Nurses want better health and safety legislation, not watered down excuses

Nurses are unhappy to see the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee report on the Health and Safety Reform Bill waters down current provisions, rather than strengthening them.

NZNO lead organiser Lynley Mulrine says, “Nurses hate seeing patients coming through the doors of Emergency Departments with terrible workplace injuries that could have been prevented.”

“We see them all. For every person who is tragically killed at work there are hundreds, if not thousands, whose lives will never be the same again due to injuries sustained at work. We just can’t understand why the Government wouldn’t want to fix that. They could if they wanted to.”

“Instead, they are pandering to their business mates and putting ordinary workers in harm’s way.”

“This report says that workers in companies with fewer than 20 staff will not have the opportunity to be involved in their own health and safety, even though evidence shows that when workers and employers are involved with health and safety, injuries and deaths are much less likely.” Ms Mulrine says.

“Nurses are overworked as it is (which of course results in health and safety issues for them too) and we fear that this legislation will make things worse still.”

“We say: it’s not too late – don’t water down our health and safety legislation – strengthen it!”

ENDS

© Scoop Media