Prior to the 2010 General Election, in 2007, Dave Joyce National Health, Safety & Environment Officer for the CWU alerted the membership about David Cameron’s aim to destroy workplace health and safety protection legislation.
His article published on this website was not only prophetic, and harrowing; but also gave us just a taster of what was to come. The only thing yet to come is: "These policies could also mean that additional health and safety rights could be targeted including trade union Safety Reps rights. "
Now in 2014 after 4 years of some of the worst government and business attacks on worker's health and safety protection since the 18th century; the TUC has issued an analysis of the Tory-led coalition government’s record on health and safety which demonstrates that Cameron kept true to his word in annihilating both health and safety legislation and the HSE culture by turning it into a commercial organisation.
In his 14th April 2014 letter to all CWU branches, Dave Joyce highlights the TUC’s report and gives some background to the current situation.
This is an excerpt from the detailed LTB240/14:
The Conservative Leader and Party made it very clear that they would set out to attack health and safety law and enforcement and so reduce employers duties and with it diminish workers protections if elected in 2010.
Wasting no time after the Tory-led Coalition government took power in 2010 an unprecedented and unabated series of attacks have continued. The TUC and all UK Trade Unions including CWU reaffirmed their commitment to fight cuts in the Health and Safety Executive and attacks on safety laws.
Delegates to TUC's 2011 Congress supported unanimously a motion critical of the government's decision to lop 35 per cent off HSE's budget by 2015. The annual TUC conference was told longstanding financial pressures mean HSE's enforcement activities had fallen to an all-time low.
The Unions are also concerned that dramatic cuts in inspections, which will see many sectors including the hazardous industries, no longer receiving any unannounced HSE or Local Authority safety inspections. The decision to axe HSE's telephone Info-line also concerned unions.
The TUC's official policy making conference agreed to oppose any 'watering-down of health and safety' and to launch the "Defending Health and Safety" campaign and to defend the fundamental right to be safe at work.
This Tory-led coalition government is destroying that right. The vast majority of workplace accidents are easily preventable. Government policies are increasing accidents. Now more than ever the trade union movement needs to defeat these policies and show how this Tory-led government has blood on its hands and more and more workers will be killed and maimed at work unless there is a change in direction by a replacement Labour government after the May 2015 General Election.
The 2011 TUC motion stated that the TUC must 'continue to be actively involved in campaigning with all affiliates affected by any watering down of health and safety imposed through the coalition government's health and safety reform.'
It also called for the legal groundwork to be done on a legal challenge to 'prevent harm' prior to any damaging policies being implemented. Subsequently the TUC and all UK Trade unions developed a TUC Health and Safety Manifesto - a list of 10 simple measures that the Unions want to see from a future government.
If implemented they would have a huge impact on reducing the toll of death, injury and illness that is still an everyday part of working life for so many people.
The full LTB can be downloaded here
The TUC report itself can be downloaded here
Just how accurate was Dave's predictions? Read his 2007 article here
Source: CWU / Unionsafety
