Health & Safety Legislation Under Threat After Next Election

With the release today of a new Opinion Poll for Politics.Co.Uk, the overwhelming conclusion is that the Tory leader David Cameron will become the next Prime Minister in a massive landslide.

Given the commitment the Tories have made to decimate current health & safety legislation and with it also workers employment rights, USRs and the wider Trade Union movement have until next Spring to mount a public campaign against Tory policy regarding health & safety and make it an election issue.

The results of the opinion poll commissioned by Politics.co.uk were reported on their website today:

"Tory leader David Cameron is the clear favourite to become prime minister, according to a poll of politics.co.uk users.

Asked who they would like to replace Gordon Brown, 60 per cent of respondents answered Mr Cameron.
Twenty-seven per cent said Nick Clegg, and just 13 per cent said Alan Johnson – the favourite to take over the reins of the party after Mr Brown.

There was also clear support for an immediate general election. Seventy-seven per cent of people said they wanted a vote now, while only 23 per cent disagreed.

The poll is further evidence of Labour's dwindling support in the country, and confirms other surveys which have predicted a substantial Tory majority after the next election."

Unionsafety readers will recall the advanced warning issued by CWU's National Health & Safety Officer Dave Joyce as far back as December 2007 in an article published on this website.

Warning of the savage attacks the Tories intend to make when they get into Government, and commenting on their self declared promise, Dave's articles said:

"The Proposals recommend a repeal of the Working Time Regulations, the UK to opt-out from Europe's Social Chapter, a Watering-Down of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations to weaken the "Risk Assessment" requirements placed on employers and a review of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The report further claims that the inspection regime has no sense of proportion and “fails to consider business implications”. Redwood completely ignores the need to save lives or prevent serious injuries.

Also as reported in Unionsafety, Michael Groves MP made an attack on health & safety at the Tory Party Conference 2008. Speaking as the Tories spokesperson for Children Schools and Families, he made it clear that the Tory attacks on health & safety legislation are unabated and even involved removing legislation which covered school children's safety.

The Teacher's union, NASUWT, were appalled and issued this press release:

"References to sweeping aside health and safety legislation may play well with the Party faithful, but they will cause deep alarm to any right minded person. It is nothing short of reckless to pledge to remove regulation which is fundamental to the health and welfare of young people and adults."

Giving his own personal view of the Tory threat, Unionsafety Web editor Chris Ingram said:

"With the lurch once again into extreme politics by the UK electorate according to a series of opinion polls, David Cameron poses the same threat to health & safety that Thatcher did to education, trade unionism, workers rights and the working population of this country."

He continued: " Dave Joyce's warning some two years ago is a clarion call to the Trade Union movement to make health and safety and workers protection from death and accidents at work, a major election issue!"

Source: Politics.co.uk

You can read both related articles here:

Tories Declare They Will Sweep Aside Safety Laws

Danger! Tory Proposals Hit Workers Health & Safety Protection

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