Search

date: 23 July 2007

embargo: For immediate release

TUC welcomes long awaited corporate killing law

Welcoming the news today (Monday) that the UK is to get a law on corporate killing, thanks to a last-minute compromise between the two Houses of Parliament, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

'We are pleased that a sensible decision has been taken and the bill will now become law. Even though unions wanted the bill to make individual directors personally liable for safety breaches and penalties against employers committing safety crimes to be tougher, we hope it will mean the start of a change in the safety culture at the top of the UK's companies and organisations.

'The catalogue of avoidable workplace deaths in recent years has highlighted in stark terms the need for a change of attitude over safety in UK boardrooms. To make a real difference, we now need to ensure that this law is accompanied by a new legal health and safety duty on directors and a requirement on companies to report annually on their workplace safety culture."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Register for the TUC's press extranet : a service exclusive to journalists wanting to access pre-embargo releases and reports from the TUC. Visit www.tuc.org.uk/pressextranet

Contacts:

Media enquiries: Elly Brenchley T: 020 7467 1337; M: 07900 910624;
E: ebrenchley@tuc.org.uk

Liz Chinchen T: 020 7467 1248; M: 07778 158175; E: media@tuc.org.uk

Press release (300 words) issued 23 Jul 2007