Lesley Griffiths, the Welsh Assembly Member for Wrexham, has welcomed the launch of a new telephone support line for families who have been bereaved through a workplace fatality and the colleagues of people killed at work.
The support line has been set-up by the voluntary organisation – Hazards Campaign Wales – with aim of providing information on other organisations offering help and where possible offer emotional support, to family members and co-workers who have experienced a work- related death of someone close to them.
The launch coincided with Workers Memorial Day which is held on 28 April every year, when all over the world, workers and trade unions remember those who have died in the workplace and campaign for tougher health and safety laws and improved occupational health for workers.
Commenting on the launch of the support line, Lesley Griffiths AM said: “In the latest statistics from the Health & Safety Executive, 14 workers died in Wales of fatal injuries during 2006/2007 and this does not include those people who die each year from work related illness.
“I wish Hazards Campaign Wales every success with this initiative. I am sure it will prove to be of great benefit to those who have lost someone close to them at work.”
The support line will be operational from 28th April 2008 and can be contacted on: 0792 121 3096.
When contacting the support line, please leave a message giving your name and contact number. Alternatively you can send a text. (Mobile rates and network charges apply). A call will be returned within 48 hours.
Categories: Business News
Wrexham’s AM Lesley Griffiths has expressed concern at new research findings which reveal that over half of bosses in the UK assess the chances of a member of staff falling pregnant before employing them. Read more.
Categories: Business News
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called on local authorities to rethink town centre parking policies ahead of the local elections in England and Wales in May.
The UK’s biggest business organisation said that the practice of local authorities using excessive parking charges to raise revenue is killing town centres. Local authorities made £1.6 billion from parking charges and fines in 2005, up from £628 million in 1997.
The FSB warned that short term revenue-raising by local authorities through draconian town centre parking laws would backfire in the long term as high street shops go out of business and the wealth and employment they create is lost. The FSB’s Small Business Manifesto for the local elections calls for sensible parking policies that encourage shoppers to use small independent shops on the high street. MPs estimate that 2,000 small shops cease trading every year.
Roger Culcheth, FSB Local Government Chairman, said: “Every town is different and you can’t impose exactly the same parking policies everywhere. But local authorities should come up with a set of criteria for parking policies that encourage shoppers into town centres rather than turning them away.
“Although parking restrictions can raise a lot of cash in the short term, they can be extremely damaging to local economies and ultimately counter-productive, as shops in town centres begin to close.
“Spiralling town centre parking costs and huge fines must be done away with permanently. The local elections in England and Wales are a perfect opportunity for local authorities to show their commitment to the town centres they have so much influence over.”
Categories: Business News
