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22 May, 2003The GMB says the UK government's proposed legislation doesn't go far enough.
GREAT BRITAIN: Although the British government has presented a long-awaited draft Bill on corporate manslaughter to legislate for victims of corporate killing, the IMF-affiliated GMB union says the proposed legislation does not go far enough.
The union welcomes the tightening of law regarding workplace health and safety but underlines the weakness of the draft legislation as it will only target companies themselves for failure to set or maintain standards leading to death. The law will not be directed towards the criminal liability of individual directors.
A GMB spokesperson stated that "failure to target individual directors or others responsible for running companies will constitute a weakness in the legislation. Nothing will focus the mind of company directors more than the threat of imprisonment. This must be explicit within the legislation. We await the details with interest and will respond fully."
Worldwide, union pressure continues to mount in the campaign to improve health and safety at work, and being able to punish corporate criminals is part of this struggle.