Emma Lewell MP: Commemorating those who died or were injured at work

It is a day we remind ourselves that the campaign for improved health and safety for workers everywhere must continue.

Figures from the Trades Union Congress show that as many as 50,000 people die as a direct result of work-related illness and injury across the UK every year. That means that every year, more people are killed at work than in wars.

Growing up, I would often hear stories from my Dad of horrific injuries in the shipyards where he worked. I raised in Parliament how we lost my Grandad to Asbestosis. South Tyneside’s industrial past means that there are very few of us who have been unaffected by, or lost loved ones to, work-related injury or sickness.

Asbestos continues to be the leading cause of work-related deaths in the UK, with the latest figures showing it causes the deaths of over 5,000 people per year. In South Shields, people are dying from Asbestosis at a higher rate than anywhere else in the UK.

It is not a disease that is confined to the men who worked in our heavy industries. There is growing evidence that asbestos deaths are rising among women and younger people, nurses, teachers and former pupils.

Although asbestos has been banned since 1999, an estimated six million tonnes of this deadly material is reported to remain embedded in our schools, hospitals and other buildings.

I have joined forces with long standing campaigners to push for a national asbestos register – so we know exactly where the asbestos is – and a plan to have it safely removed from all buildings. Alongside this, I am pushing for a specialist medical hub in the constituency to improve diagnosis, care and support.

Employers have a duty to ensure safety in the workplace. Politicians have a duty to ensure we do all we can, so no other life is needlessly lost.

Remember the dead. Fight for the living.