TUCG (Trade Union Co-ordinating Group) Health & Safety Lobby

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Letter to Branches




No. 195/11
Ref N4
Date: 28 February 2011

To: All Branches
 

Dear Colleagues
  

TUCG (Trade Union Co-ordinating Group) Health & Safety Lobby

We have been notified that the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group (TUCG) is calling for a Health and Safety lobby of Parliament on Wednesday 2nd March 2011. Details of the lobby are attached.


Yours Sincerely


Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

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TUCG Health & Safety Lobby

The Government is trying to downplay health and safety practices as ‘jokes’ or ‘red-tape’ in order to push through a programme of de-regulation and job cuts to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) which will put workers lives and dignity at risk. The Trade Union Co-ordinating Group (TUCG) brings together ten national unions (BFAWU, FBU, NAPO , NUJ, NUT, PCS, POA, RMT, UCU and URTU) to co-ordinate campaigning activities both inside Parliament and beyond.

The TUCG week of action is about standing up for safe workplaces and defending the HSE from savage budget cuts. Health and safety at work is about ensuring the minimum standards of working conditions. It is about saving and prolonging lives. It is about people. The simple demand to not be exposed to death and illness at work is not ‘red tape gone too far’ but a basic human right. The recently announced cuts to the HSE can only have a hugely detrimental effect on the whole health and safety at work agenda.


Programme for the day


12.30 PM DEMONSTRATION
Gather on the green of Old Palace yard opposite the entrance to the House of Lords.

Please bring your banners as there will be a TUCG photographer.

**Please note that banners and placards will not be permitted access through security into the House of Commons and must be left outside. These will be left at your own risk.

1.30 PM March over the road to join lobby queue. It can take some time to get onto the House of Commons estate. Please be patient you as you may have to wait up to 30 minutes to gain access depending on how long the queue is.

If asked, you should tell security officials that you are going to a public meeting in committee room 14 hosted by John McDonnell mp.

You will not be allowed to bring campaigning materials including leaflets, badges, items of clothing with political slogans, banners or placards into the House of Commons.

Once through security please make your way to central lobby and up the staircase to the committee room corridor. There will be TUCG stewards available to direct you.

2 PM RALLY
Rally in committee room 14
It is also hoped that a number of MPs and Peers will be in attendance at various stages of the rally.

SPEAKERS TO INCLUDE:
(Order of speakers subject to change)

CHAIR’S Opening Address - NAPO General Secretary- Jonathan Ledger

PCS General Secretary - Mark Serwotka

BFAWU President / GS elect - Ronnie Draper    

UCU General Secretary- Sally Hunt

RMT General Secretary- Bob Crow

HAZARDS- Hilda Palmer

POA Deputy General Secretary- Mark Freeman

TUCG parliamentary convenor - John McDonnell MP

Familes Against Corporate Killing representative

FBU General Secretary – Matt Wrack


3.40 PM LOBBY – Central Lobby
Please see details below

5.30 PM Room W1, off Westminster Hall
Showing FACK DVD with accompanying speeches

GUIDE TO LOBBYING YOUR MP:

If you have already arranged to meet your MP

If you have pre-arranged to meet your MP at a specific time, once entering the House of Commons, go to the information desk at central lobby and say that you have arrived to see your MP. Bring with you any written confirmation of your meeting.

If you have not arranged to meet your MP

If you have not arranged to meet your MP when you arrive in central lobby queue up at the information desk so you can collect and fill in a “green card.” Please note you can only lobby your own MP and so will obviously need to know who your MP is in advance.

Once you have completed the green card and handed this to the information desk it will be dispatched to your MP. The information desk will be able to let you know quite quickly if your MP is not at the House of Commons. If your MP is unavailable the fact that you have handed in a green card will mean that your MP will know you have called and will write to you in due course letting you know their views. You may then wish to take this opportunity to meet them in their constituency.

If the information desk does manage to contact your MP be prepared to wait for a while.

KEY POINTS WHEN LOBBYING YOUR MP:

Health and Safety is not a joke! The current legislative and enforcement framework is failing to protect workers.

According to the HSE between April 09 and March 10, 152 people were fatally injured at work; there were 26,061 major injuries, such as amputations and burns, to employees; 1.3 million people were suffering from an illness believed to have been caused or made worse by their current or past work
Yet the 'real' picture is likely to be even more damning given that these statistics relating to fatalities in the workplace provided by the HSE are an underestimate due to reporting inadequacies.

The Government’s proposals contained in the Young Report (Oct 2010) not only fail to address the problems faced but will make things worse.

Lobby your MP to make a commitment to standing up for safe workplaces.

Defend the Health and Safety Executive from savage cuts

The HSE is now faced with budget cuts of 35 per cent which will lead to large scale job losses and poorer enforcement and thus more workplace illnesses, injuries and deaths!

Lobby your MP to oppose any further cutbacks and job losses at the Health and Safety Executive
Lobby your MP to sign EDM 1302 Health and Safety Week of Action
Health and safety breaches are crimes. If you kill, injure or hurt someone, you expect to go to jail. Why is this different if you employ that someone? The fact is that hundreds of people in the UK are killed at work and untold millions suffer from occupational disease. Employers say safety costs too much, but they’re not paying the price. The cost paid by society and the victims of slack health and safety standards out-strips the business cost several times over. See Who pays? You do  Hazards 106, April - June 2009.