The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has urged the government to introduce corporate killing laws after new figures revealed that workplace deaths rose by four per cent over the past year.
The TUC was responding to a report by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC), which revealed that 235 people have died at work over the past 12 months.
Construction firms were the worst for workplace accidents, accounting for 70 deaths over the past year.
However, the report revealed that fatal accidents have been on the decline since the early 1990s and pointed out that 21 deaths this year came in a single incident, when a group of Chinese cocklers drowned in Morecambe Bay.
But union leaders said that the government needed to take firmer action against employers that endanger the lives of staff by introducing a corporate killing law.
Business groups have long been opposed to such a move, insisting that firms, rather than individual directors, should face legal action for staff deaths.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, pointed out that the government committed itself to achieving a five per cent decrease in the number of deaths at work between 2000 and 2004.
“Instead deaths have increased again this year. If the government is serious about reducing the levels of deaths and injuries it must increase the resources available to local authorities and the HSC for enforcing health and safety law.
“It’s also imperative that the government legislates for new health and safety duties for directors and makes good its commitment to introduce a new offence of corporate killing,” he said.
