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HSE must act on management safety failures - 24-03-2009 |
The GMB trade union, in it’s recent submission to the Health and Safety Executive(HSE) on the new strategy to be followed to reduce accidents and ill health at work, has called for additional formal legal duties to those in the Corporate Manslaughter Act to be placed on company directors for Health and Safety.
GMB point to the Health and Safety Executive review of fatal accidents which found that in approx 70% of cases “positive action by management could have saved lives”. The same study found 15% of cases were caused by worker behaviour, and the other 15% by joint failings. In addition, investigation by companies into root causes of accidents suggests that management systems failure could cause more than 90% of incidents.
Dan Shears GMB Health, Safety and Environmental Research & Policy Officer said
"A new strategy of specifically tackling management failure is key in reducing the number of workplace fatalities and accidents in the UK. Senior managers giving health and safety priority could transform performance in the UK and mean that far less workers die each year. This is why GMB are calling for formal legal duties on directors as a part of our submission on HSE's new strategy.
GMB have long campaigned for formal legal duties on directors. This would ensure that directors devote proper finances and resources to safety matters, something particularly important during a recession. GMB members know that directors can be held to account. GMB spent 5 years pursuing justice for the family of Daniel Dennis in South Wales, including a judicial review.
We think it is absolutely essential that someone takes responsibility when a worker is killed by their work. Corporate directors can face huge penalties for financial misdemeanors but no one is held to account when a worker is killed at work. Last year more than 220 people died according to official figures, with thousands more killed in work-related driving accidents and by long-term diseases like mesothelioma. This is not right."
| GMB Submission to HSE
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