Media Release
Tertiary Education Union
30 April 2013

Health and safety recommendations not a moment too soon

New health and safety recommendations come not a moment too soon, says TEU national president Lesley Francey. Ms Francey welcomed the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety’s report, released today, which called for sweeping changes to address New Zealand’s high rate of serious injuries and fatalities suffered at work.

“It is essential the government implements the recommendations in this report, in full,” said Lesley Francey.

The taskforce’s call for an independent stand-alone agency to oversee health and safety is crucial, as is the establishment of a tripartite board that represents the voices of workers employers and government.

Lesley Francey says that while health and safety issues in tertiary education are not as stark as industries such as forestry, where workers are dying monthly, there are still dreadful consequences from poorly managed occupational health and safety.

“For instance, workplace bullying leading to health issues such as stress, mental illness and physical ill-health is all too common in our workplaces as it is in other workplaces.”

“The government now has all the answers it needs to act. With a standalone agency committed to eliminating health and safety risks so we can dramatically reduce the risks workers face. With people’s lives and well-being at stake, the government needs to act urgently.”

It will be important that the government provide this new agency the money, people and resources it needs to ensure far fewer working families face the devastation caused by workplace deaths and serious injuries.

ENDS

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