Justice campaigners celebrate the birthday of Simon Jones with 'Casualisation Kills' protest outside the Crown Prosecution Services office, London. Photo: Richie Andrew.

Boat Rockers Put Dock Co In Dock At Last

Dock company finally to be prosecuted for manslaughter of casual labourer

8th January 2001

The Director of Public Prosecutions has announced that Euromin and its general manager, Richard Martell, are to be prosecuted for gross negligence for the manslaughter of Simon Jones who was crushed by a crane at Shoreham Docks in April 1998.

At the time of his death, 24 year-old Jones was both a student at Sussex University and a volunteer at the Brighton based alternative news-sheet, SchNEWS. He died within two hours of being hired as a casual labourer and sent to work with a cargo grabber which required specialist training.

The DPS's decision follows an extensive direct action campaign involving family members and activists. Actions included shutting down Euromin's dock, occupying the employment agency which sent Simon to work for Euromin, occupying the Department of Trade and Industry, shutting down Southwark Bridge outside the Health and Safety Executive, winning a judicial review challenging the Crown Prosecution Service's decision not to prosecute and, finally this September, picketing the CPS's headquarters in London over its failure to prosecute.

In announcing his decision to prosecute, the Director of Public Prosecutions, David Calvert-Smith QC, claimed his decision to prosecute "was reached without unnecessary delay".

The Simon Jones Memorial Campaign, which was set up to campaign for prosecutions has attracted sizeable support from people increasingly concerned that the rise in 'casualisation' in the UK is allowing company's to be complacent about safety standards. A spokesperson for the campaign said:"People like Simon Jones get killed at work all the time and nothing gets done about it. Not this time."

The Campaign also issued the following statement after the decision to prosecute was announced on December 19: "We would like to thank the thousands of people who have supported us over the years, especially those who risked arrest and their personal safety by taking part in the direct action that formed the heart of our campaign. We will leave it up to you to consider whether prosecutions would ever have been brought over Simon's death without that direct action."