Corporate killing should be made a separate criminal offence, a leading trade union has said.

The powerful Transport and General Workers' Union's has launched a campaign for a tough new bill to be included in the next Queen's speech.

Outgoing general secretary Bill Morris has set out drafts of bills on corporate killing and the duties of company directors, along with the results of MORI research conducted for the union.

He was backed by David Bergman of the Centre for Corporate Accountability and Louise Christian, the solicitor who has represented victims of the Potters Bar rail crash.

The research found that two thirds of people in the UK believe that there should be a new law of corporate killing.

"Last year some 300 people went to work and never returned home again - they were killed at work because of their employer's negligence," said Morris.

"Workers are daily burned, crushed or asphyxiated in fatal accidents which are the result of some failure by senior management. This is not acceptable.

"Employers, businesses and governments cannot be above the law."

The union chief also said that the Labour Party's 1997 manifesto had contained a pledge to act.

"Since then we've had delay upon delay. That is also unacceptable," Morris added.

In May this year, David Blunkett announced that the government would bring forward its own legislation, with further details promised this autumn.

The planned law will tackle companies rather than individual directors.

"The criminal liability of individual directors will not be targeted by the proposals," the home secretary has said.

But the TGWU leader said that the proposals "provide an inadequate response to a pressing problem".

"The public want action, our members want action and the TGWU believes the government should act in the Queen's Speech this autumn."