news release
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no embargo - 10 October 2012 (Back to news releases) Families Against Corporate Killers Statement in response to Prime Minister's speech at Tory Conference "Amongst the many exhortations to us all to work hard in David Cameron's speech, he said he wanted 'less nonsense about health and safety’ "As the families of people who went to work hard to provide for their families, but never came home, we know that treating health and safety as ‘nonsense’ is deadly. People we loved were killed because their employers, as Cameron wants, treated their health and safety as nonsense, didn't even bother to comply with the legal minimum. We are horrified that he can be so cavalier with the lives of workers. Our children have lost a dad or a mum, or brothers and sisters, parents have lost daughters and sons, and many families have been driven into poverty and despair by the death of a bread winner. Demanding people go to work and work harder but removing the regulation and its enforcement to make all workplaces safe, is criminal, callous and cynical exploitation, treating workers as acceptable collateral damage of the enterprise culture. "At the beginning of the year Cameron made it his New Year's resolution to 'kill off health and safety culture' which he likened to a monster, an albatross and a millstone round employers' necks, and showed his contempt for the workers who make everything, run all the services, save lives, do all the caring, and create all the wealth in our society. He also showed his utter contempt for facts, choosing instead to hide behind the lie that good health and safety is a 'burden on business' when the evidence shows that it saves lives and employers' money! And the real burden of employers poor management of health and safety, which causes over 75% of all injuries at work, falls not on employers but most heavily on those it injures, kills and makes ill, and on their families. And it is also a massive drain on the public purse as health and safety failures cost up to £40 billion a year, yet the negligent employers pay only a fifth of the cost of the harm they cause, with families and taxpayers paying the rest. "Decent safe and health work should be something the leader of a government in a civilised country strives to ensure, not to undermine, and no-one should have to risk their life just for going to work. By treating it as ‘nonsense’ and cutting the meagre safety net to shreds, Cameron makes his government responsible for the work-related deaths which have already increased on his watch, the increased risk of death and injury, and the bill to society. We do not want any more families to pay the human price for the lack of good workplace safety, and we condemn the government for allowing employers to risk workers lives."
For more information Hilda Palmer 0161 636 7557 Mobile 079298 00240
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