Govt mulling corporate manslaughter laws

OVER the last three months, the Ministry of Labour had to investigate four deaths due to gross negligence at the workplace — deaths which Labour Minister Larry Achong said he was certain would not have occurred if proper safety measures had been implemented. He said Government was now considering introducing legislation on corporate manslaughter. Achong was speaking in the Senate where he presented the Occupational Safety and Health Bill for debate. Achong noted that the Bill was long overdue and he said for the past three decades, this country has been making efforts to modernise health and safety legislation as it pertained to the workplace. He said current legislation singles out only factories for inspection and investigation, but with under-reporting of accidents at a high rate at several workplaces, the legislation needed to be changed. These high rates, he said, were both fatal and not non-fatal.

Achong said statistics show that at least 600 accidents are reported yearly from factories alone. He said the challenge Government faced was that all workers are affected by health and safety issues, and when one looked at NIS claims for accidents, there were at least 3,000 claims for work-related compensation a year. Achong said the $10 million paid out in a claim was small when compared to the indirect costs, which could be about four times the direct cost. The Minister said work-related accidents are avoidable if proper measures are implemented. Lamenting that human capital must be protected, Achong said the Bill promoted voluntary complying and he hoped all stakeholders — unions, employers, NGOs and State agencies create an action plan which will ensure safe systems means benefits to the national economy. Achong said over the last three months his ministry had to investigate four deaths which were caused because of “gross negligence.” He said three were in the private sector and one in a State agency.

He said he was “almost certain they would not have occurred” if proper safety measures were in place. He announced that as a result, Government was considering looking at having legislation on corporate manslaughter. Achong said there will be a Health and Safety Authority  established under the Bill and special attention will be given to pregnant women and other vulnerable persons at high risk. Another issue to be looked at by the Authority is the prevention and management of HIV/AIDS at the work place and sexual harassment. He said however an Employment Standard Act will be put in place to address the AIDS matter specifically. Opposition Senator Wade Mark, in his opening remarks on the Bill, said statistics available from the International Labour Organisation showed that some two million workers are killed a year at the workplace, while there were some 270 million fatal accidents. The Safety Bill was passed in the House of Representatives in December.