A trade union conference has called for new laws to hold business owners responsible for workplace deaths, following a recent spate of employee fatalities.

The Welsh branch of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) is staging a gathering in Cardiff today to call for new corporate killing laws.

The Wales TUC said it has organised the event following recent fatalities in Wales and the death of 20 Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe.

Speakers at the conference, including families of dead workers and Labour MP Huw Davies, have urged the government to hold company directors accountable for fatalities caused by poor health and safety procedures.

As reported by Startups.co.uk, the government was rumoured to be introducing corporate killing rules against individual directors last year, but, to the disappointment of trade unions, the legislation wasn’t included in the Queen’s Speech.

Business groups have opposed calls for individuals to be prosecuted for employee deaths, claiming that it is fairer for companies themselves to be taken to court.

Worryingly, studies have shown that many UK businesses are leaving themselves open to compensation claims for workplace injuries by failing to get compulsory employers liability insurance cover.

David Jenkins, general secretary of the Wales TUC, said that February has been the worst month in the lives of many families across the world because their loved ones were killed in workplaces across the UK.

“That so many people in Wales are still killed at work every year is little short of a disgrace for a modern 21st Century country and all those who ardently campaign for lower standards at work.

“Too many people have to work every day in dangerous conditions and the only way they can be protected is by strong corporate killing laws,” he said.

Mick Antoniw, of union solicitors Thompsons, said that existing law is too weak and too many employers treat health and safety as a soft option.

“We desperately need clearer and stronger laws to ensure that employers fulfil their safety obligations.

“This should include increased fines, punitive damages, disqualification of directors and where a clear line of responsibility is established, the use of custodial sentences.

“Current penalties are a joke and are just not taken seriously,” he said.