Article in The Independent: Thanks to Cameron, more men like this will die

[Mister M]

People who are killed at work are to be remembered at a wreath laying ceremony on Thursday April 28th (Workers Memorial Day)

 

Official figures show 152 workers were killed between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010, with an average of 220 deaths per year over the last five years.

 

Although according to this report the figures for people dying as the result of their work (e.g exposure to chemicals, and fatal traffic accidents) the numbers are in their 000s

 

http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/the_case_for_health_and_safety.pdf

[Wildcat]

So were random HSE inspections in place in 2005 or not? It does not say. If they were in place in 2005, then the claim that it "prevents events like this" is false, since existing HSE procedures and inspection regimes in 2005 did not prevent the death of Mark Wright.

 

That is a nonsense argument as I said before.

 

This is why we know H&S inspections save lives like, Mark Wright's:

 

We know what prevents events like this, and what saves men like Mark. The evidence is plain, and overwhelming. Dr Courtney Davis at the University of Sussex produced the most detailed study. She found that where you have rigorous, unannounced health and safety inspections, the number of accidents and deaths falls by 22 per cent over the next three years.

 

As if it wasn't totally obvious anyway.

 

The fact that they didn't save Mark Wright is evidence that there should have been more inspections. In just the same way that the fact there were railtrack inspections prior to the Hatfield train crash, does not mean we can get rid of inspections... it means they should be strengthened.

[Wildcat]

Why's that then, because you don't like it?

 

I think this thread says a lot about some people's regard for their fellow man's well being.

[VideoPro]

I think this thread says a lot about some people's regard for their fellow man's well being.

 

Exactly. I find it difficult to comprehend that some contributors to this thread think that people dying for the sake of their employers profit margins is acceptable.

[ANGELFIRE1]

Accidents happen, choose who is in Government.

 

Regards

 

Phil*

[mj.scuba]

That is a nonsense argument as I said before.

 

This is why we know H&S inspections save lives like, Mark Wright's:

 

 

 

As if it wasn't totally obvious anyway.

 

The fact that they didn't save Mark Wright is evidence that there should have been more inspections. In just the same way that the fact there were railtrack inspections prior to the Hatfield train crash, does not mean we can get rid of inspections... it means they should be strengthened.

 

The statement "more people like Mark Wright will die" doesn't mean much without anything to back it up.

 

You seem very knowledgable in this area so you'll be able to answer these.

What has happened to random HSE inspections since 2005 when Mark's accident happened? Have they increased by 10%? 20%? Have they decreased? What is the corresponding annual casualty and fatality rates in those sectors that recieve random HSE inspections, so we can see any correlation between random HSE inspections and accident rates?

 

Cameron is cutting the budget to the HSE. He is not dictating to them how they spend their budget. If they want to maintain the same level of random inspections, then their executives (no doubt highly paid) will have to decide what else in their organisation to cut.

 

The statement "where you have rigorous, unannounced health and safety inspections, the number of accidents and deaths falls by 22 per cent over the next three years" is a little dubious too.

 

To me, it looks as though it assumes a starting point of zero unannounced HSE inpections. Is this the case? Do we have zero unannounced HSE inspections? Assuming they have in fact been around a while, does this bare any truth? Have accidents fell 22% in the last three years? Did they fall 22% in the previous three years?

[taxman]

I would think they are cutting the HSE budget because Labour spent all the money and there isn't enough left to pay for things like this.

 

Yet another who has fallen for the Tory "there's no money, we're broke, everyone has to cutback" line.

 

If there isn't any money where did the cash for our intervention in Libya come from, thin air?

 

It is a choice that Governments make as to what to spend our money on. It is always a choice.

[Snook]

The statement "more people like Mark Wright will die" doesn't mean much without anything to back it up.

 

He backed it up with evidence for a detailed scientific study. You choose to doubt or ignore that evidence, that's all.

[Tony]

There was no evidence, just a quoted study. What the study is of and what the results are we don't know from what was provided. The Independant writer simply cobbled together lots of unrelated items into a piece. The comments section has him rumbled.

 

The statement "more people like Mark Wright will die" doesn't mean much without anything to back it up.

 

You seem very knowledgable in this area so you'll be able to answer these

 

Our OP doesn't know his AFR from his elbow and he cares still less. He's making cheap political points and no more.

[rickiethecat]

Another attempt to smear the Tories backfires. It never fails to amaze me how low the left wing posters on here will stoop - how much lower can they get than using a man's death to score cheap political points?