Cameron accused of introducing Victorian laws

UCATT has described proposals to cut safety and employment laws as a return to the 19^th century.

The proposals are compiled in a report Cut EU Red Tape which has been endorsed by David Cameron and compiled for him by six senior business figures.

The report recommends that all small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that are considered to be “low risk” should no longer be required to compile written health and safety records. It also recommends that employers with fewer than 10 employees should be exempt from all future employment laws.

UCATT general secretary Steve Murphy said: “These proposals are simply outrageous it is recreating the welfare and employment practices of the 19^th century, where a worker’s rights and their safety were ignored in a rush for profits.

“Removing the requirement for companies to have written health and safety records is a green light to employers to ignore safety laws. The report gives a price for the savings gained in not having to comply with safety assessments but no price can be put on the life of a worker who is killed or maimed at work.

“By exempting small companies from employment laws they will be creating a two-tier system where some workers will have rights and others will have none. Unscrupulous companies will create micro subsidiaries in order to be exempt from the law.”

Source