Health and Safety at Work

My Lords, this debate is to be welcomed; we are indebted to my noble friend Lord Harrison for securing it, for no issue is greater than health and safety in the workplace. It is truly hard to describe the conditions in the steel industry when I started in 1953. ““Dreadful”” is a word that comes to mind; it was dirty and extremely dangerous. Mind you, 13,000 people were employed at the Ebbw Vale works then; it is now, sadly, like many others, closed. But that is another story. Throughout my adult life, I have been impressed with the efforts of trade unions—yes, trade unions—and employers in their everyday efforts to improve health and safety in the steel industry. When I was a local trade union official, health and safety was extremely high on the agenda, and vigilance was key, as much with one’s own members as with management. There was no cutting corners; no quick fix; we avoided extra payments for undertaking unsafe practices and so on. We tried to save the members from themselves in many ways. On becoming general-secretary of the main steel workers union, the ISTC—now renamed Community following merger—I was heavily involved with health and safety matters. I sat on the safety body for British Steel—now renamed Corus following the merger with Hoogovens, the Dutch company—and for a period I chaired the Joint Accident Prevention Advisory Committee, JAPAC, which was established in the 1960s following trade unions and others pushing hard for legislation. All this effort eventually resulted in the 1974 Act of Parliament referred to by my noble friend Lord Harrison, which, in itself, was worth its weight in gold. It legislated for the safety of people at work, as well as ensuring that machinery and equipment were maintained and of a high standard. As a consequence, we should all be proud that the United Kingdom is one of the few countries with legislation devoted to health and safety. In short, a big thank you to Michael Foot. Since the birth of Corus, a very funny name which is the same as that of a string of hotels—I cannot understand it, quite frankly; I do not know what was wrong with British Steel—the company has continually improved its health and safety performance. As, indeed, has the EEF, the manufacturer’s organisation, which has contributed very successfully—for example, in the wire industry—by reducing accidents through joint co-operation between management, the unions and HSE. At Corus, its lost time injury frequency performance, LTIF, record is, I am pleased to say, one of the best in the global steel industry, reducing from 7.5 LTIF in 2003, to 3.8 in 2004 and 2.9 in 2005. That is good news. Fatalities? There should be none—but there are. Tragically, at Corus there were five in 2000, which had reduced to two in 2002; there were two in 2003, none in 2004 and, tragically again, two in 2005. The company and its trade unions conduct transparent, thorough investigations when these tragedies occur to both determine the cause and to share learning to prevent a repeat. Quite correctly, the company has a key objective to operate within a safe, sustainable environment. It believes that this approach will maximise its efforts to be heavily involved—and I hope the Government ensure that it is involved—in providing its products for the 2012 Olympics. Would it not be great if British steel and manufacturing played a major role in those, hopefully, highly successful Olympic Games? One of the pre-requisites for products to be considered for use in the Olympic Games must be that the companies have a robust health and safety record. Our companies in the steel industry have that and I wish them every success. The steel industry is not easy to work in. There have been—and still are—many difficulties and tensions between management and unions, and noble Lords will know the reasons for that. However, in relation to health and safety, there is common cause—and that is how it should be—but it is important that pressure is maintained. My union has more than 1,000 volunteers acting as safety representatives—and that is good—who are making a significant contribution. As with other industries, the growth in outsourcing and the ever increasing number of contractors coming into industries like the steel industry are difficult issues with which to deal. Therefore strong enforcement of health and safety standards is vital. It is extremely important that the Government introduce stiffer penalties for those unscrupulous employers who pay scant regard to health and safety for their employees. I applaud employers such as Corus that have clear health and safety policies and ensure that their executives visit the plants. This year, 155 visits have been made by the executive board to plants throughout the country, ensuring that all employees of Corus are well trained and competent to perform their tasks. Recognising excellence by rewarding health and safety ideas and initiatives from its workforce is all good stuff. At the end of the day, workers who leave their homes to go to work deserve nothing less than first-class protection to ensure that their safety is at their place of work and that they can return home to their families.