Health and safety week of action underway

A week-long campaign to raise awareness of workplace health and safety issues is underway.

Health and Safety Week of Action 2011 is running from February 28th to March 5th and focuses on a range of campaigning activities calling for more to be done to cut the number of people seriously or fatally injured at work.

A particular focus of the campaign – organised by the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group – is the cuts faced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which it has been claimed could lead to poorer enforcement and potentially a rise in workplace injuries and illness.

Backed by organisations such as NAPO, NUJ and RMT, the Health and Safety Week of Action 2011 campaign is calling for workers to lobby their MPs and also includes a rally at the House of Commons today.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell is also backing the campaign. David Urpeth, national head of workplace injuries at the law firm, said: “Health and safety should always be a priority for businesses, yet the figures that 152 people were killed at work between April 2009 and March 2010 highlight that this simply isn’t the case.

“Unfortunately, there is the very strong possibility that this figure might only rise if cuts to the HSE are handled in a manner which has a direct impact on the standards of safety being upheld.”

He added: “Only a greater focus on health and safety will ensure that fewer lives are put at risk. Steps towards achieving this can only be taken if the government places the right emphasis on health and safety by thinking twice about HSE cuts.”