Tag: International Workers Memorial Day

Miles Briggs raises safety concerns over asbestos in Lothian schools

110 schools across Edinburgh contain asbestos

During Education and Skills portfolio questions yesterday at the Scottish Parliament, Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs asked the Cabinet Secretary for Education  and Skills Jenny Gilruth, about the safety of schools in Scotland.

Mr Briggs said how it is critical that this government and councils acts as quickly as possible to remove asbestos from the Scottish schools estate to ensure that pupils, teachers and staff across Scotland are learning and working in a safe environment.

Across the Lothians 241 schools contain asbestos – 110 in Edinburgh (details below), 31 in East Lothian, 18 in Midlothian and 82 in West Lothian. In the last year, 58 schools had asbestos removed – 20 in Edinburgh, 0 in Midlothian, 38 in West Lothian and East Lothian declined to provide the information.

The Scottish Conservatives have previously criticised the SNP for continuing to pass on “savage” cuts to local authorities, meaning schools don’t have the resources to remove asbestos from school buildings.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills of Scotland, herself a former teacher, was asked “what progress has the Scottish Government made in removing asbestos from schools, what impact assessment has been undertaken to look at where currently asbestos is in the school estate and where this will be removed and what timescale will government develop to make sure this happens”.

In response, Ms. Gilruth acknowledged the importance of the issue and said: “Obviously a number of the schools that we are talking about are historically old buildings, I confess that the last building that I worked in, over in Fife, had asbestos in it.

“It is soon to be replaced by a brand new building thanks to this government. I think that’s hugely important as we move forward in improving the school estate, but we will need to recognise some of the challenge here”.

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “The danger of asbestos is common knowledge.

“Despite this we still have over 240 schools in across Lothian which still contain this hazardous material.

“It is vital that pupils, teachers and staff across Scotland are learning and working in a safe environment.

“Continued underfunding of local authorities by SNP Ministers makes it extremely difficult for council to carry out the necessary work in our school estates to remove asbestos.”

The TUC has highlighted the dangers of asbestos today, International Workers Memorial Day. Asbestos is the biggest cause of work-related deaths in Britain.

TUC’s Sally Asquith said: “Schools are some of the most likely buildings to contain asbestos, but also the most obvious site for safe removal.

“Many schools desperately need repair or replacing anyway: the Department for Education has admitted a serious risk of collapse in many school buildings. We know more than 90 per cent of schools contain asbestos, and that the rate of mesothelioma diagnoses among former teachers is rising rapidly, so the need for removal is urgent. In the past six months alone, four schools in England had to close after asbestos was disturbed.

“As well as providing adequate support, and research, for those affected, the only real way to prevent asbestos-related illness in the long term is to remove the substance once and for all.

“Only by removing asbestos from all public buildings can we avoid future risk of exposure and stop the thousands of early – and entirely preventable – deaths from this dreadful, fatal illness.”

#IWMD

Edinburgh

A total of 110 schools contain asbestos:

Nursery/EYC – 21

Primary – 73

High School – 12

Special – 4

We have removed asbestos from 20 schools since 1st April 2022.

Remembering the workers who lost their lives to Covid-19 at work

Today is International Workers’ Memorial Day, when trade unions around the world remember workers who lost their lives and commit to keep the living safe.

This is the story of Peter, Mary, Cheryl, Zeeshan and Emeka – five UK workers who were taken by Covid-19.

Today is International Workers’ Memorial Day, when trade unions around the world remember workers who lost their lives and commit to keep the living safe.

This year we especially remember the frontline workers who lost their lives to Covid-19 while looking after our loved ones and keeping our country running.

We will be forever in debt to the workers who have died during this pandemic – our nurses, doctors, care staff and other essential workers.

Remember the dead, fight for the living.

Minute’s silence

At 11am today – Tuesday 28th April – take part in the minute’s silence.

It will be a moment to pay tribute to the sacrifice made of so many workers during the pandemic, to remember those who’ve sadly lost their lives, and to thank all those who continue to do vital work at great risk.

The initiative is supported by the government, and reps may wish to request employers mark it, by asking the workforce to cease work for one minute at 11am.

Help spread the word about the minute’s silence, by encouraging as many friends and colleagues to take part, whether in their workplace of at home.

You can quickly spread the word by posting this tweet, sharing this Facebook status or asking your contacts on WhatsApp to join you in taking part in the silence.

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “For every minute this pandemic continues, people are making extraordinary sacrifices to keep us safe and run our vital services.

“The least we can all do is spare a moment to pay our respects and show our gratitude to all the key workers who have lost their lives.”

The silence is also an opportunity to think about all those workers who are continuing to keep the country safe and functioning, says UNISON.

Society of Occupational Medicine calls for a goal of zero workplace deaths due to COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, The Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) is today renewing its call for the UK government to prevent any further work-related deaths.

Scores of UK healthcare workers have already died from COVID-19 infections and their deaths will be marked today at 11am with a moment’s silence. But at SOM, we do not believe that work-related fatalities due to COVID-19 exposure are inevitable. In fact, we believe a goal of zero work-caused fatalities is achievable.

Today is the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, an initiative supported by the United Nations. SOM backs the aim of raising awareness on the adoption of safe practices in workplaces and the role that occupational safety and health (OSH) services play.

As politicians discuss the end of the lockdown and people plan their return to work, we believe it is essential that all employers conduct risk assessments to ensure the safety of all employees.

With the proper application of safe systems of work and the use of a hierarchy of control, no worker should die of work-acquired COVID-19.

Concern has been raised about the shortcomings of and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), but PPE should be considered the lowest form of protection. Employers must consider a range of controllable factors in the work environment and this includes the use of design, engineering and administrative controls.

SOM is calling for robust and increasing access to occupational health (OH). The need for advice from occupational health doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, hygienists, ergonomists etc. is required. The need to protect our workers has never been greater and is the core role of OSH.

SOM is also supporting a multidisciplinary drive across sectors to raise awareness, share knowledge and engage employees in solutions. It is encouraging workplaces to design-in exposure prevention measures as advised by the Health and Safety Executive – helping employees take the opportunity to better understand the risks and demonstrate good practice in their work.

Dr Will Ponsonby, Society of Occupational Medicine President said: “The UK could and should have aimed for a target of zero work-caused fatalities in this pandemic. The need to protect our workers has never been greater, and that goal must be put in place as the foundation for all future planning.”