16 September 2004

Business Complains While Workers Die

“Six fatal work accidents in as many days should shake the compliance cost mentality of even the hardest employer,” Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

The spate of workplace accidents occurred in several incidents around the country over the past week.

“It is time business leaders stopped trivialising health and safety laws as compliance costs,” Ross Wilson said. “The message they are sending is that safety laws are an unfair compliance cost on employers, and that New Zealand workplaces are safe enough.

“And that gives a licence to poor employers not to do anything about health and safety protection for workers.”

It was time for a consistent message, from political, business and union leaders, that the present appalling death toll was not good enough and that urgent action must be taken by employers and workers to clean up unsafe workplaces, Ross Wilson said.

ENDS

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New Zealand Council of Trade Unions

Te Kauae Kaimahi

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi brings together over 350,000 New Zealand union members in 40 affiliated unions. We are the united voice for working people and their families in New Zealand.

CONTACT NEW ZEALAND COUNCIL OF TRADE UNIONS

• Website - union.org.nz/
• Phone - +64 4 385 1334
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• Physical Address - Level 7, West Block, Education House, 178 Willis St, Wellington.

• Media Contact - huiaw@nzctu.org.nz
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• Postal Address - PO Box 6645, Marion Square, Wellington 6141.

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