Ian Lees-Galloway
Spokesperson for Labour Issues

Time to listen to workplace victims’ families

Labour has listened to the families of whose loved ones have been killed at work and calls on other political parties to back its proposals to make workplaces safer and prevent unnecessary deaths on the job.

“John Key promised the families of the Pike River 29 that he would do everything he could to prevent a repeat of the litany of health and safety failures that led to the tragedy that killed their loved ones,” Labour’s spokesperson for Labour Issues Iain Lees-Galloway says.

“National appeared to make good on that promise when they introduced the Health and Safety Reform Bill. But petty infighting – and their pandering to a minority of bad employers – has resulted in the legislation being gutted.

“All the evidence shows the best way to improve workplace safety is to give workers access to trained health and safety representatives. However, this Bill in its current form will deny that right to more than 300,000 workers.

“Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Woodhouse claims that everyone working in a high-risk industry can have health and safety representatives. But he refuses to define high-risk in this legislation.

“This leaves too many workers at risk of being denied representation. Michael Woodhouse must make clear who will be left out.

“Labour is working with Government support partners on amendments that will make this Bill acceptable to the families of workplace victims, workers and the majority of employers who care about the safety of their staff,” Iain Lees-Galloway says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media