Members of the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) held a one minute’s silence at Elysian Fields site on Colquitt Street, near to where a Polish worker was killed.

The service marked the launch of  International Workers Memorial Day.

In Kilmarnock, union members will observe a minute's silence after planting a tree at Dean Castle Country Park to commemorate all those who have been killed at work in Ayrshire and across Britain in the past year.

Memorial events are also taking place in Dounreay, Grimsby, Immingham and Cleethorpes to help underline the continuing death toll in construction, agriculture and other industries.

T&G general secretary Tony Woodley said: “We learned this week that the Health and Safety Executive prosecutes only about 700 cases of alleged safety breaches each year, rather than the 2,000 prosecutions it could bring. Meanwhile, trends suggest that the annual rate of killing at work in the UK is rising this year.

“Combine this with the sharp cuts in the HSE's budget for enforcing health and safety regulations, and the picture becomes clear. Despite the squawking of the ill-informed commentators who talk about 'health and safety police', the reality is that going to work can be a very dangerous business, and proves fatal for hundreds of people here every year.

“Taking action to end those risks, and to punish bosses responsible for the killings, is not some form of so-called political correctness gone mad. It is a basic right of working people to be protected at work. The government, employers and the HSE can do more to provide that protection. And we in the trade union movement will do our damndest to get that action.”