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Union demands jail threat for corporate killings
Page 18
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If the T&G has its way, directors implicated in fatal accidents could be
imprisoned for corporate manslaughter. David Harris reports.
THE UK'S BIGGEST trade union is making a last-ditch attempt to toughen up the Corporate Manslaughter Bill.
The bill, which is currently going through the parliamentary committee process, is designed to make it easier to prosecute operators following fatal accidents caused by negligence. As it stands companies would be in the dock. but not individuals.
The Transport & General Workers Union (P&G) has tabled an amendment at the Labour Party Conference which would allow "secondary liability" for manslaughter. This would make individual directors of negligent companies liable to prosecution and up to 14 years in jail.
The T&G argues that nearly 2.500 workers have been killed at work in the past 10 years and the proposed bill "will not deliver the necessary sanctions to bring about the change in health and safety culture needed".
The T&G resolution is expected to win support from other unions. although some lawyers argue that the law is already robust enough.
Mark Scoggins, a partner at Fisher-Scoggins, says: "At the moment individuals are already subject to a very fierce law — manslaughter— so if a person is grossly negligent, there is no barrier to their being prosecuted." Scoggins points out that directors are also subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act, breaches of which can lead to unlimited fines and disqualification.