There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
Protecting workers' health must become a priority
JON TRICKETT calls for a renewed commitment to driving up safety standards in all workplaces
An asbestos warning sign, February 8, 2009
Labour’s new Treasury unit will ‘challenge unnecessary regulation’ by forcing nominally independent bodies like Ofwat to bend to business demands — exactly what Iain Anderson’s corporate clients wanted, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
DR DYLAN MURPHY looks at a Big Brother Watch report which exposes the government as an enabler of DWP secret spying on benefit claimants
The EU faces a critical choice: will it remain in the shadow of an increasingly unreliable US ally, or will it forge its own path in a multilateral world where co-operation with China is essential, asks MARC VANDEPITTE as leaders meet for the EU-China Summit
A lot of discussion about how the left should currently organise – including debate on whether the Green Party is a useful vehicle for advance – runs the risk of refusing to engage with or learn from the reasons the left was defeated previously, argues KEVIN OVENDEN
For Egypt trade trumps the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, but how long can the country’s ‘misleaders’ – and others in the region – continue their indifference against the popular will of their own people, asks ROGER McKENZIE
EACH year, we remember those who have been injured or killed at work usually because of inadequate safety protections. Of course we grieve for every injury and death and for all the loved ones who are left with an empty seat at the breakfast table.
But grief is not enough. We need to be both angry and resolute in order to resist an economic system which places the safety of workers as a relatively low priority.
The truth is that the right-wing mythology would have us believe that injuries at work are the consequence of unavoidable accidents. Of course there are some accidents but that is by no means the whole picture.
We can illustrate this viewpoint in recalling the problems caused by asbestos. As a young man, I worked as a manual worker in the building industry. We had little idea at that time just how dangerous asbestos is.
I regularly worked both drilling and sawing asbestos sheeting. Occasionally we were required to mix dry asbestos powder with water in order to make a paste in order to insulate hot pipes. The dust was everywhere, penetrated our clothes and overalls so that when we went home it would enter our domestic lives including possibly the lungs of our families.
A close relative of mine did the same work. He contracted an asbestos-related lung disease and subsequently died. It is a horrible wasting disease to witness and left his two young daughters first to witness its effects and then to grow up without a father.
More from this author
The British economy is failing to deliver for ordinary people. With the upcoming Spending Review, Labour has the opportunity to chart a different course – but will it do so, asks JON TRICKETT MP
JON TRICKETT MP says the tools already exist to stop price-gouging by the energy fat cats
The last 14 years have completely disproven the economic myths the Tories used to set us on the path of cuts and devastation – we need massive direct investment to rebuild the post-industrial communities, writes JON TRICKETT
Most people understand and are outraged by the fact inequality is getting worse — we need to explain how and why the Tories are driving it, writes JON TRICKETT MP
