International workers memorial day

Just in case you hadn't seen it in the media (ahem) today marks the annual cull of working people from work related deaths. 

Health & Safety legislation, seen and derided by the the establishment, particularly the Tories, is under attack which will inevitably mean even more people are killed and maimed at work through avoidable accidents.  We'd sooner have red tape than red bandages.

Maybe Kay, and that PPE had to be fought and argued over to get it, but legislation is now being weakened which will bring about more workplace deaths in the pursuit of profits.  They call it 'red tape'.  The legislation fought hard for by the TU movement had made terrific improvements but the employers see these as a fetter to profit making.

When I started work in the construction industry about 300 people a year lost their lives.  I remember it well, it was carnage.  This went hand in hand with lack of fascilities such as no canteen, no first aid, no washing or toilet fascilities, no protective clothing, use of hazardous materials, bad workplace practice and management that didn't give a monkeys.

Imagine for a minute if you can, if there were say, 300 soldiers killed every year due to bad practice and shoddy equipment, maybe a policeman killed every day due to similar working conditions?  Do people here think that there may be a public outcry?  Do people here think that there'd be news items screaming about the terrible tragedies of soldiers and police losing their lives, thousands being maimed?  I tend to think that there would be, and quite right too.  So why is ok for ordinary working people to be killed, 'only' about one a week in construction last year?

Yes, we heard. Terrible.

i think you're asking a rhetorical question, fp, but, i'll give it a go.

construction workers are not "admired" and not nearly as much in the public eye as cops and soldiers. in fact, the opposite. I saw it for 20 years. "hurry up and build our beautiful building, but, we don't want to see or hear you".

the contractors are part of the problem as well. i'm sure you're aware that the large majority of every bid (90%+) is time and materials.  once the bid is awarded, the contractor wants the job done asap to increase profit. this includes skimping on ppe. many contractors look at the labor force as that, and not people. they are interchangeable. if someone gets hurt (or dies) they'll just bring in another to help finish the job.

another issue is corruption. i was on a job where a worker fell to his death. since this incident didn't make headlines, osha only "investigated" for a day and a half. then it was back to business as usual (hurry up! we just lost two days!"). the lack of a thorough investigation had many of us believing there were bribes, 'cause everyone knows the government doesn't work that quickly.

Spot on Al and just the tip of the iceberg.  These days, over here anyway, construction workers are treated appallingly.  No direct employment on most large jobs, agencies raking off a slice of every hours pay. No employment protection with employers enjoying a hire n fire regime for anyone who may question site safety.  TU members blacklisted and police providing info to the employers through covert surveillance, resembling conditions that workers had to suffer in dictatorships.

Construction Trade unions in the pay of the employers with 'sweetheart deals' being the norm, with photo shoots of the most corrupt TU people alongside the most corrupt employers, and politicians.  Expulsions of honest trade unionists attempting to address the problem. A useless Health & Safetry Executive also bowing to corporate interests and a Govt hell bent on returning working conditions to pre WW2.

The blacklisting scandal hardly getting a mention in the media these days, corrupt employers using laws designed to protect them to evade justice. 

Payouts for some of the victims for a lifetime of injustice and hardship a mere pittance of what could and should have been earned by skilled tradesmen who had the temerity to be in a TU, and worse for those who became Health & Safety reps for their workmates. 

The same employers evading court by making these payments and the legal system applying pressure on the victims to settle.  Justice?  Democracy?  Don't make me laugh. 

thankyou gentlemen for the pertinent information

i remember YTURC  when i left school , it stands for

Youth Trade Union Rights campaign ,,at that time (early 80s ) the only jobs schoolleavers could get where the armed forces or the yts scheme , i aint a murderer even if im payed to do it so to yts i went , 40 hr wk for 25 quid

the workplace was a disaster waiting to happen it was a warehouse with stock stacked anywhere and everywhere , i got into YTURC  then it was vibrant , no old uard telling us young uns this was our voice , the company i worked for found out and issued me an ultimatum , leave the union , (tgwu) or get sacked ,

im from yorkshire mining stock so said f you im going to see my union rep , he was useless i got sacked

twaddle in cc forums ???!!!!

about time !

they aint booted you out of scotland for being a liz fan have they still samoa looks warmer so win win

Google the stats for deaths and injuries at work.   The more that Health & Saftey laws are compromised, the worse these stats will become.  A human cost, not shown or measured measured apparently when calculating the dividends to shareholders.

when i used to sell the big issue in chichester (nice town good people) i saw daily an old boy he would always be picking up cig butts even in the rain

now ive been there so i had a bit of cash to spare so bought him some pipe tobacco he came round weekly to me after i couldnt say no

turns out since demob from ww2 he had lived in his demob suit getting by on his shares he had most weeks he earned nowt poor git

soz to meander of but your post re shareholder dividends reminded me of him

I know, poverty is increasing.  But, the thread is realy about those killed an maimed at work.  It sometimes feels like it's ok for construction workers to die at a rate most would find intolerable if the same figure was for police officers, and quite right too.