The scandal of HSE cuts
THE NUMBER of workers killed in construction accidents last year rose by 25%, but the number of companies convicted of offences following the deaths of construction workers has fallen by nearly three quarters, a report by building union UCATT says.
UCATT and other construction unions have campaigned for a crackdown on companies that jeopardise safety on building sites with legislation that means directors can face imprisonment if a worker is killed on their companies' sites.
Their report shows Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecutions for deaths plummeted from 42% to 11% between 1998 and 2004 with some cases taking three years to come to trial.
Over this six-year period 504 construction workers died.
Also, the government plan to cut around 300 jobs from the HSE and move 300 jobs from the London office to Bootle. Public and Commercial Services union members protested at these cuts on 30 April, joined by some of the bereaved families.
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In The Socialist 3 May 2007:
2007 election analysis: Time for a new workers' party
Scottish Elections: Labour rocked as SNP wins
Socialist Party election campaign
NHS cuts... privatisation... widening wealth gap
Campaign for a New Workers' Party conference
Socialist Party NHS campaign
NHS: A matter of life and death in Swansea
Socialist Party workplace news
PCS: Fighting for jobs, pay and services
Socialist Party editorial
Widening wealth gap needs working-class response
Socialist Party election campaign
Packed election rally for Scotland's Solidarity
Irish election - Socialist Party takes on the establishment
New Labour panics and resorts to lies
Yorkshire ISR and Socialist Students day of action
Global Warming
Alternative energy: Winds of change?
Education
Socialist Students
Seattle students walkout against the Iraq war
Pressure mounts for troops withdrawal
Socialist Party Marxist analysis
Russia April 1917: Lenin returns from exile
Comment
Women must have the right to choose!
Socialist Party news and analysis
What 'public-private partnerships really mean
Oppose legal aid contracts tooth and nail
Socialist Party workplace news
Remember the dead but fight for the living
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