Scottish union rep warns HSE cutbacks could increase deaths

A Scottish union official has warned that Government safety cutbacks could result in more deaths in the workplace.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) budget has been slashed by 35 per cent – which General Secretary of Scottish Trades Union Congress, Grahame Smith, said was 'wrong and misguided.'

Many fear that the cuts could dilute the effectiveness of HSE, leading to a far greater risk of injury and ill health in the workplace.

The bonus culture which has arisen in many businesses across the UK could also increase the number of injuries and deaths, the union representative said.

“We fear that additional lives will be lost through the combination of Coalition Government attacks on health and safety enforcement, and the drive towards deregulation, and the growing bonus culture,” said Mr Smith.

“We strongly believe that commercial pressures and threats to bonus payments actively discourage individuals to report accidents. Far worse, we believe workers are often pressurised not to report incidents or near misses.

“As a result opportunities are missed for management and workers to learn from health and safety failures,” he added.