Workplace Report (January 2006)

Health & safety news

Firefighters banned from running after legal win

Merseyside firefighters have been banned from circuit training or using running machines during their shifts after a firefighter who slipped on dust while training was awarded £100,000 in damages.

Les Skarratts, Merseyside branch secretary of the FBU firefighters' union, described the ban as "ridiculous" and "an example of the heavy-handed, almost tyrannical approach which management seem to be adopting currently".

"They should be making sure the workplaces are safe, not banning running," he added.

This information is copyright to the Labour Research Department (LRD) and may not be reproduced without the permission of the LRD.