CTU Rejects Claim That Workplaces Are Safe Enough

Thursday, 11 April 2002, 10:59 am
Press Release: New Zealand Council of Trade Unions

11 April 2002

CTU Rejects Employer Claim That Workplaces Are Safe Enough

“With workplace fatalities at a record high it is callous indifference for the Northern Employer and Manufacturers Association to claim that workplaces are already safe enough,” Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.

EMA Northern advisory services manager Peter Tritt told the Select Committee on the Health and Safety in Employment Bill yesterday that New Zealand workplaces are safe enough.

“This is an appalling message for the major New Zealand employer association to send and I am sure it doesn’t reflect the views of many employers,” Ross Wilson said.

“It is patently clear that the tragic accidents which have occurred in Auckland workplaces this year could have been prevented yet we have the EMA Northern saying that nothing more needs to be done.

“I challenge Mr Tritt to front up and tell the bereaved families who are appearing before the Select Committee today that the workplaces where their family member was killed unnecessarily are “’safe enough”.

“The EMA Northern is grossly irresponsible in sending this message to employers and workers alike that our appalling fatality rate is acceptable,” 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.

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