Don’t neglect the protection of working people because of austerity measures or de-bureaucratization
Vienna. (OTS) – “Today we commemorate a catastrophe that did not have to be. The Hart-Enzenreith mine accident shows the devastating consequences that can have if the protection of workers is missing or neglected,” said ÖGB President Wolfgang Katzian today at a memorial service in Gloggnitz. On June 26, 1924, the largest mining accident of the First Republic claimed 29 lives. Unscrupulous actions by management and inadequate safety precautions led to the miners’ deaths: after a fire, the factory management sent them back into the tunnels too early. An overlooked pipe burst in the ventilation led to carbon monoxide escaping and thus to the men’s painful death. A lack of safety training and a lack of investment in protective equipment prevented the rescue.
Brown coal mining in the region has been history since the 1940s, and the memory of the accident is immensely important, said Katzian, thanking the organizers of the celebration. This important contribution to the culture of remembrance may also provide the still necessary shake-up when it comes to employee protection: “Unfortunately, the topic has not lost its relevance. Today we continue to see that employee protection is viewed as a costly evil.”
Attacks on the rights of employees begin with the prevention of works councils or the obstruction of their work; it also happens that companies slow down when it comes to enforcing new protective regulations. “The voices that demand de-bureaucratization, that want to weaken important protective institutions like the AUVA and thus endanger employees are also becoming louder,” says the ÖGB President. He hears the competitiveness argument more and more often that the effort required for protection is too great and that companies are burdened with too high requirements. “But if we want the working population to be able to live healthily and safely during their working lives and afterwards, then it should be worth every cent to us. “Aside from the fact that healthy employees also mean lower costs for the health system,” emphasized Katzian, who in this context also once again rejected the constant demand for a reduction in non-wage labor costs. The contributions to unemployment and health insurance are also financed with this.
“The mining accident in Hart-Enzenreith is also a reminder that the protection of working people must never be sacrificed to austerity measures or alleged de-bureaucratization,” Katzian concluded: “Trade unions all over the world are fighting for this, and we are also committed to this in Austria . Only safe jobs will hopefully ensure that disasters like this do not happen again.”
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