Construction union UCATT have described proposals to cut safety and employment laws as a return to the 19th Century.

The proposals are compiled in a report Cut EU Red Tape which has been endorsed by David Cameron the Prime Minister and was compiled for him by six senior business figures.

The report recommends that all small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that are considered to be "low risk" should no longer be required to compile written health and safety records. It also recommends that employers with fewer than 10 employees should be exempt from all future employment laws.

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Steve Murphy, General Secretary of UCATT, said: "These proposals are simply outrageous it is recreating the welfare and employment practices of the 19th Century, where a worker’s rights and their safety were ignored in a rush for profits.

"Removing the requirement for companies to have written health and safety records is a green light to employers to ignore safety laws. The report gives a price for the savings gained in not having to comply with safety assessments but no price can be put on the life of a worker who is killed or maimed at work."

(CD/MH)