Caerphilly AM Jeff Cuthbert joined fellow AMs to mark International Workers Memorial Day in the first event of its kind in the Senedd. Hosted by Labour AM David Rees and held in partnership with the TUC and Unite the Union the event comes as a response to the Westminster Government’s recent attacks on Health and Safety Legislation. The event aimed to highlight the clear divide between the two different administrations’ outlooks on workers’ rights.
Despite Government and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) figures which show that approximately 20,000 people die every year in the UK as a result of their work, the Conservative-led government has presented a number of proposals and consultations aimed at rolling back employment rights. The UK government is cutting 35 per cent of its funding for the HSE in the next year and earlier this year David Cameron, vowed to “kill off the health and safety culture for good.’
Jeff Cuthbert AM said:
“Adequate Health and Safety legislation is not a barrier to economic growth. The reason it exists is to prevent death, injury or illness at work, protecting livelihoods in the process. We must never put money or profitability before the safety of people. The majority of successful businesses regard health and safety as an essential part of efficient working and the cornerstone of a civilised society. For David Cameron to say what he did shows he’s out of touch and insensitive to bereaved families – I call on the UK government to meet its obligations to the workforce.’
Welsh Labour Leader, Carwyn Jones, said:
“Health and Safety at work is not an optional extra – it’s an everyday necessity that quite literally means the difference between life and death in so many industries and for so many workers. Welsh trades unions are at the forefront of ensuring that health and safety is given the prominence it deserves. The UK Government has to face up to its responsibility when it comes to workplace protection and I am proud of the role our unions are playing in that effort.”
Andy Richards, President of the Wales TUC, said:
“The UK government is making out that health and safety does not matter – that it is a politically correct and unnecessary burden on business. But it is proven that health and safety protection in the workplace really does matter. The relaxing of rules and regulations will mean that more and more workers will be put at risk, made ill, injured or even killed at work.This is part of a wider attack on workers’ rights by the coalition government and we welcome the opportunity to work with the National Assembly for Wales in the interests of Welsh workers in the face of these attacks.”
