Tory peer Lord Young launched a determined attack on workers when he advised the government to weaken existing health and safety legislation on Friday of last week.
His “Common Sense, Common Safety” report, includes simplifying the risk assessment procedure for “non-hazardous workplaces”, restricting the operation of referral agencies and personal injury lawyers and amending legislation on the reporting of workplace accidents.
Every year up to 1,500 workers are killed in work-related incidents and up to 50,000 die due to illnesses developed because of their work.