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Injury figures show health and safety policy needs to change
Disgraceful injury figures show health and safety
policy needs to change
The Council of
Trade Unions president, Helen Kelly, welcomes the Health and
Safety Taskforce's release of an Issues Paper today. The
paper identifies important areas of policy that require
change in order to improve New Zealand's appalling workplace
death and injury rates.
The CTU believes that
all New Zealand families have an interest in the way
workplace health and safety is supported and the CTU
strongly encourages people to contact the Taskforce with
their experience and ideas.
The CTU welcomes a broad review of the health and safety system as New Zealand's current legislation and workplace culture is failing to protect working people.
"It's a disgrace that on average 100 people per year are killed at work. If there is something all New Zealanders would agree on it is that every worker who leaves home at the start of their working day should return home safe and healthy. This is a fundamental starting point."
"We have five times the rate of workplace injury in NZ than that of the UK. Over 6,000 New Zealanders make notifications about serious harm in their workplace each year. The issues paper asks why this might be and what is needed to stop this including considering the role of government, employers, unions and workers as well as the adequacy of the legislation. The CTU believes this must lead to improvements in the size, skills and powers of labour inspectors alongside improved regulatory powers and increased worker participation."
"Any reform of the health
and safety system must be bold enough to bolster the
inspectorate and tackle the real issues of work
arrangements, the structure of work, the regulatory
framework, and proper employee participation. The issue of
employee participation is an essential component that needs
strengthening from the review. While union membership
enables worker representation and participation, even in
unionised sites, health and safety representatives report
difficulty raising safety issues, and the issue of having a
voice for non-unionised workers is even greater and the
review needs to be creative in finding a solution for
this.”
"One thing we see overseas for example is
access for workers to independent advice by way of a system
of roving worker representatives who assist all workers with
health and safety issues."
"The Taskforce, and ultimately
the Government, needs to make recommendations that rebalance
the system so that health and safety is a priority within
business and those that take it seriously are not undermined
by those that take risks to gain competitive advantage. This
will require strong regulations, standard setting and
enforcement and decent investment in the people on whom
health and safety depends - the workers."
The
Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety
releases its consultation document today, outlining what it
sees as the key issues impacting on our ability to create
safer workplaces. Anyone seeking to make a submission can do
so online at www.hstaskforce.govt.nz.
Submissions close Friday November 16th
2012.
ENDS
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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