 Edrych chi'n ddiddordeb yn gyffredinol i gael gael agnithreun lleol sy'n gorom yn y parlyg yn ddigwydd. Y戴ch i fi, mae'n hawchau. Y dyma'r hyffordd y mae'n cymdeithasig o'r ddiweddau yr llawer mewn MoSion IV-358, yn y fflaeshaf yng Nghymru Ditw yng Nghymru. Rwy'n ddim yn oed bod y mae'r ddiweddau yn credu gweld fel oedden nhw'n hynne, felly o'r ddaeth mwy fydd yn pob ddechrau? Rwy'n iawn i'n amddangos i digwydd i d 제�io i ddechrau. Ie ddim yn rhan iawn i ddechrau i ddechrau i ddechrau, fyddai gwaith ei dim ffynol chi, ddim yn rhaniaeth i ddechrau i ddechrau rhagorio. Peiddem yn ysgrifennidau i ddeligio i ddechrau i ddechrau. Diolch i f攻od ar gyfer i ddechrau i ddechrau i ddechrau i ddechrau, wedyn ysgrifennidau yn ysgrifennidau sy'n ysgrifennidau. the hundreds of thousands of people killed or injured in their work every year. I refer members to my register of interests as a member of Unison and a former active trade unionist. Worker's memorial day was established in America in 1970, and the April date was chosen to mark the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which came into force on that date. After being recognised in Canada in 1985 and in other parts of the world, it was Maen nhw'n gweithio i'r Uneddaeth i Tomi Hart yn 1992. Tomi was a campaigner from the Hazards campaign in the West Midlands, and he was committed to workplace health, safety and welfare, and a reduction in the incidents of work-related injuries, and he brought the day to an event in Birmingham before it spread all over the UK. Today, workers and their representatives from all over the world come together on 28 April to demand action, better and safer conditions, and to demonstrate and honour those who have lost their lives at work. There is a phrase among those who observe International Workers Memorial Day, remember the dead and fight for the living. This is a powerful motto, and we are here today to do just that. According to Unison, up to 50,000 people die from work-related ill health and incidents every year in the UK. In Scotland, our communities have suffered our share of those painful losses. In 1959, Ockingeekolgyrae in North Lanarkshire, 47 miners lost their lives to a horrific combination of fire and carbon monoxide deep below the surface. In my constituency, the Blantyre mining disaster in 1877 killed over 200 workers in a similar explosion. Of course, in 1988, the Piper Alpha disaster claimed the lives of over 160 workers and injured many more. Those events not only caused avoidable death, but robbed communities of their fathers, wives, brothers, sisters and parents. They leave scars that last a lifetime and beyond. Many other jobs also have less visible risk, whether factory workers, lorry drivers or the workers at Tepco in Fukushima, who had to work heroically in the aftermath of the meltdown. We need to remember that all work carries risk, and around the world, one worker dies every 15 seconds. Those numbers are comparable to the numbers of death worldwide due to conditions such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and lung and throat cancers. If those deaths were caused by crime, terror or disease, we would be endlessly debating in this chamber and in wider public discourse. Yet workplace deaths and injuries are more preventable than any of those other conditions. I am proud that we mark the work of the trade union movement in transforming the lives of ordinary working people in this country and others. As we experienced in the First Industrial Revolution, the strides forward in practice and process were matched by the efforts and sacrifice of those in the trade union movement to match those technical innovations with progressive changes that protected ordinary people. Moving forward as the economy evolves to include more service-based and tertiary industries, the challenges of the past will change. The nature of the risk to health will shift, but unionisation is as vital as ever. The trade union movement must look to tackle the next big risks to wellbeing for workers. Tackling inequalities, exploitative zero-wire type contracts and the so-called gig economy, where we see a shift or regression to piecemeal working. As we move into the utilisation of the workforce, as more take up the gig economy of one-off pieces of work, people are moving beyond the nine-to-five pattern of work. However, the reality for most in the gig economy is that there is just a rebranding of short-term contracts, zero job security and little right to benefits that unionisation brings. Zero-hours workers are relatively worse off now than a decade ago, on average a third less per hour—the average earning—a third less per hour than the average employee, down a quarter less in 2006. The boom in self-employment also masks similar figures, with self-employed workers having an average earnings of 40 per cent lower than those of employees compared to 28 per cent lower a decade ago. With lower incomes, more precarious work and a physical divide through remote working practices, the challenges for working safety and wellbeing are as serious as ever. Unfortunately, the trade union act has made this environment more hostile for unions to operate in, with a 50 per cent turnout threshold for action to be legal. That is above and beyond winning the vote, and a more draconian vote of 40 per cent of the entire membership before public sector workers can take action. Those and other steps seek to undermine the effectiveness of workers in organising and influencing work patterns. Without the threat of work action in extreme circumstances, maintaining workers' rights will be so much harder in the future. As we approach 28 April, we should remember the sacrifices of those who have died just going to work, among them those miners, the power plant workers and those working in the North Sea whose lives ended without warning. The tragic incident yesterday in my constituency in Blantair, where a man went to work on a building site and did not return home. What happened in Blantair shows that every day brings new challenges for safety and wellbeing and terrible news for families and loved ones. With strong co-operation between Government, industry and unions, we will remember the dead and continue to fight for the living. Thank you very much, Ms Adamson. Moving to the open debate speeches of four minutes each, please clear Adamson to be followed by Bill Bowman. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank Claire Hawke for bringing this very important members' debate to the floor of the chamber today. It is not the first time that I have spoken on the issue, and the Parliament has become one of the annual recognitions of a very important calendar in the working lives of the people of Scotland. In 2012, I was honoured to lead a member's debate in this chamber, recognising the workers of steel workers and their contribution to their economy and their industry, and recognising the fundraising efforts of the steel workers memorial fund that was started in Lanarkshire by many people from the civic area by the trade unions, who had come together to fund raise for a memorial to steel workers. Despite the fact that we had two centuries of steel making being absolutely integral to this country's economic success, to infrastructure, to its shipbuilding, there was no memorial recognising steel workers who had lost their lives in that industry. Thankfully now, through those efforts, we have a beautiful Andy Scott sculpture depicting a steel worker with a stream of molten steel pouring from his hand and sparking on the ground. I also have a great privilege in being convener of the cross-party group on accident prevention and safety awareness. I pay tribute to his many members who work day in, day out to improve the safety of workers here and in the wider world. The Institute of Health and Safety Engineers, IOSH, who do exemplary work in training, accrediting and sharing best practice both here and abroad. The HSE members who look to protecting our workers, ROSPA and many others, but particularly I thank the work of Families Against Corporate Killing, who remind us every day of the dangers in many, many industries that still exist for workers. It is very important that, as a country, we are not content to export risk and danger elsewhere for economic benefit here. We have a duty of care to countries where legislation and regulation is not what it is here and in Europe to ensure that workers across the globe share the safety, the knowledge and the best practice that we have grown to know in this country. I pay tribute to the STUC Hazards Group, who are members and Kathy Jenkins, who are tirelessly fighting for workers not just here but across the globe. In particular, it mentioned that they continue to raise the issue of union carbide and the bullpile disaster, where many people are still seeking justice. It goes to show that something that happened in 1984 only had criminal convictions in 2010, and that just is not good enough. I will stand with colleagues and trade unionists from across Lanarkshire next week at the memorial service at Summerleigh Heritage Park. I am grateful that Clare Hockey has given us this reminder that we all have to remember the dead but fight for the living. I call Bill Bowman to be followed by Neil Findlay. Bill Bowman, please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and also let me congratulate Clare Hockey in securing this debate and bringing it forward this afternoon. No-one leaves the house for work expecting not to return to their families, dependents and loved ones afterwards. At the outset of this debate, I want to send my condolences to the many families, friends and colleagues who have lost loved ones as a result of an incident at work. In my previous employment, I was responsible at one point for a building with up to about 400 people inside it. As in all workplaces, safety was paramount, and security was important as well. I would never have wanted to be put in a situation where an incident, God forbid, a fatal one, could have been avoided if only more checks had been carried out or some money could have been spent on protecting the workplace inside. The safety and protection of the workforce and the workplace was always a priority of mine, and I believe that it should be one for all people in responsible management positions, which I am sure and hope that it is. Prior to today's debate, I reflected on a number of workplace incidents that I can remember from my past life, incidents that are etched in the memories of many people who were directly or indirectly affected. I grew up in my earlier years in Glasgow, and one of those events was the Cheepside Street fire disaster, Britain's worst peacetime fire services disaster. That blazed a whisky warehouse killed 19 firefighters. Those were people who put their lives at risk in the line of duty and people who sadly paid the ultimate price. I can clearly remember the Glasgow sky that night, lit up by the glow of the fire. We then moved to Fife and, while living there, another incident that I remember was the micro pit disaster, and you have mentioned mining disasters, unfortunately. Also, this was the micro quality in East Weems, which claimed the lives of nine men. Three of the bodies were never recovered and remained entwined underground this day. Amidst the horror of that event, there are stories of heroic efforts that night, stories of people who put themselves in harm's way to save the lives of miners working on that shift, and some of those themselves did not return. I don't believe that we should forget such stories, and I want to commend those, including our fantastic emergency services for their bravery. The micro pit incident is only one example of a workplace incident that occurred in what was a very dangerous industry. Today, we remember all those who lost their lives working down the pits right across this country. I then moved to Aberdeen to live and work there, and I mentioned an incident that I already mentioned, which was the sixth of July 1988, off the coast of Aberdeen, the Piper Alpha disaster. It was something that I don't know of any of the members who were in Aberdeen at that time, but it certainly had a very strange effect on the city the day after and, of course, has had its consequences thereafter. Lord Cullen's report into the disaster made clear that the operator had used inadequate maintenance and safety procedures and made more than 100 recommendations about how safety should be improved in the North Sea. I introduced the concept of the safety case, which is something that has become standard procedure in the industry. I am sure that the members who are aware of this disaster do not need to remind it that 167 all workers lost their lives in that incident, and I guess that the consequence was that it could have been less if certain better procedures had been followed. The three examples that I have touched on today are all ones that have resulted in people dying while carrying out their jobs. Whether it be those in our emergency services, miners underground or workers in the oil and gas industry, we remember each and every person who has lost their life as a result of an incident at work. As I said at the start of my speech, safety is paramount and we should never rest on our laurels when it comes to improving safety measures. Just in conclusion, as I see my time passing, I have always had an interest in safety systems. I know that I am relatively new to the chamber, but I look forward to participating in a practice emergency evacuation of the Parliament at some point, which I hope will make sure that we all know what to do if something goes wrong here. Thank you very much, Mr Bowman. I call Neil Findlay to be followed by Ross Greer. My colleague Alec Reilly asked me to apologise for his absence from today's debate. He had intended to speak, but he has another engagement. After my contribution, I have to chair a PCS trade union group meeting, so I will have to leave after my contribution. I thank Clare Hockie for bringing forward this annual debate on international workers memorial day. This is not a debate about nostalgia, but about the here and now. Every 15 seconds, a worker dies somewhere in the world from a work-related accident or disease. That means, in the course of my contribution alone, that 16 workers will have died 180 over the duration of the debate alone. It is a tragic reality—a very sobering tragic reality—that more people are killed at work than they are in war and conflict. That is why we recognise international workers memorial day each and every year. We will continue to do so in memory of those who have lost their lives. The health and safety situation in the UK has seen massive improvements over the past century due to the campaign of the Labour and trade union movement, a campaign that reaches way beyond the borders of this country. We have always worked internationally across borders, as our movement is based on the principles of solidarity with working people across the world. Next week, I will attend the annual service at Bathgate, arranged by my friend Jimmy Swanix, a convener at British Leyland in Bathgate. He was instrumental in bringing international workers memorial day to Scotland. Alex Rowley will be in Cercody, Richard Leonard at Summerleigh, and Labour members and friends will attend services across the country. It is right that we mourn the dead, but it is the campaign to protect the living that I want to focus on. In the past few months, we have seen workers killed in construction projects across Scotland. A 37-year-old man was killed on a wind farm in Dumfries, a forestry worker killed in Selcarca, another wind farm worker in South Ayrshire, one in East Renfrewshire, a 57-year-old man on the fourth crossing, a 58-year-old man on the bridge of Don crossing, and only yesterday, as Clare Hocky mentioned, a worker on a construction site in High Blantire. On the Aberdeen bypass, a worker is injured every week, more than 115 since the project began. I and Unite the Union have had reports of the exploitation of migrant labour by agencies operating on that contract. At the New Dumfries hospital site, trade unions have been stopped from having full access to the site, and on the fourth crossing, the Union convener was not replaced. Projects that are run by the Scottish Government, commissioned by the Scottish Government. Where is the adherence to fair work principles here? Where is the adherence to fair work principles when we seek to develop relations with foreign Governments such as Qatar? At the same time, is there a massacre of construction workers going on on world-cut projects? Thousands, literally thousands of poor migrant workers have died, yet we are engaging with that country and not raising that issue. Where is the fair work principles in continuing to award contracts to companies who have blacklisted workers, particularly the crucial health and safety reps who kept sites safe and protected workers from injury and death, who have all been blacklisted, taken off jobs by big construction companies in the name of profit, and yet we continue to award them contracts? Where are the fair work principles? We are entering a general election period. I will be proud to argue for a £10 on our minimum wage, which should improve the lives of half a million workers, for public contracts to be covered by collective bargaining. Collective agreements and unorganised workforce is a safer, more motivated, more productive workforce, and I will be proud to argue for the repeal of the ODS trade union bill. I urge all workers this week and next, at any time, to join a trade union. Trade unions are vital for the protection of workers' rights and to protect against unfair employment practices, low pay and exploitation. It is a privilege to speak in this debate to highlight the importance of international workers memorial day. Let's mourn the dead, but let's all resolve to fight for the living. Thank you, Mr Finlay. I call Ross Greer to be followed by Fulton McGregor. Next Friday, we mark international workers memorial day, a day in which we remember those killed at work. So many, because their bosses did not take safety seriously, because they put maximising their profits ahead of the lives of their workers. As Claire Hoy mentioned in her opening speech, the rallying call for the day is to remember the dead but to fight for the living. Employment rights in this country were hard-won by centuries of workers' struggle. The radical war, the chartis movement, red coidside, the general strike, the post-war labour movement. In previous debates, I have mentioned the need to teach this history, our history and our schools. In my region, on workers memorial day, it will be at Bishop Briggs to remember the 13 miners who died at the Codderpit disaster. That was in 1913, but, as has already been mentioned in this debate, the fight is very, very far from over. The OECD ranks the UK as bottom of the barrel in Europe when it comes to workers' rights. The European Committee on Social Rights has chastised the UK for non-compliance with whole swathes of labour rights, again ranking it amongst the worst in Europe. The priority of this Government at Westminster to pass a piece of anti-trade union legislation is so draconian that a now cabinet minister described it as fascist in nature and more akin to Franco-Spain than a 21st century UK. I would say to Mr Bowman that, when we are talking about the priorities of safety in the workplace, who do you think improves safety? Who fights for the safety of workers? It is trade unions. Trade unions at the Conservative party are doing all they can to shut down and prevent from operating. That will cost lives. Over 7 million people in the UK are in precarious employment. That is up over 2 million in a decade. Those people are self-employed, in temporary work and in zero hours contracts. Many of those classes, so-called self-employed though, are in reality employees exploited by a new wave of terrible employers, particularly when it comes to new app and tech-based firms. One courier firm, Deliveroo, has even issued a vocabulary guide to its staff with a list of do's and don'ts. Do say rider, don't say employee, worker or staff. Do say supplier agreement, don't say employment contract. When you have to remind your admin staff to police their own language so as not to accidentally give away your dodgy employment practices, you know that you are exploiting people. By pretending that employees are actually self-employed contractors, workers lose out. They put a risk. On average, they are about half as much as permanent employees. They are more likely to live in poverty. They are not entitled to sick pay or to holiday leave. If a courier, who spends all day cycling in busy streets, gets into an accident and has to miss work, they are on their own. Employees of Deliveroo have launched legal challenges against their status. That comes on top of successful strike action supported by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain that was opposing attempts to worsen to further degrade their pay rates. Other legal challenges against firms such as Uber have been successful in ensuring that employees have proper legal status, but workers should not have to take expensive and risky legal action for their basic rights. All the while, with bosses getting richer and continuing the exploitation, those rights should be protected in law. Even if a worker is finally afforded the correct legal status, they may still be confronted with a temporary zero-hours contract. They can still face no guarantee of regular hours or a stable income or protection against being fired on the whim of management. Those rights should be protected in law as well. In recent months, workers have been confronted with yet more innovative forms of exploitation. Mooboo Tea in Glasgow has asked potential workers to complete 40 hours of unpaid work—a so-called internship—before getting a job. Subway used the UK Government's own website to advertise for an apprentice sandwich artist to be paid £3.40 an hour. That is exactly the kind of employment practice that generations of workers have fought against and their struggles are undone by the UK Government. We now have a new generation of workers fighting against a new generation of exploitation. The young workers, powering the better than zero campaign, for example, have successfully targeted businesses such as Subway, like Mooboo and the G1 group who are ripping off their workers. There is a long way to go, though. We remember the dead, but the fight for the living must go on. I am looking in the wrong direction. I call Fulton MacGregor to follow by Alexander Stewart. Mr Stewart, I am looking at you now. You will be the last speaker in the open debate. Mr MacGregor. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak in this important debate today. I would like to thank Leicolors Clare Hockey for bringing it to the chamber. The day is an international day for remembrance, an action for workers killed at work, an opportunity for reflection and a commitment to change. As has been said, the numbers are reducing year on year last year. In Scotland, 20 people lost their lives at their place of work. International Workers Memorial Day commemorates those who have lost their lives at work and so recognises the loss sustained by all who, in turn, touch their lives. Regardless of whether you work in an office or in a heavy industry, there should be no question about whether you will be able to finish your work day alive. Everyone has a right to return home safe and healthy to their loved ones at the end of the day. Workers memorial day is an important reminder to us all that this does not always happen. My constituency of Coal Bridging Christen is proud of its rich industrial heritage, with strong traditions in the coal, iron and steel industries. Working in such heavy industries was frequently dangerous, with little safeguarding in place to protect those workers. Many of my constituency have direct experience of workplace loss, the effects of which can be felt by future generations. Unlike most people who hail from the area, I come from a family with strong and proud industrial working past. My maternal grandfather, as an example, worked from the age of 14 in the various steelworks across the constituency, including those in Gartcawch, Gartsherry and the Calder before it finally closed in the 1980s. My family recall that he sustained workplace injury at one point, leaving him to be off work and would have known others who did also. As Clare Hockey mentioned, probably the most prominent example of such devastating loss in my area concerns the loss of 47 lives due to a fire on a local coal mine. On 18 September 1959, 47 men lost their lives, 41 women became widows and 76 children lost their fathers. On this morning, the early shift at the walking geek mine in Moody'sburn, 40 men in total clocked in to work as normal. As normal, all bolded a series of trains or bogies which were to convey them to the coal face hundreds of feet underground, all of them unaware of the deadly sequence of events in motion, 1400 feet below the surface. A canvas transmission belt on an unattended electric power fan had jumped off its pulley and became jammed. The friction caused by that ignited the belt, which in turn ignited oil deposits around the fan. The flames then ignited nearby timbers. A decision to prevent the miners entering the mine until further investigations could be completed was not adequately conveyed. With the 48 men underground, the fire then filled the main roadway on which the miners were travelling with carbon monoxide. They had only escaped it. All but one of those men died, the sole survivor, having very little memory of how he managed to make his way out of the pit. 47 men gone, as I said, 41 women made widows, 76 children fatherless. That is worth repeating, and all was something that was preventable. Every year, there is a memorial service in Moody'sburn to commemorate the workers and remind us to remain vigilant. On 28 April, it is a day of remembrance for all who have lost their lives, who have sustained injuries or become ill simply by doing their job. Fatal injuries at work are becoming rarer, however, workers risk their lives daily. In many respects, that might have changed to different types of work. Just this week, I learned that, in the Monklands area alone, a police officer is assaulted every three days. Those people who pull on their uniform to keep us all safe will live with an increased level of risk, just through the nature of their employment. Next week, I will be attending and speaking at the workers memorial day, arranged by North Lanarkshire Trade Union's council—also held annually—at the appropriate place of some of the industrial museum, where the two signs at the front read, the first, the past we inherit and the future we build, and the second, on the right-hand side, in memory of all those who lost their lives at work. I will be delighted to join with colleagues across-party, including Richard Leonard and that. I would also make mention of the work that Elaine Smith has done over the years. She came round and spoke to me about not being able to stay for man-putting in today's debate, and I really appreciate that. We must look forward to workers' rights being recognised in the growing gig economy, as has been mentioned by others, and the potential effects on workers' safety. Although advocates of the gig economy claim that people benefit from the flexible work arrangements, the flexible nature to me would seem to make more benefit to the employers who only pay when the work is available and do not incur staff costs when the demand for work is not there. Workers in the gig economy are classed as independent contractors, meaning that they do not receive the national minimum wage, sick pay or holiday pay, nor do they receive protection against unfair dismissal, and that needs to change. I feel privileged to be able to stand here in this Parliament and talk about those issues. I know that we can all only do that today because of the sacrifices made by generations before us in the industrialised country that has moulded all of us. I begin by congratulating Clare Hockey on securing a debate for her motion on international workers memorial day, and I feel very privileged to take part in this debate today and thank her for that opportunity. It is vitally important that we remember those who have tragically lost their lives while going about their day-to-day business at their work. The trade unions down the years have made and played a very important contribution to the whole role. Highlighting the need for robust health and safety standards at the workplace has never been more important. The United Kingdom has a record with regard to health and safety and has pioneered many regulations that have made a massive impact on the sector, but more requires to be done. There is always room for improvement. Regrettably, however, there have been far too many people who have been seriously injured or suffered a fatality due to negligence or neglect of others. Businesses and organisations have a sociable responsibility and obligation to ensure that they respect the rights of their employees, particularly in relation to their own safety when they go to work. Sometimes, however, just being compliant with the relevant legislation is not always enough. We must protect and do all we can for the workforce. In that regard, trade unionism has a job to play, and it has, as I have said, down the years done that. We have to congratulate and commend them for doing that, because, without the trade union movement, many individuals and organisations would not have the protections that they have today. I acknowledge that here today. The interests of the members down the years have been very much the case between employer and employee. They both have rights and responsibility when they are dealing with safety. Through the provision of training, raising awareness, campaigning and other organisations such as Scottish Hazards, they have made a real contribution to ensure that employees are safe within the workplace, and, as I have said, that has to be congratulated and commended. In addition, the adoption of best practice, sharing between firms and groups, is vital to ensure that incidences of accidents, injury or illness are prevented. We have had lots of that over the years in various sectors, and some sectors have led the way to ensure that individuals and organisations are protected. I am proud that the Conservative Party is committed to protecting and enhancing the rights of some workers across the United Kingdom. Theresa May has made it quite clear that the transfer of all rights that are enshrined in law in the European level within British law will become part of the great repeal bill, which is formally moving forward, and that will come on the statute book. This year's international workers memorial day theme is good health and safety for all workers whoever they are. I think that it is very important that we consider every part and every organisation and every type of role and every type of job. As our working practices have changed and our business has changed and our economy has changed, it is only right and proper that we reexamine existing workers' protections to see if they go far enough. The Government has hired Matthew Taylor to look into the rights that can be extended in the so-called gig sector and the gig economy, and that has been welcomed. I look forward to seeing what comes through as that progresses. In conclusion, it is important that we ensure the workers' rights and ensure that they live and that they work in a safe environment for everyone, no matter what their job is. I am pleased to see that there are good cross-parties support across the chamber for the motion. Remembering the dead and fighting for the living is something that we should all do every day of our lives. Thank you very much, Mr Stewart. I now call on Jenny Hepburn to close the Government Minister's seven minutes of their abouts, please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I begin by joining others in congratulating Clare Haughey for bringing this debate to the Parliament chamber. I also thank others for their contributions, as has been correctly mentioned. International Workers Memorial Day is a day for reflection on lives that have been lost due to incidents of work, occupational disease and ill health. Scotland's health and safety record is among the best in Europe. I thought that the point that was made by Neil Findlay was a salient one. Of course, this is an international day. Every 15 seconds, life is lost globally in a workplace accident. Here in Scotland, we have a better record, but we are not immune. Clare Haughey mentioned the tragic incident that happened in High Blanter. Yes, that incident will rightly be the subject of investigation, but I am sure that the whole chamber would at this time want to convey its condolences to the family and friends of the man who was tragically killed in yesterday's incident. We have, in reflecting on times past, travelled far from where we once were in terms of health and safety in the workplace. Alexander Stewart was correct in making that point. There was a variety of acts put in place in the 19th century that led to some modest time improvements in health and safety standards. Despite those improvements, tens of thousands of people were killed or injured at work well into the 20th century. We have heard about some examples. The Rabel woman spoke about the cheap side tragedy in Anderson, where 19 people died. Fulton MacGregor spoke very movingly about the terrible incident in 1959 at Ochengeach, where 47 men were killed, including, I should say, some miners from Condorat. In my constituents, we have a memorial in Condorat, just as there is a memorial in Moody'sburg. We have a memorial at Condorat to commemorate the terrible incident of 1959. Those incidents and others led to the Health and Safety Work Act being introduced in 1974 for the first time when employers and employees were consulted. Codes of practice and guidance became readily available between 1974 and 2007. The number of fatal injuries to employees in the UK fell by 73 per cent, and the number of non-fatal injuries fell by 70 per cent. We would do well to remind ourselves—as has been mentioned by most of those who have contributed today—that those rights were hard fought for and were hard won by our trade unions. Having everyone placed on record that this is a day for reflection on times past, it is also about us looking at where we are today and where we go forward from. I have to say to Alexander Stewart where he refers to the workers' rights being enshrined by Theresa May. That is somewhat inconsistent when we see a trade union act, a pernicious trade union act, being taken forward by that same UK Government. I mentioned that because that is a specific concern in relation to this specific area. We cannot afford to see any rollback on the health and safety agenda, and any piece of legislation that seeks to curb the rights of Labour to organise itself leads to the concern that such rollback may occur. We need to remind ourselves that, even with the health and safety standards and the legislation that was put in place in 1974, we still sadly see incidents of those losing their lives at work. We saw in 1988 the Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea in 2004. We saw the stock line plastics factory explosion in Maryhill, not far from where I grew up in 2015-16. The health and safety executive said that there were 16 workplace-related deaths in Scotland. We have seen many improvements, but there are many tragedies. Too many tragedies take place in the here and now, and any legislation that seeks to curb the rights of trade unions could lead to further concerns about further rollback on the health and safety agenda. We, of course, as an administration, seek to advance our fair work agenda. The independent fair work convention is at the forefront of that agenda. Collaborative working is central to the convention's promotion of fair work, ensuring that all employers understand the benefits of effective voice. The health and safety agenda is firmly part of that fair work agenda, and we know that accident rates are lower in workplaces where employees feel that they are genuinely involved and genuinely have a say in health and safety matters compared to workplaces where they do not feel as involved. That is why we continue to fund the fair work convention and that is why, in our labour market strategy, we set out an ambition to ensure that we have a workforce that is better involved in the workplace. Although we reflect that we should consider future challenges, we as a Government have significant concerns about the reduction in the health and safety executive budget of some 35 per cent since 2010. That has resulted in an end to proactive unannounced inspections of premises. We should also do well to reflect that many members have raised clear hockey, Ross Greer and Fulton McGregor about the increase in self-employment and the gig economy. Undoubtedly, there are many individuals who desire to be self-employed, but we also know that a lot is to do with the issues that have been raised in the debate. There are considerable issues around workers not receiving proper employment status. They are not eligible for the national minimum wage, sick pay and holiday entitlement. It is also considerably harder for such workers to be able to organise themselves. We need to ensure that workers' rights are protected and that they are not exploited. That type of employment does not displace secure job by creating part-time low-paid work that offers workers little or no statutory benefits or protection, in particular, health and safety protection in the workplace. Let me conclude, Presiding Officer, because I see time against me. That has been a welcome debate. It allows us to put in the record our collective commitment to ensuring that we use International Workers Memorial Day, indeed, as a day to remember those who went before us and who died or were injured in the workplace, but also to reasset our commitment to ensuring that we continue to have a good and ever better health and safety record in the workplace now and into the future. Thank you very much, minister. That concludes the debate. I suspend this meeting of Parliament until 2.30.