Global focus on health and safety

The annual trade union event "International Workers Memorial Day" coincided with the "World Day for Safety and Health at Work" backed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

In Britain, several organisations marked the day by stepping up calls for improvements in health and safety.

The TUC chose to focus on company car drivers this year, claiming that every year over 1,000 workers are killed in work-related road accidents, and an additional 7,500 suffer serious injury. It published a new 'safer driving pack', which it hoped would "encourage employers to take their responsibility for employees on the road more seriously."

As well as the loss of life and injuries suffered as a consequence of driving for a living, the TUC said it was also concerned by the "huge cost" to the UK economy. It said official statistics put the annual cost of workers killed or injured on the roads at £3.5 billion.

While the TUC accepted that not all work-related road accidents were preventable, it claimed employers could be doing more by carrying out proper risk assessments, regular servicing of company vehicles, sensible route planning and the setting of achievable deadlines.

Its latest leaflet, entitled "Work-related road safety", offers tips on "good company road safety policy" and outlines the legal responsibilities of employers towards their driving staff.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Tired, stressed drivers with too many drops to make in too little time are not going to be particularly safe drivers. Bosses have a real responsibility for the safety of their roving staff and reducing unrealistic and unmanageable workloads for their drivers must become a top priority."

Construction safety

Meanwhile, in a separate event to mark Workers' Memorial Day, London's mayor Ken Livingstone joined union leaders and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to demand safety improvements within the construction industry.

Calls were made for "zero tolerance" of preventable workplace injuries and deaths and for better consultation with workers in improving health and safety.

In 2002/03 there were 16 fatal injuries and 2,794 major injuries in London. Over half the fatalities and almost 40% of major injuries were in the construction sector.

Mr Livingstone told a gathering in the capital: "London's construction industry and transport projects are set to increase in future years and world-class employment practices and health and safety standards are necessary if London is to maintain a world-class workforce."

Murray Devine, London regional director at the HSE, added: "The people best placed to make workplaces safer from harm are workers and their managers. They do this best by working together."

A series of marches and other events were also being held across the UK today to commemorate the day and to renew calls for a new law on corporate killing. One of the highest profile marches was to the site of the new Wembley stadium in north London, where a building worker died in an accident earlier this year.

Asbestos fears

Also today, the Government was urged to release extra funds to tackle asbestos-related diseases after a warning that deaths were reaching "epidemic" levels.

Law firm Thompsons said it was dealing with hundreds of claims for people with mesothelioma, the terminal cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

Solicitor Ian McFall said: "It seems this Government thinks the NHS can cope with what is becoming an epidemic without extra resources. There is an urgent need for specialist units and properly funded, dedicated research.

"People who are suffering from mesothelioma deserve more resources being invested in quicker diagnosis and better treatment of this presently incurable disease."

The number of asbestos-related deaths has risen to 3,500 a year and is forecast to increase to 10,000 by the year 2020.

Safety day

Workers Memorial Day is an annual co-ordinated effort by trade unions across the world to highlight work-related fatalities. The event began in 1989.

Last year, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), chose the same date - 28 April - as World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

Now for 2004 the ILO is highlighting the need for what it called a "new safety culture" to reduce occupational accidents and disease, which claim around 6,000 lives every day throughout the world.

Chief ILO occupational safety specialist, Jukka Takala, said: "Experience has shown that a strong safety culture is beneficial for workers, employers and governments alike. Various prevention techniques have proven themselves as effective in both avoiding workplace accidents and improving business performance.

"Today's high safety standards in some countries are a direct result of long-term policies encouraging tripartite social dialogue, collective bargaining between trade unions and employers, as well as effective health and safety legislation backed by potent labour inspection."

As part of the event, the organisation published a new report entitled "Safe Work and Safety Culture" which can be downloaded from the ILO website (see link above/right).

Angie Bell