The legionella outbreak in Edinburgh is a "stark reminder" that public service cuts can create dangerous health-related issues in the long-term, Prospect said today.
A reduction in workplace inspections currently driven through by the government could create future risks to society, according to the health and safety union.
Prospect HSE branch chairman Simon Hester said: "Although we cannot speculate over the source of this tragic outbreak, it is a stark reminder of the danger of denigrating health and safety at work and the value of effective inpsection by HSE.
"Due to spending cuts HSE's occupational health expertise is extremely thinly spread, which has led to a lack of sufficient advice in the field.
"Cooling towers are common in many industrial processes and the risks created by poor health and safety management are well known."
He added that it was "always preferable to avoid incidents that harm people" and called for adequate resources to be made available for more inspectors not less.
Tory MP Chris Grayling, who is committed to cutting health and safety regulations in half, announced the reduction in workplace inspections in a statement in April last year.
If you appreciated this article then please consider donating to the Morning Star's Fighting Fund to ensure we can keep developing your paper.
Foreign Minister Alistair Burt's admission that the Cameron government has "supported" a survey of attitudes to US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas amounts to a tacit admission of British involvement.
As Britain faces a new housing crisis we can learn from an occasion when tenants banded together to beat their landlord - and won new council housing
Iain Duncan Smith's brainchild came into force at the end of last month. It's bad news for almost everyone
Printable
Email