Corporate Manslaughter Law Needed

new-zealand-council-of-trade-unions

Wed May 01 2002 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Corporate Manslaughter Law Needed

Wednesday, 1 May 2002, 2:13 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Council of Trade Unions

Corporate Manslaughter Law Needed To Reduce Workplace Death Toll

“It is becoming increasingly clear that only a corporate manslaughter law will make business leaders take workplace health protection and injury prevention seriously,” Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

“It does not make sense that business leaders are saying to Parliamentary Select Committees and publicly that ‘workplaces are safe enough’ when we have the worst fatality record this year for more than a decade,” he said.

“Perhaps it is necessary to follow the example of the Victorian Government and include a corporate manslaughter provision in our criminal law so those business leaders can be held to account.”

Ross Wilson said there are strong arguments in favour of our Government following the Victorian Government which is presently passing a law to create new criminal offences of corporate manslaughter and negligently causing serious injury by a body corporate.

“The families of workers who have been killed at work have been upset and angered by the apparent indifference of business leaders in their comments to the Select Committee and publicly on the new osh bill,” Ross Wilson said

“A corporate manslaughter law might shake them out of that indifference”.

ENDS

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