The parents of Simon Jones, killed in a dockyard accident, have joined trade unions in a campaign to improve workplace safety.

Ann Jones' son was crushed to death working in the hold of a ship at Shoreham docks in 1998.

The Campaign For Corporate Accountability (CCA) was launched in London yesterday by a collection of groups, including the Simon Jones Memorial Campaign, the TUC and the Centre For Corporate Accountability.

The CCA called on the Government to introduce a new offence of corporate killing and said courts should be given the option to jail company directors convicted of safety-related offences.

It also demanded an increase in the number of health and safety inspectors.

It was the first time unions had joined safety organisations and bereaved families to press the Government for safety improvements.

TUC General Secretary John Monks unveiled a map showing where 1,500 people had been killed at work in the past five years.

He said: "Two hundred years after the first health and safety law was introduced in Britain we need those laws more than ever to protect the vulnerable."

Mrs Jones and members of the campaign named after her son fought to persuade the CPS to prosecute Simon's employer Euromin and its general manager Richard Martell.

Both were acquitted of his manslaughter in November but the company was fined for health and safety breaches.