Deaths at work fall to record low

Many fatalities took place in the building sector

The number of deaths at work in the UK fell to record lows in the year to 31 March 2006, figures have shown.

The number of deaths fell by 11 to 212, while the rate of fatal injuries fell to a record low of seven in a million, the Health and Safety Commission said.

But despite the decline, HSC chairman Bill Callaghan called for tougher penalties for breaches of safety.

Fines imposed were not high enough and the government needed to make sure they were increased, he said.

"With the average fine for a health and safety offence being below £5,000 and for a fatality under £50,000, I don't think that's really taking this matter as seriously as it ought to be," Mr Callaghan told the BBC.

"I'm looking for not only new penalties but for the courts to make sure that the existing penalties are applied fairly."

Fines 'insulting'

According to the HSC, the UK has the lowest rate of workplace deaths in Europe.

More than half of the deaths in the last financial year were in farming or construction, with the most common cause being falls from heights.

While welcoming the decline in the death rate, the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) added that any death at work was one "too many".

"There have only ever been three successful prosecutions for corporate manslaughter and fines are falling to insulting levels," said T&G general secretary Tony Woodley.

"Unless directors realistically face the prospect of jail when their negligence causes death, the culture in certain industries will never change."

In July, the Corporate Killing and Corporate Manslaughter Bill was formally introduced to the House of Commons.

The bill aims to create a new offence of corporate manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and of corporate homicide in Scotland.