Jon Trickett MP: Promote the protection of workers in their workplace

Jon Trickett MP writes: As a young man, I worked as a manual worker in the building industry. We had little idea at that time just how dangerous asbestos is. I regularly worked both drilling and sawing asbestos sheeting. Occasionally we were required to mix dry asbestos powder with water in order to make a paste in order to insulate hot pipes. The dust was everywhere, penetrated our clothes and overalls so that when we went home it would enter our domestic lives including possibly the lungs of our families.A close relative of mine did the same work. He contracted an asbestos-related lung disease and subsequently died. It is a horrible wasting disease to witness and left his two young daughters first to witness its effects and then to grow up without a father.

It is not widely known that asbestos exposure is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK, with the authorities estimating that more than 5,000 people die from asbestos-related cancers every year. More than half of those deaths are from mesothelioma.According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the UK has the highest rate of mesothelioma deaths per capita in the world. Those involved in refurbishment, maintenance and building trades, such as electricians, plumbers, joiners, engineers and construction workers, are at most significant risk. In 2014, it is shocking to learn that the HSE estimated that 1.3 million tradespeople were at risk of asbestos exposure, and that they could come into contact with asbestos, on average, more than 100 times a year.

However, the HSE has been cut back, leaving more workers than ever exposed at risk. In 2019-20, there were 907 inspections of work by licensed asbestos inspectors. This was 40% fewer than in 2012-13. There was a 60% collapse in the number of asbestos enforcement notices from 2011-12 to 2018-19.These statistics are the product of a twisted approach dating back to the Thatcher era. She ushered in a new model of regulation that weakened public protections and increasingly allowed companies to override the safety of the workforce.

In recent times, it has often appeared that the wider labour movement was on the back foot, in retreat, as a consequence of a lack of confidence. It is time that we regained our self-confidence and were bolder. There is no stronger case for our movement to promote than the protection of workers in their workplace.To mark Workers Memorial Day on 28 April, more than 600 trade union reps checked for life-threatening problems like Reinforced Autoclave Aerated Concrete (Raac), asbestos and fire hazards. This ought to be the first phase of a renewed commitment to driving up safety standards in all workplaces, especially in my own industry of Construction.The workers are the source of all the country’s wealth. Yet they see their incomes in decline and their workplaces stripped of vital protections. It’s time we heeded their voices, and built a new economy based on the interests of the working class.