What Kind Of People Think Protecting Life A Burden?

This is the most poignant question that anyone can ask of the present government who's cruel attack on health and safety legislation and the working conditions of british people will send the country back to when the appalling conditions endured by workers during the industrial revolution saw the beginnings of the Trade union movement and the need for health and safety legislation.

Making her views known on the governments Red Tape Challenge website on 13th April, Dorothy Wright asks this simple question in her (heavily edited) contribution to the debate about the scrapping of existing health and safety legislation and government attacks on H&S enforcement.

Referring to section 2 to 11 of the Health And Safety At Work Act, Dorothy commented:

"I am not surprised at the ignorance of the actual Heath and Safety laws shown by some of those commenting on here Please read the sections I have mentioned above EVERY single one of them are vital to protecting employees from unscrupulous employers who have no qualms about risking the lives of their workforce"

Dorothy, who first became involved in health and safety campaigning through FACK (Families Against Corporate Killing) when she lost her son to an avoidable accident in his work; began her impassioned argument:

"6 years ago today my son died following an explosion and fireball at his employer’s premises. [text deleted]… the justice system and the politicians protect the powerful business lobby and are reluctant to criminalize killer employers even serial killers of which there are quite a few.

It has been left instead in all cases of deaths at work to the Health and Safety Executive to bring negligent employers to some kind of account, meagre though it might be and a deterrent to risking employee’s lives it definitely isn’t
HSAWA is NOT about hot tea and coffee and all the other petty irritations.

It is about the basic human right of workers to come home to their families safe and sound every night although as we were repeatedly told while battling with the justice system that employees of private companies are not covered by Article 2 of the Human rights act — the right to life, nor would it seem that the families have any right to justice under article 6."

Dorothy continues:

"The devastation of the victims family is total ,not only in a lot of cases have children lost a father or mother, they are left in financial difficulties, as it is in most cases it is the bread winner who is killed, surviving partner is often too ill to carry on working and so must resort to claiming benefit ,taking in lots of cases years to recover ,the schooling of older children can be is so badly disrupted that they do not achieve the expected level of qualifications and so spend their lives without he necessary bits of paper to gain well paid work perpetuating the suffering down through the generations.

This talk by this government of H&S law being a ‘job killer’ a’ burden’ on business and the ‘enemy of enterprise’ is totally without foundation ,the evidence available support just the opposite."

Her argument is one which will be well known to all those who have suffered from work related illness and lost loved ones as a result of a needless accident at work. She continues:

"Good health and Safety saves employers money in staff sickness, in insurance premiums, in having a workforce that is well trained and knows that their safety is considered important Poor health and safety costs families immeasurable grief, financial ruin, children blighted for life and a huge cost to the tax payer who has to pick up the tab for extra benefit costs and NHS costs. The employer pays very little, even their legal costs of defending them in H&S court cases is met by their insurers while the family get no legal assistance whatsoever."

Dorothy goes further and debunks the myth that this government likes to peddle at every opportunity as its excuse for the abolition of health and safety legislation and enforcement agencies:

"Far from being the ‘safest country in the world’ for Occupational health and safety as they quote, Britain is actually 30th in ranking and if we go down the route of deregulating health and safety at work still further we will drop much further as deaths will increase dramatically, although the true toll will be further hidden by their destruction of the whole HSE so no one at all will be counting."

But her biggest indictment of the current British government attitude toward health and safety in the workplace comes towards the end of her contribution to the Red Tape Challenge debate:

"EVERY regulation in HSAWA has been put there over the years for good reason. People have died because of the lack of them. No one has ever died from the irritation it seems to cause people having to attend the odd safety course or reading notices pinned on walls, people die every day because some employers consider protecting their lives a 'burden' and a nuisance.

What kind of people think protecting life a burden?"

Dorothy then concludes her argument with this impassioned plea:

"I have left the country in disgust, my son is already dead but my grand children still live and now work in Britain.

Please do not allow greedy negligent employers to be given the green light to kill employees at will by abolishing the little protection they have in HSAWA.

READ and understand fully the HSAWA before allowing the politicians to do this in your name to please the corporate world.

It is unfortunate that there is not one of the political parties that will do what really has to be done to stop the unnecessary and preventable deaths caused by company negligence and that is to make directors legally, individually responsible and brought to justice where their company kills an employee or member of the public, as they are in some other countries, with a possible penalty of a prison term, as is the case in dangerous driving where a death occurs. [text deleted]"

Whilst most of us have not suffered such a terrible experience as having a loved one killed at the place of their work, Dorothy's contribution will touch the heart of those involved in this debate.

It is of paramount importance that the death of workers, such as Dorothy's son, does not go unheeded and that everyone reading this gets involved in defending current health and safety legislation and enforcement and fights for the introduction of appropriate penalties for those who injure and kill their employees as a result of the negligence and lack of care.

Join the debate and make your views known - don't just sit there!!

Join the debate here

See also: Challenge The Red Tape Attack On H&S Urges Hazards

Read Dorothy's Red Tape Challenge contribution in full here

Source: Red Tape Challenge / Hilda Palmer / Dorothy Wright

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