Welcome for corporate killing progress
Welcome for corporate killing progress
Unions and campaigners have welcomed progress this week on the government's corporate manslaughter bill. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'We are pleased that ministers have listened to concerns over the way that the original Bill focused overly on failures by senior managers and will instead now look for ways of broadening the basis for liability within an organisation.' He added: 'The Health and Safety Commission is currently working on new safety duties for directors, and the combination of these and the Bill could help make a real difference to the health and safety of UK workers [Risks 237]. All responsible employers would welcome the changes, as would the relatives of those killed as a result of corporate negligence.' He added: 'The TUC is calling on the government to introduce the Bill as soon as possible, and definitely during the current parliamentary session.' Maggie Robbins, UK director of the Centre for Corporate Accountability, said 'we support the government's agreement to reconsider the 'senior manager' test and replace it with a test that considers the failures at both a 'supervisory and strategic' level within the organisation.' But transport union TGWU said the government must go further and take measures to ensure company directors are made accountable. TGWU general secretary Tony Woodley said 'without a duty on directors this corporate manslaughter bill will fail to make them properly accountable and so will lose much of its effectiveness. As such there is a real danger of more missed opportunities.' He added: 'It is not organisations that kill people. It is those who own, direct and manage them who through negligence, incompetence or sheer disregard for the law do so. That is why a duty must be placed on directors to take all measures to ensure safe workplaces. Law abiding, safety-conscious directors have nothing to fear, and should acknowledge that safety in the workplace depends on responsibility in the boardroom.'
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