‘We cannot go backwards on health and safety’

For too long, low economic growth and low wage growth has held our country back. 

Political decisions taken by the Conservatives over the decades have caused the very foundations of our economy to crumble: deindustrialisation, the decline of collective bargaining coverage, and then austerity. Prices have gone up, but wages have not, and working people have not been able to keep up with the cost of living. It’s very positive to see Andy Burnham take steps to address the cost of living while also recognising and talking about the root causes of why we are where we are today.

We know that one of the best ways to tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis is to grow the economy in a way that puts money back into the pockets of workers in every part of the country. We all want to see that good growth. But that cannot come at any price – particularly the safety of people at work.

That is why I was concerned to see the proposals in the King’s Speech to introduce a Regulating for Growth Bill, which would place a statutory duty on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) among other bodies to prioritise growth.

READ MORE: ‘Reversing deindustrialisation must be central to writing a new story for Britain’

The HSE’s role in keeping workers safe cannot be understated. Placing a duty on them to prioritise growth distracts this crucial organisation from its core purpose, to prevent workers from getting sick, injured or worse. The government specifically mentions “reducing unnecessary risk aversion” – but accounting for risks and taking steps to limit them is exactly what the HSE was established for.

We should be proud of our progress on improving health and safety at work since Labour’s historic 1974 Act. The HSE reports that fatal injuries have fallen by about 85% since the early 1970s.

But this job is far from done, with far too many workers putting their health and their safety at risk just by going to work. When other factors – including work-related illness, incidents when travelling, and suicides caused by the pressure of work are taken into account – the Hazards Campaign estimates that there are still 50,000 work-related deaths a year.

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Following a workplace fatality in Corby on the 13th of January this year, this is especially raw for my constituents.

I want to see our economy grow and thrive, for the benefit of all working people. But the HSE is not the right place to do it. It is not possible to protect and improve occupational health and safety while simultaneously pursuing deregulation for deregulation’s sake.

Health and safety is what keeps our constituents, our workers, alive. It sends people home safely to their families at the end of a shift. It is important that the HSE, and other regulators, remain independent of government pressure. It is not the HSE’s job to secure growth, it is ours.

On top of this, Labour promised in their manifesto to hold a wide-ranging review to strengthen our Health and Safety regulations. Government should be straining every sinew to make workers safe, not looking to undermine existing protections by pitting safety against growth. Our new government now has an opportunity to make the health and safety of our workers a real priority by delivering on that commitment.

Also in Labour manifesto, as part of Labour’s New Deal for Working People, there is a commitment to introduce a maximum workplace temperature, which I am sure we would all be glad of after the last few weeks of heatwaves. It is important to remember that it was Labour and the trade union movement that first raised this and committed to take action – not the Green Party.

We need to make sure that unscrupulous employers are not using this to support the false narrative that health and safety gets in the way of growth, and justifies them cutting corners. Too many workers are already killed or injured because their employers took a shortcut – now is the time to strengthen health and safety, not weaken it.

It’s simple: when workers are safe and happy, they do more of their work, better. Safe workplaces are productive workplaces. Real growth does not sacrifice conditions at work – real growth is a change that workers can feel for the better.

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