A widow whose husband died after falling from scaffolding was today leading a rally in Manchester to highlight health and safety failings in the workplace.
Labourer Andrew Herbertson, 29, from Failsworth, fell as he tried to dismantle a printing press in Oldham in 1998.
Linzi Herbertson, 38, has worked tirelessly to call for better workplace health and safety legislation since her husband’s death at Chadwicks Printers.
She helped form Families Against Corporate Killers, a national campaigning group aiming to stop preventable deaths in the workplace.
Mrs Herberston was due to address crowds at Albert Square in Manchester city centre today – International Workers’ Memorial Day.
She said: “Everyone should be able to go to work and come home at the end of the shift unharmed.
“This year we must fight harder as the protection of workers is under attack as never before from deregulation reviews, cuts in enforcement and people rubbishing it as nonsense.
“We are told our health and safety costs employers too much and it stops jobs being created.
“This is not true and all the evidence shows it is poor health and safety that costs lives and health and also costs all of us more money than we can afford.
“Regulations don’t kill jobs but lack of regulation and enforcement kills workers.”
Mrs Herberston was being joined by a host of guest speakers – and relatives of those who have died at work.
They include Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd and Kevin Brown, regional secretary of the Fire Brigades Union. Local authority union representatives will also be present.
They are marching from Manchester Mechanics’ Institute on Princess Street to Albert Square from 11.15am.
The Albert Square rally was taking place at noon, including a minute’s silence for those who have died at work.
The day, which has been recognised by the government, will also be marked with events in Bolton.
Figures show that some 1,700 people are killed in work-related incidents in Britain each year and up to 50,000 by work-related illness – including 18,000 from occupational cancers.