{"id":8099,"date":"2026-04-29T14:53:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/28april.org\/?p=8099"},"modified":"2026-04-29T14:53:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:53:21","slug":"uk-workers-memorial-day-service-at-the-house-of-commons-julia-walters-speech-appg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/28april.org\/?p=8099","title":{"rendered":"UK: Workers’ Memorial Day Service at the House of Commons – Julia Walters speech – APPG"},"content":{"rendered":"

Workers\u2019 Memorial Day service \u2013 TUC, APPG Occupational Health and Safety<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

House of Commons, 28 April 2026<\/b><\/p>\n

Speech by Professor Julia Waters<\/p>\n

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Today, on Workers\u2019 Memorial Day, we remember those who have died because of work. We speak their names, we honour their lives, and we commit to preventing future deaths.<\/p>\n

My sister\u2019s name was Ruth Perry.<\/p>\n

Ruth was a dedicated, experienced and much-loved headteacher. She led Caversham Primary School for well over a decade\u2014not for status or recognition, but because she loved that school, its staff, and its children. Ruth believed in public service and the life-changing potential of education.<\/p>\n

By every meaningful measure, Ruth was an exceptional school leader: respected by colleagues, trusted by parents, and loved by pupils. She was diligent, caring and quietly determined.<\/p>\n

But on 8 January 2023 \u2013 54 days after a brutal, flawed Ofsted inspection downgraded her school from \u2018outstanding\u2019 to \u2018inadequate\u2019 – Ruth took her own life.<\/p>\n

The inquest into Ruth\u2019s death reached a clear conclusion: Ruth died by suicide, contributed to by an Ofsted inspection. The coroner found a direct link between that inspection\u2014its conduct, outcome and consequences\u2014and Ruth\u2019s mental health deterioration and death.<\/p>\n

Ruth had no history of mental illness or depression. Prior to that inspection, Ruth had been happy, healthy and successful.<\/p>\n

The following words, quoted at the inquest, came from a conversation Ruth had with a mental health professional just days after the inspection:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the most untherapeutic and inhumane system, to have this on one person\u2019s shoulders. I am amazed there are not more heads killing themselves\u2026 the shame, the pressure, the loss of income. Where do I go next? […] The Ofsted system has to change. It is totally wrong that one person is made to feel like this.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Those words were a warning\u2014one the coroner echoed in issuing a Prevention of Future Deaths report, stating there remains a risk of future deaths if meaningful change is not made.<\/p>\n

Despite much tweaking and performative listening by Ofsted, that risk remains.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Workers\u2019 Memorial Day theme\u2014psychosocial risks\u2014recognises the fact that, as in Ruth\u2019s case, work can kill not only through physical injury or illness, but through psychological damage and despair.<\/p>\n

Work-related deaths are not only accidents or diseases. They are also suicides\u2014driven by extreme pressure, fear, humiliation, and a loss of hope.<\/p>\n

Yet our systems are not designed to recognise, investigate, or prevent deaths by suicide in the same way as physical injuries.<\/p>\n

One critical, systemic failing is that work-related suicides are not investigated by the Health and Safety Executive. They are treated as personal tragedies, rather than the result of workplace harms.<\/p>\n

If Ruth had died in a fire at her school, there would have been a full health and safety investigation.<\/p>\n

But because Ruth died by suicide, the system that led to her death continues to escape that kind of official scrutiny and is allowed to carry on regardless.<\/p>\n

At least ten teachers before Ruth are thought to have died by suicide linked to an Ofsted inspection. But none of their deaths \u2013 or the potential common factors contributing to them – has been recorded or investigated by the HSE.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t help but wonder: if just one of these work-related suicides had been investigated and corrective action taken, might Ruth still be here today?<\/p>\n

A second systemic failing lies in what happens after inquests. Coroners can issue Prevention of Future Deaths reports, but there is no National Oversight Mechanism to ensure their recommendations are implemented.<\/p>\n

While organisations are obliged to respond, their responses are often dismissive, insufficient or quietly abandoned. Too often, bereaved families are left to push for change themselves, against considerable institutional resistance, reliving trauma in the process.<\/p>\n

A third systemic failure, which we experienced in the aftermath of Ruth\u2019s death, is the misuse of suicide reporting guidelines \u2013 such as those developed by the Samaritans \u2013 not to protect people, but to shut down legitimate discussion.<\/p>\n

These guidelines are vital. They exist to prevent harm. Yet they can too easily be distorted to avoid scrutiny, deflect criticism, perpetuate false narratives, or silence those speaking out about systemic causes of suicide.<\/p>\n

Talking responsibly and openly about suicide\u2014and its causes\u2014can save lives.<\/p>\n

What is harmful is silence, defensiveness, and failure to act.<\/p>\n

Across these failings runs a common thread: systems that are far more comfortable addressing physical risks than psychological ones; far more willing to individualise harm than to confront systemic, institutional failings and responsibilities.<\/p>\n

So what needs to change?<\/p>\n

We need recognition: recognition that suicide can be work-related, and that psychosocial risks must be treated as seriously as physical ones.<\/p>\n

We need investigation: work-related suicides should be examined with the same rigour as other workplace deaths.<\/p>\n

We need accountability: a National Oversight Mechanism is needed to ensure that lessons from inquests and inquiries lead to real change.<\/p>\n

We need honesty: we must be able to talk openly and responsibly about suicide and its causes, without fear of being silenced or attacked.<\/p>\n

And finally, we need action: institutions must be willing to confront their own failings and implement meaningful reform.<\/p>\n

Because behind every statistic is a person.<\/p>\n

A sister. A daughter. A wife. A mother. A colleague. A friend.<\/p>\n

Ruth was all of these things. Ruth was a lovely human being, destroyed by an inhumane system. And Ruth should still be here.<\/p>\n

So today, as we remember those who have died because of work, let us commit to creating workplaces that protect not only physical safety, but also human dignity and mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n

If we fail to act on what Ruth\u2019s preventable death has revealed, it will happen again.<\/p>\n

Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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See\u00a0 SUICIDE CRISIS | Action call as more than one in 10 suicides is linked to work<\/a> Hazards, number 171\/172 double issue, spring 2026<\/p>\n

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