A victory for common sense
February 5th 2007 The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has hailed the decision by Gloucester City Council to reject an application to remove a yew tree on the grounds of health and safety as a victory for common sense.
The application to fell the 50 year old Yew tree was made by Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust who claimed the fallen berries from the tree presented a risk of slipping.
"Health and Safety is a serious issue. In the last 10 years, more than 60 under-19's have died and over 14,000 been badly injured in the work place," says Lisa Fowlie, president of IOSH.
However certain claims, such as this one by Gloucestershire NHS Trust , are considered to be giving health and safety a bad name and sabotaging the work of organisations such as IOSH.
"That is why we welcome Gloucester City Council's decision as a victory for common sense," concludes Lisa.
IOSH is currently conducting a campaign Wiseup2work aimed at reducing the huge number of deaths and injuries caused to young people when they start work due to inadequate training or poor induction.
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