WORKERS in the Wee County are being urged to have their say on a replacement industrial injuries benefit.

Clacks MSP Keith Brown is encouraging people to give their views on how the Scottish Government’s planned Employment Injury Assistance should be delivered.

The benefit is set to replace the UK Government’s Industrial Injuries Scheme in Scotland with a consultation launched to better understand how it can meet the needs of the modern workforce.

Mr Brown, representative for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, said: “Our society today is much safer for workers than it was in times gone by.

“But we have to ensure that we keep it that way and, as work practices change, we always have to be vigilant to ensure that safety is not lost.

“The timing of this consultation couldn’t be more appropriate with the end of April and the start of May containing days set aside for showing solidarity with workers and remembering those who have lost their lives at work.”

Indeed, a service was held at the end of April outside Kilncraigs, the headquarters of Clackmannanshire Council, to pay respects to those who tragically lost their lives or became severely injured in the course of their employment.

The MSP added: “Remember the dead and fight for the living – that is the tagline of International Workers’ Memorial Day – and it is incredibly important that, as a society, we properly care for those injured or harmed in the workplace.

“The Industrial Injuries Scheme was introduced way back in 1948 and the workplace world has changed enormously in many different ways since those immediately post-war days.

“The outdated eligibility criteria for the Industrial Injuries Scheme does not take account of the injuries and illnesses that are most likely to affect people today.

“I am very pleased to highlight this consultation, an important first step in the very welcome move to replace the UK Government’s Industrial Injuries Scheme with a modern alternative, designed for today’s world and delivered by the Scottish Government through Social Security Scotland.”

The consultation, available through the consult.gov.scot website will close on June 24 this year.