1,600 people in the South West died as a result of work last year.

Trade unionists in the South West will on Saturday hold a minute's silence to commemorate the more than 1,600 people in the region who died in the last twelve months as a result of their work.

Many of these have suffered from occupational disease caused many years ago such as asbestos exposure.

Under the rallying cry: "Remember the dead, but fight like hell for the living", trade union members from across the region attending the South West TUC's annual conference at Croyde Bay will on Saturday discuss the government's imposition of 35% cuts in health and safety enforcement.

Nigel Costley, Regional Secretary of the South West TUC, said: "This is a worrying time for health and safety. Four decades of political consensus around the importance of regulations that protect all workers has begun to fall apart.

"Political interference, cuts and the overall deregulatory agenda mean that those who stand up to make work as safe as possible are being ridiculed and budget cuts mean that the Health and Safety Executive are less equipped to do their job effectively.

"There is a lack of understanding of workplace safety and occupational disease and whatever the motive behind it, the effect will be the same - more people killed and injured at work unless we stop it. And stop it we must."

National TUC figures, extrapolated for the South West, show 155,990 working age people in the region are living with an injury or illness caused or made worse by their jobs. They also show Britain ranks 20^th out of 34 in the Health and Safety Risk Index of OECD industrialised countries, and that there's been a 50% fall in the number of safety inspections in UK workplaces in the last ten years.

Nigel Costley said: "Whichever way you look at the numbers, workers need protection. One of the best ways they can get that protection is by having health and safety reps at work, a move that halves the serious injuries by working with employers to point out potential hazards before accidents happen.

"Our health and our safety is under attack like never before and we must defend it, for our sake and that of future generations."