Yet another easily preventable fatality had the employer complied witht he most basic of safety measures Like so many negligent employers they tried to put the full blame on the victim for his own death,shame on them.David Cameron states HSAWA is a 'burden on business' an 'albatross' and 'pointless waste of time' pledging to end the 'safety culture' It is clear he holds the workers of Britain in the same total contempt as negligent employers who kill so many 1500 every single year Carnage!

There are many reasons why employers should address alcohol issues. The first is financial, a report by the EU in September showed that employers would save at least £3 for every £1 spent on alcohol issues other studies have found the savings to be higher. Other obvious reasons are safety, the health of the workforce, morale, the quality of work etc. Look at our website www.spreade.com for access to information and tools that you can use to change the drinking culture of your workplace.

I agree along similar lines

Based on reports I have read the 2 girls chose to open a gate and walk across an operational railway line when sirens & red lights were still flashing indicating that another train was approaching. A train does not have any choice, it cannot stop, look and listen before crossing a footpath, therefore anybody ignoring information they are presented with has to accept the consequences of their actions. Locking gates lead to assumptions that if a gate opens all is well, which is not always the case

I can't help wondering about the "specialist contractor" and their part in this incident. One might expect them to know immediately that the pipe would need to be purged before any work was carried out.

Unfortunately its not only the building industry that has a blacklist as stated there are files on people in several industries that are suffering this blatent invasion of not only their working lives but also that of family and friends, there should be an immediate inquiry by this so called caring government and any accomplices in this hung out to dry. Good luck dave we are all with you

Regarding the individuals accountability. Maybe he wont get fined for breach of criminal law but when it goes for the inevitable compensation claim in civil law his actions will be assessed as to his culpability in injuries received. I would hazard a guess that because he didn’t wear a seat belt he will receive a lot less than people think. Is that punishment enough? Dont beleive the compensation myth Cameron is trying to promote, stupidity rarely gets rewarded.

Failed to learn from previous incidents and dragged their feet on H&S because of financial difficulty. Fine reduced because of said difficulty but it is still more than the money that would have been saved on dragging said feet. Therefore logic and common sense tells us that good health and safety would have saved money. Being a poorly trained safety professional who doesn’t understand business like Mr Cameron’s entrepreneurs can someone tell me if this is the safety burden they whinge about?

time and time again people are putting the lives of others at risk under loss of stock and profit. unless a law is brought into line with the crimes that are being committed human life will always be over looked to gain profit. we all know what should be in place before you start a job but im afraid greed and lack of inteligence will always be a big problem..

A rather sweeping statement about 'Social enterprises' if by that you mean health and social care services. You are welcome to come along to our company and look through our policy and procedure, safe working guidance, training records, care plans, behaviour plans, risk assessments etc etc and then perhaps you will modify your comment. Dimensions might have failed their staff on this occasion but that doesn't mean that ALL social care services fail their staff.

Most lower /middle management would'nt know H&S if it jumped up and hit them on the face. They tend to be more interested in getting the job done rather than looking at the implications of their actions. H&S myths are perpetuated by people who know nothing about the subject. In the workplace H&S should be of paramount importance not a nuisance.

I have a lot of stress at work, which was not supposed to be stressful as we earn only minimal wage and management doesn't care at all. They just pushing us into more stress again and again. This is done only to the agency workers in DHL.

meaningless semantics. qualified by experience, qualified because they went on a course, qualified because someone said so ? I can see further down the line it'll be "qualified on an NASC approved course", what a nice little earner that'll be, and still no better than what we have today.

So 15% of spray painters don't wear air fed masks.... notices issued for breach of COSHH I hope ?

what an utter disgrace. I am tired of hearing companies, now government agencies blaming health and safety on their own inadequate procedures and staff training. This BS needs to stop! Sorry for the language but goodness. What a cop out and I cannot even write anything intelligent because this is just a pathetic excuse for not doing your damn jobs properly!!!!!!!

Finally someone who can think on his own, and is willing to take consequences for his own actions. If I should hate going to work everyday because of all the safety gear I have to wear I'd rather face the danger involved with not wearing it. If we pay attention to our surroundings and make our decisions accordingly, we could avoid all the red tape and increase our work place efficiency substantially.

he would have been sorry if he had fallen and ended up paralysed, the local paper is just as bad

paul if that is the company you work for id change my job fella, or is this just another left wing generalism? Im suprised no one has yet blamed the bankers for the crisis in H&S

You echo the comments I was going to make - how were these guys given 9 months jail terms, yet in the case of the fatalility a 12 months suspended sentence was given.

One of Mr Cameron’s "small-business owners and entrepreneurs" they are "cutting back rules and regulations" for so they can make more profit. With the utter contempt people like this show for other peoples safety we don’t need less regulation but harsher punishment. Does our esteemed Prime Minister want this type of "small-business owners and entrepreneurs"? because this is what he will get with the “war” he intends to wage against the “excessive health and safety culture”.