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STUC want corporate homicide legislation at the centre of "6 for 2006" 30 DECEMBER 2005 Embargo 00:01 31 DECEMBER 2005
The Scottish Parliament has been in existence for over 6 years and while there have been many pieces of significant legislation few have made a real impact on the workplace. The STUC, which represents Scotland's 630,000 trade union members have identified the following "6 for 2006", including the absolutely vital introduction of corporate homicide legislation, which will make working life significantly better for Scots.
STUC Deputy General Secretary Grahame Smith said:
"As a natural consequence of devolution there is already some discussion about giving the Parliament new powers. The STUC believes at this stage it would make more sense for the Parliament to use the considerable powers it already has to improve the lives of workers and their families across Scotland.
"What became increasingly clear during 2005 is that we cannot trust employers to voluntarily improve Scotland's workplaces. Our death and serious accident rates are amongst the worst in Europe and distinctive legislation must be introduced to tackle Scotland's health and safety anomaly. We have the most deregulated labour market of all industrialised countries other than the US and our productivity records are at the bottom of the league.
"The STUC has identified the following six measures which will make a difference for Scottish workers and their families, cut down on accidents, boost productivity and protect Scottish jobs."
- Introduce Corporate Homicide Legislation