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Simon Jones was killed on 24th April 1998, aged 24, on his first day as a casual worker at Shoreham dock, UK - another victim of our growing casual labour economy. He was sent to work unloading cargo inside a ship - one of the most dangerous jobs in the UK - with only a few minutes "training". Within hours of starting work his head was almost severed by the grab of a crane.
The growth of casualisation, where people are forced into low paid jobs with little or no training, no job security, no sick pay and no holiday pay means bigger profits for companies - and more deaths and injuries for the people working for them.
Simon Jones was taking a year out from Sussex University when he was killed. The harassment Simon got from the dole made him take any job on offer for fear of having his benefit stopped.
Simon got the job through an employment agency, Personnel Selection, who should by law have checked that the job was safe for him -they didn't. Throughout the UK, employment agencies make huge profits by providing cheap labour for companies who prefer employing casual labour to employing a well trained, decently paid workforce.
The government run Health and Safety Executive is meant to ensure that people's working conditions are safe. But last year only one in 20 serious injuries at work (that's things like being blinded or losing a limb) were even investigated by them, leaving 48,000 un-investigated.
