Unions order workers to sit on their arses

We at El Reg have decided we rather like the TUC after it warned that the health of thousands of workers is at risk due to to excessive standing. According to the BBC, the TUC reckons 200,000 workers blow two million sick days a year due to leg trouble. Accordingly, the British economy could benefit from more sitting down.

Actually, there is some medical logic to all this - varicose veins, joint damage and swelling are just some of the things awaiting the vertical worker.

TUC health and safety bod Hugh Robertson said: "Lots of people experience discomfort when standing around all day. But very few people realise it can contribute to a major illness or injury."

The TUC is apparently disappointed with the Health & Safety Executive for not doing enough to enforce the very agreeable 1992 Welfare Regulations which state that "employers should provide suitable seats where work, or part of it, can be done sitting".

While we sympathise with anyone out there who has to spend all day on their feet, we must admit this is not much of a problem at Vulture Central where stories are regularly filed from a completely horizontal position following a particularly robust lunch.

Nonetheless, we will in future - when asked to stick the kettle on by anyone in an editiorial or management position - cite the 1992 Welfare Regulations and demand that unless the job can be done without getting out of an executive recliner, it can't be done at all. ®