year and 3,000 to 8,000 work related illnesses. It stands to reason, they are in the workplace. They know what goes on. They can convey that reality to management. They can get things improved for the benefit of all.”
"This is the 20th year that we have commemorated this day in Britain. They can have been fewer more timely ceremonies. Billy continued by reminding the trade unionists and safety reps of the safe workplaces created by USRs and their Trade unions:: "Since 1974, workplace fatalities have fallen by 80%, thanks to the work of people like you. Questioning why the Government does not promote this work and the HSE own reports of the 'union effect', he said: " Why doesn’t the government promote the Health and Safety Executive’s own findings – which show that consultation with union safety reps by employers results in huge improvements in workplace safety? Billy continued: " Trade unions frequently identified the significance of dangerous materials and practices long before anyone had doubts.
For example, had unions been listened to, many of the 4000 annual deaths caused by asbestos would have been avoided. Billy concluded by reminding everyone that this day is a global memoriam day to the estimated 2.3 million worker fatalities per year that work-related accidents and diseases cause: " There are no national boundaries to the greed of capital or the promotion of exploitation of workers. For people across the globe are paying a disastrous price for the domination of unsafe production over the welfare of working people."
The Supreme Court upheld Unite’s appeal and rejected arguments by insurance companies which would have denied compensation to victims of the terminal disease mesothelioma. Judges in the country’s highest court agreed with Unite that the insurers of an employer at the time of the exposure to asbestos should pay compensation.
He reminded the rally that the current Government's slashing of health & safety legislation will put workers back to before 1974 when the then Labour government brought in the Health & Safety At Work Act and later in 1977 the right of workers to appoint union safety reps. He said that until appropriate punishment of company bosses who killed their workforce was in place, little would change and workplace deaths would continue under this government. “The government is hell bent on reducing health and safety regulations, and standards. It will lead to fewer inspections, less enforcement and more deaths, injuries and ill-health at work." he said. He continued: “Using the official statistics enables the government to suggest that UK health and safety is better than everywhere else, and provides an excuse, albeit a very thin excuse, for cutting the health and safety responsibilities of UK employers.
This theme was carried on when PCS National Vice President Paula Brown spoke of the attacks upon the HSE which she said will lead to the total decimation of the organisation, with major losses of experienced staff, inspectors and funding to resource the service appropriately. She outlined how the HSE had lost the ability to provide telephone support and advice both to employers and employees, and how it had been stopped from doing any pro-active inspections in workplaces such as Docks and newly labeled 'low risk' workplaces including some classes of industrial sites. In closing she said: "PCS is defending the jobs and services of our members working at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) from government attacks through spending cuts, deregulation and myth-peddling. A number of speakers had criticised not only the present government but also the Labour government, reminding people that since 1997 staffing of the HSE and funding had also been cut, with the resultant lack of workplace inspections it was able to undertake. The memorial service at Liverpool's Mann Island corner of The Strand, culminated with the lone piper playing as wreaths where laid by organisations and individuals to the tens of thousand of workers who have been killed as a result of employer's neglect of their basic human right to be healthy and safe in their workplace.
Source pics & text: Chris Ingram, Unionsafety / Hazards / PCS / Unite / UNISON / CWU Read Dawn Adams story of the death of her son here The stories of other vicitims of workplace death can be found here |
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Saturday 28th April 2012 at 1pm on a cold and overcast day not far from Liverpool's waterfront, a lone piper played as wreaths were laid as a memorial to the 20,000 people killed each year as a result of workplace accidents and injuries.
Dawn explained to a totally silent crowd that she had no idea that a normal day out shopping with her family with a trip to The Trafford Centre would end in the loss of her son in a terrible and preventable accident caused by the lack of health and safety procedures and total disregard for public safety. Dawn went on to say that she did not believe employers actually care about the safety of their workers, nor that of the public. 
The DTI paper in June 2007 called “Workplace Representatives “, estimated that health and safety reps saved society, at 2004 prices, up to £578 million each year.
The same study found that health and safety reps prevented between 8000 and 13,000 workplace accidents per year, and between 3000 and 8000 work related illnesses.
Diane Fos spoke of her law firms case against the insurance industry which they won on 28th March in relation to a Unite member who has Mesothelioma and the fight they had obtaining compensation for him and the thousands of other victims of this asbestos related deadly disease, who will benefit from the high court ruling. 
Later, Unite's General Secretary Len McCluskey took to the mic and thanked Thompsons and the union's legal services department for the work they had done in successfully appealing the case for their member. 
“The government’s strategy, built on myth and dogma, puts workers at greater risk. Unite has been very critical of the annual statistics on deaths at work, since these are only the tip of the iceberg, and represent a massive underestimate of the true problem.
“This is a complete myth, since the real number of people killed in work-related incidents each year is probably closer to 1,400, over eight times the official Health and Safety Executive figure for 2011 of 171.” 
