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Attention: Health and safety correspondents

Guidance to investigate accidents is not enough

Commenting on the Health and Safety Executive announcement today (Friday) that they will issue merely guidance to help employers investigate incidents that cause injuries and ill health in the work place, rather than recommend legislation requiring employers to investigate incidents, Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary Elect, said:

"It is disappointing news that employers will not be required to carry out investigations into accidents at work. The best already do, and it is clearly good practice to find out what went wrong so that mistakes and in some cases tragedies aren't repeated. Until employers investigate accidents and near misses as a matter of course, the job will be left to safety reps, HSE inspectors and in the worst case, public enquiries. Wouldn't it be better if the employers who are responsible for health and safety at work investigated accidents?"

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Press release (300 words) issued 31 Jan 2003