I ask those who are leaving the chamber and the public gallery to do so quietly, as business in the Parliament is continuing.
The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S5M-04358, in the name of Clare Haughey, on international workers memorial day 2017. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament recognises International Workers Memorial Day on 28 April 2017, and every year, as a day to remember those who have lost their lives as a result of incidents at work, occupational disease or ill health, and as a day for the STUC, affiliated trade unions, Scottish Hazards, employers and enforcement agencies to reaffirm their commitment to making workplaces safer for workers today and in the future; notes that this year’s theme is tackling inequalities in occupational health, a theme designed to raise awareness of poor health and safety in precarious employment and the so-called gig economy; considers that there is a need for workers in these areas to enjoy the trade union-effect where evidence shows that workers protected by trade unions are less likely to suffer injury; notes the benefits for employers and organisations already working with trade unions to strive for improved workplace health, safety and occupational health, and considers that effective and meaningful enforcement is vital in improving health and safety across Scottish workplaces.
12:45
I am honoured to bring the motion to the Parliament for debate. International workers memorial day has been observed in Scotland on 28 April every year since 1992. The day is marked in a bid to remember the hundreds of thousands of people who are killed or injured in their work every year.
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, as I am a member of Unison and a former active trade unionist.
Workers memorial day was established in America in 1970; the April date was chosen to mark the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which came into force on that day. After workers memorial day was recognised in Canada in 1985, and in other parts of the world, it was brought to the United Kingdom by Tommy Hart in 1992.
Tommy Hart was a campaigner from the hazards campaign in the West Midlands. He was committed to workplace health, safety and welfare and to a reduction in the incidence of work-related injuries. He brought the memorial day to an event in Birmingham before it spread all over the UK.
Today, workers from all around the world and their representatives come together on 28 April to demand action on better and safer conditions, to demonstrate and to honour those who have lost their lives at work. There is a phrase among those who observe international workers memorial day:
“Remember the dead, fight for the living”.
That is a powerful motto, and we are here today to do just that.
According to Unison, up to 50,000 people in the UK die from work-related ill health and incidents every year. In Scotland, our communities have suffered their share of those painful losses. In 1959, at Auchengeich colliery in North Lanarkshire, 47 miners lost their lives to a horrific combination of fire and carbon monoxide, deep below the surface. In my constituency, the Blantyre mining disaster in 1877 killed more than 200 workers in a similar explosion. Of course, in 1988, the Piper Alpha disaster claimed the lives of more than 160 workers and injured many more.
Such events not only cause death that could have been avoidable but rob communities of their fathers, wives, brothers, sisters and mothers. They leave scars that last a lifetime and beyond. In many other jobs, the risk might be less visible, but we need to remember that all work carries risk, whether we are talking about factory workers, lorry drivers, or the workers at TEPCO who had to work heroically in the aftermath of the meltdown at the Fukushima plant.
Around the world, one worker dies every 15 seconds. The numbers are comparable with the numbers of deaths worldwide from conditions such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and lung and throat cancers. If those deaths were caused by crime, terrorism or disease we would be endlessly debating the issue in this Parliament and in wider public discourse. However, workplace deaths and injuries are more preventable than deaths from any of those conditions.
I am proud that we mark the work of the trade union movement in transforming the lives of ordinary working people in this country and others. As we experienced the first industrial revolution, the strides forward in practice and process were matched by the efforts and sacrifices of those in the trade union movement, who aimed to match technical innovations with progressive changes that protected ordinary people.
As the economy evolves to include more service-based and tertiary industries, the challenges will change and the nature of the risks to health will shift, but unionisation will be as vital as ever. The trade union movement must tackle the next big risks to workers’ wellbeing—inequalities, exploitative zero-hours-type contracts and the so-called gig economy, in which we see a shift or regression to piecemeal working.
As we move into the Uberisation of the workforce and as more take up the gig economy of one-off pieces of work, people are moving beyond the nine-to-five pattern of work. However, the reality for most in the gig economy is that it is just a rebranding of short-term contracts, which means zero job security and little right to the benefits that unionisation brings.
Zero-hours workers are relatively worse off now than they were a decade ago; they earn an average of one third less per hour than the average employee earns, which is down one quarter on 2006. The boom in self-employment masks similar figures. The average earnings of self-employed workers are 40 per cent lower than those of employees, compared with being 28 per cent lower a decade ago.
With lower incomes, more precarious work and a physical divide through remote working practices, the challenges for work safety and wellbeing are as serious as ever. Unfortunately, the Trade Union Act 2016 has made the environment more hostile for unions to operate in, with its 50 per cent turnout threshold for action to be legal, which is above and beyond winning the vote. A more draconian figure of 40 per cent support from the entire membership is required before public sector workers can take action.
Those steps and others seek to undermine the effectiveness of workers in organising and influencing work patterns. Without the threat of work action in extreme circumstances, maintaining workers’ rights will be much harder in the future.
As we approach 28 April, we should remember the sacrifices of those who have died just from going to their work. Among them are the miners, the power plant workers and those working in the North Sea whose lives ended without warning. Yesterday, there was a tragic incident in Blantyre, in my constituency, when a man went to work on a building site and did not return home. What happened in Blantyre shows that every day brings new challenges for safety and wellbeing, and terrible news for families and loved ones. However, with strong co-operation between the Government, industry and unions, we will remember the dead and continue to fight for the living.
12:51
I thank Clare Haughey for bringing this important debate to the chamber. This is not the first time that I have spoken on the issue in Parliament; this important date for the working lives of the people of Scotland has become one of those that are annually recognised.
In 2012, I was honoured to lead a members’ business debate to recognise the work of steelworkers and their contribution to our economy and industry and to acknowledge the fundraising efforts of the steelworkers memorial fund, which was started in Lanarkshire by many from civic society and the trade unions, who came together to fundraise for a memorial to steelworkers. Although we had two centuries in which steelworking was integral to this country’s economic success, infrastructure and shipbuilding, there was no memorial to recognise steelworkers who had lost their lives in the industry. Thankfully, through those efforts, we now have a beautiful Andy Scott sculpture that depicts a steelworker with a stream of molten steel pouring from his hand and sparking on the ground.
I have the great privilege of being convener of the cross-party group on accident prevention and safety awareness. I pay tribute to the many members of that group who work day in and day out to improve the safety of workers here and in the wider world. The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health does exemplary work in training, accreditation and sharing best practice here and abroad. The Health and Safety Executive is a member that looks to protect our workers, and we also have the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents and many others. I particularly thank families against corporate killers, which is a group that reminds us every day of the dangers that still exist for workers in many industries.
It is important that, as the country moves forward, we are not content to export risk and danger elsewhere for economic benefit here. We have a duty of care to ensure that, in countries around the globe in which legislation and regulation are not what they are here and in Europe, workers share in the safety, knowledge and best practice that we have grown to know in this country.
I pay tribute to the Scottish Trades Union Congress and Kathy Jenkins of Scottish Hazards—both are members of the CPG—for tirelessly fighting for workers not just in Scotland but around the globe. In particular, I mention that they continue to raise the issue of Union Carbide and the Bhopal disaster, for which many people are still seeking justice. It is significant that something that happened in 1984 resulted in criminal convictions only in 2010. That is not good enough.
Next week, I will stand with trade union colleagues from across Lanarkshire at the memorial service at Summerlee heritage park. I am grateful that Clare Haughey has reminded us that we all have to remember the dead but fight for the living.
12:55
I congratulate Clare Haughey on securing the debate.
No one leaves the house for work expecting not to return to their family and loved ones at the end of the day. At the outset of the debate, I offer my condolences to the many families, friends and colleagues who have lost loved ones as a result of an incident at work.
In my previous employment, I was responsible for a building that had up to 400 people inside. As in all workplaces, security was paramount—I meant to say that safety was paramount, although security is also important. I would never have wanted to be put in a situation where an incident—God forbid a fatal one—could have been avoided if only more checks had been carried out or some money had been spent on protecting the workplace inside. The safety and protection of the workforce and workplace were always a priority of mine and they should—I hope—be a priority for all people who are in management positions.
Before today’s debate, I reflected on a number of workplace incidents that I remember—incidents that are etched in the memories of many people who were directly or indirectly affected. I spent my earlier years in Glasgow, and one such event was the Cheapside Street fire disaster—Britain’s worst peacetime fire services disaster. That blaze at a whisky warehouse killed 19 firefighters. Those people put their lives at risk in the line of duty and, sadly, they paid the ultimate price. I clearly remember that the Glasgow sky that night was lit up by the glow of the fire.
We then moved to Fife, and another incident that I remember well took place while we were living there, which was the Michael pit disaster. Clare Haughey mentioned mining disasters, and this one took place at the Michael colliery in East Wemyss. The disaster claimed the lives of nine men. Three of the bodies were never recovered and remain entombed underground to this day.
Amid the horror of that event, there are stories of the heroic efforts of people who put themselves in harm’s way that night to save the lives of the miners who were working on that shift. Some of those people, too, did not return. We should not forget such stories and I commend the members of our fantastic emergency services for their bravery.
The Michael pit incident is only one example of a workplace incident that occurred in what was a very dangerous industry. Today we remember all those who lost their lives working down the pits across the country.
I then moved to live and work in Aberdeen, and an incident took place that has already been mentioned. The Piper Alpha disaster happened on 6 July 1988 off the coast of Aberdeen. I do not know whether any members were in Aberdeen at that time, but the incident certainly had a very strange effect on the city the day after, and the consequences have gone on long after.
Lord Cullen’s report on the disaster made it clear that the operator had used inadequate maintenance and safety procedures, and the report made more than 100 recommendations about how safety should be improved in the North Sea. Lord Cullen introduced the concept of the safety case, which has become standard procedure in the industry.
I am sure that members who are aware of that disaster do not need to be reminded that 167 oil workers lost their lives. That number might have been lower if better procedures had been followed.
The three examples that I have touched on all resulted in people dying while carrying out their jobs. We remember each and every person who lost their life as a result of an incident at work, whether they are members of our emergency services, miners underground or workers in the oil and gas industry. As I said at the start of my speech, safety is paramount, and we should never rest on our laurels when it comes to improving safety measures.
I see that time is passing, so I will conclude. I have always had an interest in safety and safety systems. I am relatively new to the Parliament, but I look forward to participating at some point in a practice emergency evacuation of the Parliament, which I hope will ensure that we all know what to do if something goes wrong here.
13:00
My colleague Alex Rowley has asked me to apologise for his absence from today’s debate; he had intended to speak, but he has another engagement. In addition, I will have to leave after making my contribution as I have to chair a Public and Commercial Services Union group meeting.
I thank Clare Haughey for bringing to the chamber what is now an annual debate on international workers memorial day. The debate is not about nostalgia but about the here and now, because every 15 seconds a worker somewhere in the world dies from a work-related accident or disease. That means that, in the course of my speech alone, 16 workers will have died, and 180 will have died during the debate. It is a sobering and tragic reality that more people are killed at work than are killed in war and conflict. That is why we recognise international workers memorial day each and every year and why we will continue to do so in memory of those who have lost their lives.
There have been massive improvements in health and safety in the UK over the past century as a result of campaigning by the labour and trade union movement. That campaigning reaches way beyond this country’s borders. We have always worked internationally across borders, as our movement is based on the principles of solidarity with working people around the world.
Next week, I will attend the annual service at Bathgate, which has been arranged by my friend Jimmy Swan, an ex-convener at British Leyland who was instrumental in bringing international workers memorial day to Scotland. Alex Rowley will be in Kirkcaldy and Richard Leonard will be at Summerlee, and Labour members and friends will attend services throughout the country.
It is right that we mourn the dead, but I will focus on the campaign to protect the living. In the past few months, workers have been killed in construction projects across Scotland. A 37-year-old man was killed on a wind farm in Dumfries. A forestry worker was killed in Selkirk. Another wind farm worker was killed in South Ayrshire, and one was killed in East Renfrewshire. A 57-year-old man was killed on the Forth crossing, and a 58-year-old man was killed on the new Don crossing. Only yesterday, as Clare Haughey mentioned, a worker was killed on a construction site in High Blantyre.
On the Aberdeen bypass, a worker is injured every week. More than 115 workers have been injured since the project began, and I and Unite the union have had reports of the exploitation of migrant labour by agencies that are operating under that contract. Trade unions have been stopped from having full access to the new Dumfries hospital site. On the Forth crossing, the union convener was not replaced.
Those projects are commissioned and run by the Scottish Government. Where is the adherence to fair work principles there? Where is the adherence to such principles when we seek to develop relations with foreign Governments such as that in Qatar at the same time as a massacre of construction workers is going on in world cup projects? Literally thousands of poor migrant workers have died, and yet we are engaging with that country and not raising that issue.
Where are the fair work principles in continuing to award contracts to companies that blacklisted workers—in particular the crucial health and safety representatives who kept sites safe and protected workers from injury and death? Those reps have all been blacklisted and taken off jobs by big construction companies in the name of profit, and yet we continue to award those companies contracts. Where are the fair work principles there?
We are entering a general election period in which I will be proud to argue for a £10 an hour minimum wage, which should improve the lives of 500,000 workers, and for public contracts to be covered by collective bargaining, because collective agreements and an organised workforce make for a safer, more motivated and more productive workforce. I will also be proud to argue for the repeal of the odious Trade Union Act 2016. I urge all workers, not only this week and next but at any time, to join a trade union. Trade unions are vital to protect workers’ rights and to protect against unfair employment practices, low pay and exploitation.
It is a privilege to speak in the debate and to highlight the importance of international workers memorial day. Yes, let us mourn the dead, but let us all resolve to fight for the living.
13:05
Next Friday, we will mark international workers memorial day, on which we remember those who were killed at work—many of them because their bosses did not take safety seriously and put maximising their profits ahead of the lives of their workers. As Clare Haughey mentioned in her opening speech, the rallying call for the memorial day is
“Remember the dead, fight for the living”.
Employment rights in this country were hard won by centuries of workers’ struggles: the radical war, the chartist movement, red Clydeside, the general strike and the post-war labour movement. In previous debates, I have mentioned the need to teach that history—our history—in our schools.
On international workers memorial day in my region, we will be in Bishopbriggs to remember the 22 miners who died in the Cadder pit disaster. That happened in 1913, but as has already been mentioned in the debate, the fight is very far from over. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ranks the UK as bottom of the barrel in Europe when it comes to workers’ rights. The European Committee of Social Rights has chastised the UK for non-compliance with whole swathes of labour rights, again ranking the UK as among the worst in Europe. Yet the priority of the Tory Government at Westminster is to pass a piece of anti-trade union legislation that is so draconian that someone who is now a Cabinet minister in the Westminster Government described it as fascist in nature and more akin to something in Franco’s Spain than in 21st century UK.
I therefore say to Mr Bowman, given that we are talking about the priorities for safety in the workplace: who improves safety and fights for the safety of workers? Trade unions do. However, the Conservative Party is doing all that it can to shut down trade unions and prevent them from operating, which will cost lives.
Over 7 million people in the UK are in precarious employment, and the figure has gone up by over 2 million in a decade. Those people are self-employed, in temporary work or on zero-hours contracts. However, many of those who are classed as self-employed are, in reality, employees who are being exploited by a new wave of terrible employers, particularly when it comes to new app and tech-based firms. One courier firm—Deliveroo—has even issued a vocabulary guide to its staff, with a list of dos and don’ts along the lines of, “Do say ‘rider’, don’t say ‘employee’, ‘worker’ or ‘staff’; do say ‘supplier agreement’, don’t say ‘employment contract’”. When an employer has to remind its admin staff to police their own language so as not to accidentally give away the employer’s dodgy employment practices, we know that they are exploiting people.
Pretending that employees are actually self-employed contractors means that those workers lose out and are put at risk. On average, they earn about half as much as permanent employees and they are more likely to live in poverty. They are not entitled to sick pay or holiday leave. If a courier who spends all day cycling on busy streets gets into an accident and has to miss work, they are on their own. Employees of Deliveroo have launched legal challenges over their status. That comes on top of successful strike action, supported by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, that opposed attempts to worsen and further degrade pay rates.
Other legal challenges against firms such as Uber have been successful in ensuring that employees have proper legal status. However, workers should not have to take expensive and risky legal action to get their basic rights while bosses are getting richer and continuing their exploitation. Those rights should be protected in law, but even if a worker is finally afforded the correct legal status, they might still be confronted with a temporary or zero-hours contract and they can still face having no guarantee of regular hours, a stable income or protection against being fired on the whim of management. Those rights, too, should be protected in law.
In recent months, workers have been confronted with yet more innovative forms of exploitation. Mooboo Bubble Tea in Glasgow asked potential workers to complete 40 hours of unpaid work—a so-called internship—before getting a job. Subway used the UK Government’s own website to advertise for an “apprentice sandwich artist” to be paid at £3.40 an hour. That is exactly the kind of employment practice that generations of workers have fought against. Their struggles have been undone by a UK Government.
Now we have a new generation of workers fighting against a new generation of exploitation. For example, the young workers who are powering the better than zero campaign have successfully targeted businesses such as Subway, Mooboo and the G1 Group, which are ripping off their workers.
There is still a long way to go. We remember the dead, but the fight for the living must go on.
13:10
I am pleased to speak in this important debate and, as others have done, I thank Clare Haughey for bringing it to the chamber.
International workers memorial day, which is an international day of remembrance and action for workers who have been killed at work, is an opportunity for reflection and commitment to change. Although, as has been said, the numbers are reducing year on year, last year, in Scotland, 20 people lost their lives at their place of work. International workers memorial day commemorates those who have lost their lives at work and also recognises the loss sustained by all who, in turn, have been touched by those deaths.
Regardless of whether someone works in an office or in heavy industry, there should be no question about whether they will be able to finish their work day alive. Everyone has a right to return home safe and healthy to their loved ones at the end of the day. Workers memorial day is an important reminder to us all that that does not always happen.
My constituency of Coatbridge and Chryston is proud of its rich industrial heritage, with strong traditions in the coal, iron and steel industries. Working in such heavy industries was frequently dangerous, with little safeguarding being in place to protect those workers, and many people in my constituency have direct experience of workplace loss, the effects of which can be felt by future generations.
Like most people who hail from the area, I come from a family with a strong and proud industrial working past. My maternal grandfather, for example, worked from the age of 14 in the various steelworks across the constituency, including those in Gartcosh and Gartsherrie, and in the Calder before it finally closed in the 1980s. My family recall—I was too young—that he sustained a workplace injury at one point, leading to him being off work, and he would have known others who had the same experience.
Clare Haughey mentioned what is probably the most prominent example of such devastating loss in my area, which concerns the loss of 47 lives due to a fire in a local coal mine. On 18 September 1959, 47 men lost their lives, 41 women became widows and 76 children lost their fathers. On the morning of that day, the early shift at the Auchengeich mine in Moodiesburn—48 men in total—clocked in to work as normal. As normal, they all boarded a series of trains or bogies that were to convey them to the coalface hundreds of feet underground, all of them unaware of the deadly sequence of events that was in motion 1,400 feet below the surface.
A canvas transmission belt on an unattended electrically powered fan had jumped off its pulley and become jammed. The friction that was caused ignited the belt, which in turn ignited oil deposits around the fan. The flames then ignited nearby timbers. A decision to prevent the miners from entering the mine until further investigations could be completed was not adequately conveyed. With the 48 men underground, the fire then filled with carbon monoxide the main roadway on which the miners were travelling—their only escape route.
All but one of those men died, the sole survivor having very little memory of how he managed to make his way out of the pit. As I said, 47 men were lost, 41 women were made widows and 76 children were made fatherless—that is worth repeating—and all due to something that was preventable. Every year, a memorial service is held in Moodiesburn to commemorate the workers and remind us to remain vigilant, and 28 April is a day of remembrance for all who have lost their lives, sustained injury or become ill simply by doing their job.
Fatal injuries at work are becoming rarer, but workers risk their lives daily. In many respects, the risks may now be in different types of work. Just this week I learned that, in the Monklands area alone, a police officer is assaulted every three days. These people who pull on their uniforms to keep us all safe live with an increased level of risk just through the nature of their employment.
Next week, I will attend and speak at a workers memorial day event arranged by the North Lanarkshire trade union council, which is also held annually. The venue, appropriately, is the Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, where the two signs at the front read, first, “The past we inherit, the future we build” and secondly, on the right-hand side, “In memory of all those who lost their lives at work”.
I am delighted to join with colleagues across parties, including Richard Leonard, and I should also mention the work that Elaine Smith has done over the years. She came and spoke to me about her not being able to stay for my speech in the debate, and I appreciate that.
We must look forward to the recognition of workers’ rights in the growing gig economy, as others have mentioned, and the potential effects on workers’ safety. Advocates of the gig economy claim that people benefit from the flexible working arrangements, but it seems to me that that flexibility is of more benefit to employers, who pay only when work is available and do not incur staff costs when there is no demand for their work. Because workers in the gig economy are classed as independent contractors, they do not receive the national minimum wage, sick pay, holiday pay or protection against unfair dismissal. That situation has to change.
I feel privileged to stand here in this Parliament and talk about these issues. Indeed, we can do that only because of the sacrifices that the generations before us made in this industrialised country that has moulded us all.
13:15
I congratulate Clare Haughey on securing the debate on international workers memorial day. I feel very privileged to take part in it, so I thank her for the opportunity.
It is vital that we remember those who have tragically lost their lives while going about their day-to-day business at work. Down the years, trade unions have made a very important contribution: in fact, highlighting the need for robust health and safety standards in the workplace has never been so important.
With regard to its own health and safety record, the UK has been a pioneer in putting in place many regulations that have had a massive impact. However, more requires to be done—there is always room for improvement. I regret to say that far too many people have been seriously injured or become a fatality due to others’ negligence or neglect. Businesses and organisations have a social responsibility and obligation to respect their employees’ rights—in particular, in relation to their safety at work. Sometimes, however, merely complying with the relevant legislation is not enough, so we must do all that we can to protect the workforce. Trade unionism has a job to do in that regard, and we have to congratulate and commend trade unions for doing the job down the years. Without the trade union movement, many individuals and organisations would not have the protections that they have today, and I want to acknowledge that in the debate.
Employers and employees both have rights and responsibilities when it comes to safety, and through the provision of training, through awareness raising and through campaigning, organisations such as Scottish Hazards have made a real contribution to ensuring that employees are safe in the workplace. Those organisations, too, must be congratulated and commended. In addition, the sharing of best practice between firms and groups is vital in preventing incidences of accident, injury and illness. A lot of sharing has happened over the years in various sectors, with some sectors leading the way in the protection of individuals and organisations.
I am proud that the Conservative Party is committed to protecting and, indeed, to enhancing the rights of some workers across the United Kingdom. Theresa May has made it quite clear that all rights that are currently enshrined in European law will be transferred into British law through the great repeal bill, which is moving forward and will put those rights on the statute book.
This year’s international workers memorial day theme is good health and safety for all workers, whoever they are. It is very important that we consider every part of this, every organisation, every role and every type of job. With changes to working practices, businesses and, indeed, our economy, it is only right and proper that we re-examine existing worker protections to see whether they go far enough. The Government has hired Matthew Taylor to look into how rights can be extended in the so-called gig economy. I welcome that move, and I look forward to seeing what comes out of the review as it progresses.
It is important to ensure that all workers, no matter what their job is, have the right to work in a safe environment. I am pleased that there is good cross-party support across the chamber for the motion. After all, we should all remember the dead and fight for the living every day of our lives.
I call Jamie Hepburn to close for the Government. Minister—you have seven minutes or thereabouts.
13:20
I join others in congratulating Clare Haughey on securing the debate and thank other members for their speeches.
As has been mentioned, international workers memorial day is a day for reflection on the lives that have been lost due to incidents at work, and through occupational disease and ill health. Scotland’s health and safety record is among the best in Europe. I thought that the point that was made by Neil Findlay was salient because, of course, this is an international day and, globally, a life is lost in a workplace accident every 15 seconds. Of course, in Scotland, we have a better record, but we are not immune to the problem. Clare Haughey mentioned the tragic incident that happened in High Blantyre yesterday, which will rightly be the subject of investigation. I am sure that, at this time, all members want to convey their condolences to the family and friends of the man who was tragically killed in yesterday’s incident.
Reflecting on times past, we can see that we have travelled far from where we once were in terms of health and safety in the workplace. Alexander Stewart was right to make that point. A variety of acts were put in place in the 19th century that led to some modest improvements in health and safety standards at that time. However, despite those improvements, tens of thousands of people were killed and injured at work annually well into the 20th century. We have heard today of some examples of those incidents. Bill Bowman spoke about the Cheapside Street accident in Anderston, where 19 people died. Fulton MacGregor spoke movingly about the terrible incident in 1959 at Auchengeich, in which 47 men were killed, including miners from Condorrat in my constituency. We have a memorial there to commemorate the incident, just as there is a memorial in Moodiesburn.
Those incidents and others led to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. For the first time, employers and employees were consulted, and codes of practice and guidance became readily available. Between 1974 and 2007, the number of fatal injuries to employees in the UK fell by 73 per cent, and the number of non-fatal injuries fell by 70 per cent. We would do well to remind ourselves, as has been mentioned by most of those who have spoken today, that those rights were hard fought for and hard won by our trade unions.
Everyone has mentioned that this is a day for reflection on times past, but it is also a time for taking a look at where we are today and where we are going. In that regard, I have to say to Alexander Stewart that what he said about workers’ rights being “enshrined” by Theresa May is somewhat inconsistent with the pernicious Trade Union Act 2016 that is being implemented by her UK Government. I mention that because that legislation is of specific concern in relation to the matter that we are discussing.
We cannot afford any roll-back on the health and safety agenda, but legislation that seeks to curb the rights of labour to organise itself leads to concern that such a roll-back might occur. We need to remind ourselves of that because, despite the improvements in health and safety standards and the legislation that were put in place in 1974, we still see incidents of people losing their lives at work. In 1988, we saw the Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea; in 2004, we saw the Stockline plastics factory explosion in Maryhill, not far from where I grew up; and in 2015-16, according to the Health and Safety Executive, there were 16 workplace-related deaths in Scotland. We have seen many improvements but, of course, too many tragedies still take place, so legislation that seeks to curb the rights of trade unions could lead to more concern about further roll-back on the health and safety agenda.
This Administration seeks to advance our fair work agenda: the independent fair work convention is at the forefront of that agenda. Collaborative working is central to the convention’s promotion of fair work and to ensuring that all employers understand the benefits of an effective voice. Health and safety is firmly part of the fair work agenda. We know that accident rates are lower in workplaces in which employees feel that they are genuinely involved and have a say in health and safety matters than they are in workplaces where employees feel less involved. That is why we continue to fund the fair work convention and why our labour market strategy has set out an ambition to ensure that our workforce is better involved in the workplace.
While we reflect, we should also consider future challenges. The Government has significant concerns about the reduction in the Health and Safety Executive’s budget of some 35 per cent since 2010, which has resulted in an end to proactive unannounced inspections of premises.
We would also do well to reflect on the points that Clare Haughey, Ross Greer and Fulton MacGregor made about the increase in self-employment and the gig economy. Undoubtedly, many individuals desire to be self-employed, but we know that many of the concerns of self-employed workers are to do with issues that have been raised in this debate. There are significant issues around self-employed workers not receiving proper employment status: they are not eligible for the national minimum wage, sick pay or holiday entitlement, and it is harder for such workers to organise themselves. We need, therefore, to ensure that workers’ rights are protected, that they are not exploited, and that that type of employment does not displace secure jobs by creating part-time low-paid work that offers workers little or no statutory benefits or protections—in particular, health and safety protection in the workplace.
Today’s debate is welcome. It allows us to record our collective commitment to ensuring that we use international workers memorial day as a day to remember those who went before us and who died or were injured in the workplace, and to reassert our commitment to ensuring that we continue to have a good and ever-better health and safety record in the workplace now and in the future.
13:27 Meeting suspended.Previous
First Minister’s Question Time