GMB to step up corporate killing prevention campaign
GMB to step up campaign for changes to health and safety legislation to prevent corporate killing in the workplace
In the last 12 months over 1,500 people were killed at work. In this day and age of health and safety awareness there is no excuse as to why this should keep happening, says GMB London
GMB Congress has passed a motion which plans to step up the union’s campaign to prevent corporate killing in the workplace.
A motion passed at congress has agreed that the Union would step up its campaign for changes to health and safety legislation, as well as work with organisations such as Families Against Corporate Killing (FACK) to ensure fair and just treatment for families of those killed by employers’ negligence including financial compensation for all affected family members, not just those legally dependent.
The union will also begin a naming and shaming regime and call for stronger penalties where members are seriously injured at work through no fault of their own, and a campaign to appoint an explicit champion of workers’ health within the HSE.
With the threat of a charge of corporate murder a possibility, then the likelihood of dangerous profit motivated short cuts ignoring health and safety standards would be much more encouraged thus preventing this terrible loss to working class families.
The 102nd GMB Congress, comprises of 500 elected lay members and 300 visitors and guests. GMB Congress delegates were elected from the GMB membership to represent over 640,000 members from every part of the UK and Ireland and every sector of the economy. Congress is the supreme policy making body in GMB.
Mick Lancaster, GMB Regional Organiser said:
“In the last 12 months over 1,500 people were killed by work. In this day and age of health and safety awareness there is no excuse as to why this should keep happening.
“Laws are in place to strengthen health and safety work which clearly are lacking in preventing these killing fields to continually happen with all the resulted misery and hardship which has such tragic results.
“Despite GMB lobbying, the current Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 falls short and while our policy is to press for provision to bring individual prosecutions for directors, nothing has changed which seems to go together with the lack of enforcement of health and safety laws generally.
“We believe that this country should now tighten up the law to make companies much more responsible if and when these tragedies happen and to make the CEO’s, directors and owners more accountable.”
ENDS
Contact: Mick Lancaster 07974 249754 or GMB London Press Office 07970 114762
Notes to Editors
Congress Motion
150. CORPORATE KILLING
This Congress is asked to support this motion to prevent Corporate Killing in the workplace.
In the last 12 months over 1,500 people were killed at work. In this day and age of health and safety awareness there is no excuse as to why this should keep happening.
Laws are in place to strengthen health and safety work which clearly are lacking in preventing these killing fields to continually happen with all the resulted misery and hardship which has such tragic results.
Despite GMB lobbying, the current Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 falls short and while our policy is to press for provision to bring individual prosecutions for directors, nothing has changed which seems to go together with the lack of enforcement of health and safety laws generally.
We believe that this country should now tighten up the law to make companies much more responsible if and when these tragedies happen and to make the CEO’s, directors and owners more accountable.
We call on GMB to:
· Step up our campaign for changes to health and safety legislation;
· Work with organisations such as Families Against Corporate Killing (FACK) to ensure fair and just treatment for families of those killed by employers’ negligence including financial compensation for all affected family members, not just those legally dependent;
· Call for a naming and shaming regime and stronger penalties where our members are seriously injured at work through no fault of their own;
· Campaign to appoint an explicit champion of workers’ health within the HSE.
With the threat of a charge of corporate murder a possibility, then the likelihood of dangerous profit motivated short cuts ignoring health and safety standards would be much more encouraged thus preventing this terrible loss to working class families. KING’S LYNN NO 1 BRANCH London Region
Image: Flickr via Caffeinatrix
