Being safe at your place of work should be something that is never in doubt. But Scotland has experienced a spike in recent years of workplace deaths. And now a new report has shown that Scotland has more of these tragedies than any other part of the UK. The rise means there is now nearly one death for every 100,000 workers. Among those victims was Clive Hendry, 58, who was crushed between a boat and a floating pontoon at the Highland fish farm where he worked. Speaking about the new figures, his wife has revealed the heartbreak of losing her husband at work - where he should have been protected. Her story - and all of those workplace fatalities - should be a wake-up call to employers and politicians. All of these deaths were avoidable and with the right measures in place we should be able to eradicate such accidents. Unfortunately under the Tories workers rights were eroded - with health and safety seen as nothing more than “red tape” getting in the way of making money. Thankfully, one of Labour’s first jobs in government was bringing in a new Workers’ Rights Bill - which will give added protections to millions of employees. Sadly that bill is not yet law, and will not take effect on the ground until next year at the earliest. Until it comes in, we have to hope that companies will recognise that improvements are needed to keep Scotland’s workforce safe. Those that fail to look after the safety of their employees should be dragged through the courts. Maybe the threat of jail time will be enough to make bosses realise that life is more precious than profit. John Swinney’s new strategy to bring about an independence referendum, revealed in Monday’s Daily Record, has sparked lively debate. The First Minister has said the trigger for a second referendum can only be the SNP winning an outright majority of seats at next year’s Holyrood election. He has raised the bar compared to Nicola Sturgeon, who said a pro-indy majority of SNP and other parties would be enough. Now Dennis Canavan, a prominent independence supporter, has warned that the strategy is high risk. He points out that a majority has only been achieved once since the Scottish Parliament came into being and that was in the heyday of Alex Salmond. Canavan has a point and it seems highly unlikely that after 19 years in government the SNP will repeat Salmond’s success. Swinney certainly cannot be accused of lacking ambition. But in aiming high for his party, the First Minister may have taken independence off the table for many years to come.