The British government has angered trade unions by signalling today that plans to introduce new corporate manslaughter laws would not be passed any time soon.
Queen Elizabeth, spelling out Prime Minister Tony Blair's legislative plans for the next session of parliament, said the government would only publish a bill in draft, denoting no commitment to turn it into law.
Mr Derek Simpson, general secretary of Amicus
Ministers have acknowledged that existing laws make pursuing companies difficult because of the problems of highlighting negligence by senior individuals.
The issue was illustrated by a series of fatal rail crashes in Britain that led to no successful prosecutions. The delay disappointed Britain's trade unions.
In September, Blair told their annual conference he would introduce legislation to ensure corporations were prosecuted "where they show such wilful disregard for their employees that it results in death".
Mr Derek Simpson, general secretary of Amicus, said: "A draft bill represents serious slippage in terms of time. We had expected a corporate manslaughter bill in the parliament just gone or at least before the election." An election is expected next May.
"We are also concerned about speculation that senior directors' accountability will only extend to fines," he said.