- Strong laws because in many countries workers have inadequate legal protection from potentially deadly risks to their health at work and existing safety protection is under threat. For example, here in Britain protection has been removed from millions of self-employed workers and across Europe the European Commission is pursuing a de-regulatory strategy.
- Strong enforcement because even if we have health and safety laws in place, these are of no use if they are not enforced. Many countries pay lip service to legislation but allow employers to ignore their obligations. In Britain the HSE has suffered financial cuts and political restraint and the number of inspections by Local Authorities has been slashed by 95% over the last five years.
- Strong unions because unions are the best protection for workers. Unionised workplaces are safer, yet the Government is trying to stop unions protecting the health and safety of their members by restricting the right of health and safety representatives to take time off to keep the workplace safer, and also trying to reduce our right to strike when things go wrong.
The focus for WMD is on local activities. Usdaw members can get involved in their own workplace or by attending one of the local events organised around the country by Trades Councils or Hazards campaigners.
Details of local events are available on the TUC website –
http://www.tuc.org.uk/WMD2015
You can follow the global campaign on the Hazards Magazine/ITUC website -
http://28april.org/ .
A range of materials including purple knotted ribbons, car stickers, t-shirts and posters can be ordered from Greater Manchester Hazards Centre. Contact
[email protected] for details.
An Usdaw leaflet and poster for use in workplaces will be available in March.
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