FACK's Linda Whelan To Address MPs On Construction Workers Parliamentary Lobby

Linda Whelan, founder of Families Against Corporate Killers (Fack) has been campaigning for improved workplace safety since the death of her steeplejack son Craig, was killed in an industrial chimney blast in 2002.

Craig, who was 23 at the time of his death at work, was killed when equipment he and another steeplejack, 44-year-old Paul Wakefield from Nottingham, were using caused the interior of an industrial chimney in Bolton, Greater Manchester, to ignite.

The two work colleagues, who were dismantling the chimney, fell 100ft to their deaths when the fireball severed the cables of their hoist.

Three managers were subsequently fined £17,000 for breaching safety regulations.

Linda will be speaking on behalf of bereaved families at the Save Our Safety lobbying day being held on Tuesday, June 11.

The Northern Echo, reported last Tuesday, on Linda's trip to the lobby. She told the newspaper:

“I want to tell the Government what these cuts will really mean. We are going back to the Victorian times where an employee has no rights which is only going to make things worse for the working man.

The burden is on the families who lose their loved ones and all those who are injured in the work place.

By reducing the number of inspections the Government is giving bandit employers a licence to do what they want, and it will be the employees and their families who will suffer.”

Unite’s website is promoting the lobby of parliament and their joint safety campaign with UCATT, Save Our Safety; urging as many members as possible to go to London on the day of the lobby and show solidarity with those who have lost their lives at work, through no fault of their own, and to show MP’s that they are wrong in placing working people in the industry at further risk due to the health & safety legislation cuts and the HSE’s budget slashing.

Pointing to the responsibility that MPs have to know their facts before making decisions which will impact upon the lives of workers, the Unite website says:

“Most MPs have no idea what life on a construction site is like. They are not aware of the poor safety record that the industry has. The purpose of the lobby is for as many people as possible to meet their constituency MPs to tell them how important health and safety legislation is to the lives of workers.”

As the website states, voters have the right to lobby their MP whether you voted for them or not. You can contact your MP at their surgeries and if you don’t know your MPs contact details, this website will help you find them.

Source: Unite / Northern Echo / Hilda Palmer / Unionsafety

For further infomation about Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) visit their website here

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