Background

In July 2005, the five chief rail executives prosecuted for manslaughter in the Hatfield rail disaster – a disaster which claimed five lives and injured more than one hundred – were acquitted before the jury had even been allowed to come to a verdict. A corporate manslaughter charge against engineering firm Balfour Beatty was also dismissed by the Judge. The principal reason? The promised corporate manslaughter legislation of Labour’s 1997 Manifesto hasn’t yet been delivered. Nor would the draft legislation in its current form have assisted the prosecution. The long awaited draft corporate killing bill has a major omission – it fails to introduce new directors’ safety duties carrying a real prospect of a gaol term and highlights the potential limits of legislation.

When you analyse workplace health and safety issues the findings are grim: the enforcement of health and safety has declined with a cut of 12 per cent in local authority inspectors. The Health and Safety Executive’s shift to less enforcement and more voluntary approaches has been dictated by a lack of resources, which has forced a recruitment freeze and a reduction in the number of HSE inspectors and inspections.

According to Hazards Magazine, workers lose billions of pounds each year as a result of occupational injuries and diseases. Nor is this likely to improve while we remain tied to outdated legislation which fails to reflect the complex health and safety needs of workers. And with talk of privatising the HSE still rife it is likely that workplace health and safety will continue to deteriorate.

Many of these issues were considered in two Institute reports published in 1999. The Institute made suggestions for a framework of law built around four key points – employers and their legal duties; administration of the statutory framework; worker representation and amelioration of workrelated harm. This conference will revisit those publications and the recommendations contained within and ask – how far have we come in six years? Whatever happened to roving safety reps? How far have we got with plans to improve rehabilitation of ill and injured workers?

Programme

09:15

Registration

09:45

Welcome from Chair

09:55

A view from Parliament: Michael Clapham MP

10:15

Reviewing and assessing the progress of the Government’s Revitalising Agenda: Professor Phil James, Middlesex University

10:45

Corporate manslaughter: David Bergman, CCA

11:15

Tea and coffee

11:30

Whatever happened to Roving Safety Reps? Workforce consultation and representation: Professor Dave Walters, Cardiff University

12:00

Preventing ill-health caused by work: what progress? Simon Pickvance, Sheffield Occupational Health Advisory Service

12:30

Questions

12:45

Lunch

13:45

Health and safety in the third term: John McDonnell MP

14:10

Trade union priorities for future action: Hugh Robertson, TUC

14:30

Protection racket: challenging the Government’s dangerous descent into lawlessness Rory O’Neill, Hazards

14:50

What future for health and safety legislation? Steve Kay, Prospect

15:15

Tea and coffee

15:30

An agenda for change: revisiting the IER proposals Phil James and Dave Walters

16:00

Questions and discussion

16:30

Close

Further Information