Health and SafetyThere has been little progress on health and safety issues since New Labour came to power. In fact there are escalating problems as working conditions are worsened through
privatisation, the greater use of agencies and the undermining of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
New Labour removed the Railway Inspectorate from HSE and placed it under the Office of
the Rail Regulator (ORR) which seriously undermines its independence and compromises safety on the railways. The death of the Morecambe Bay cockle pickers, the largest single workplace loss of life since the Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea, highlights the increased risks faced by migrant and agency workers.
All workers should have the right to work with full employment and health and safety protection.
All employers should be subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA). It is a scandal that New Labour has pushed hard the New Services Directive from the European Union, which exempts foreign companies from the requirements of the HSWA.
There is an urgent need to double the number of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors as a first step in rebuilding an effective HSE following the cuts imposed on it.
RESPECT CALLS FOR:- Cuts to the HSE to be reversed and new resources put into it.
- Rail Inspectorate to be returned to the HSE.
- Renewed emphasis on inspection and enforcement.
- Full protection for health and safety representatives and whistleblowers on workplace issues.
- Statutory powers for health and safety representatives to close dangerous workplaces and to take out private prosecutions of employers.
- The implementation of Labour’s 1997 manifesto commitment to legislate on corporate killing.
- Legal obligations on named directors and a massive increase in penalties for breaches of health and safety legislation.
- The right of trade unions to appoint roving safety representatives with powers to inspect non-unionised workplaces.
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