Toryograph

Continuing the health and safety theme. This week the Daily Telegraph reported that a cardboard packaging firm called Clingfoil has been prosecuted for no good reason. Apparently the owners feel a touch put upon because the HSE has for once managed to enforce safety standards rather than doll out advice. Poor little mites.

Tomorrow a firm employing 19 staff that has never had an accident at its workplace and whose bosses held up their hands when one of their staff was spotted doing something stupid will appear in Macclesfield magistrates court, accused by the Health & Safety Executive of breaking the Work at Height regulations.

And what is all this fuss about? Well a HSE inspector spotted an employee balancing on the forks of a forklift truck. The brothers who own Clingfoil admit it was dangerous but claim the action is unnecessary because they have introduced a new training regime and brought new equipment since the incident.

The Telegraph implies that falls from height are trifling little issues but prints the following statistic.

Last year 53 people died from falls and nearly 3,800 people suffered major injury such as broken bones or fractured skulls.

To return to the police analogy in the last post. Imagine if the Telegraph ran stories about the difficulties muggers and murders face from meddling police officers…..