I’m on the West Coast today with Damien O’Connor talking about the high rate of death and injury in New Zealand workplaces, and what Labour intends to do about it.
We announced our policy on mine safety back in August, where we will re-regulate the industry along the lines of the Queensland system, and reinstate check inspectors.
But this is not just about Pike River Mine, awful though that was. The loss of life in the Onehunga Gas explosion, the Tamahere Coolfire and the fact that 85 New Zealand workers lost their lives last year in workplace accidents is a real wake-up call. Then there’s the nearly 500 extremely serious injuries and the tens of thousands of other workplace injury claims every year.
For every person who is killed or injured at work the loss and impact on families, workmates and friends are enormous, but why don’t we talk about it? Not only does it cost families, but it costs New Zealanders in health, ACC, and productivity.
While there’s been improvement in workplace technology, safer machinery and equipment and greater employee involvement in workplace health and safety following Labour’s amendments to the Health and Safety in Employment Act, New Zealand’s workplace accident rate remains far too high. Our system of self-regulation is falling short and recent funding cuts to key health and safety inspectorate positions and training of health and safety reps means even less oversight of the limited regulations we do have.
There needs to be a fundamental change in how we approach workplace health and safety. It has to be more than just a ‘tick-box’ exercise for employers. It must become part of our everyday thinking and consciousness in the same way the road toll is talked about, campaigned on and targeted for real improvements.
Labour’s Health and Safety policy, released today, is about elevating public awareness and responsiveness around workplace deaths and injuries to where it gets the attention it deserves.
We will establish a Commission of Inquiry into New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety, who will examine why New Zealand’s record of workplace accidents and injuries is not improving, what measures are needed to improve them, how other comparable countries are able to have a lower per worker rate of injury and death and how any changes should be implemented.
This could mean moving to a regulatory framework where legislated standards are required, but as a minimum, worker participation, involvement of trained health and safety representatives and effective enforcement in the workplace will be fundamental to any change.
We will also ensure that any regulatory framework provides for a properly resourced occupational health and safety inspectorate that has the technical expertise to enforce the legislative requirements.
Bottom line. Self regulation isn’t working. If that takes more prescriptive legislation, Labour will do it.
Something has to change.
There is clearly a link between cuts in public support to workplace health and safety and changes at ACC. Some comment on the disconnect on work testing those on benefits able to work (and supposed investment in helping people overcome barriers to being fit to work) and the decline in support to those on ACC recovering from injury (via cuts in physio support etc) is in order.
Darien we do talk about it and for most companies there are plenty of good OSH policies in place, but accidents do happen.
If Labour wants to make a real change then they need to identify who it is within the industries that is having these accidents and thus driving up the industry’s claims. You could do this by extending the new Ratings policy that is now in place – fantastic to get a 10% discount because you have a good claims record. Things like this translate into lower levies and put the emphasis on those driving them up.
When you’re self-employed you automatically take more care as it is your livelihood and assets on the line. Also most compete a Workplace Safety book – renewed every 3 years which takes forever to fill out (and is incredibly repetitive) which translates into a 10% discount of the workplace levy. When you’re paying thousands it is bugger all, but something back is better than nothing.
Self-regulation does work and employers can’t do everything for their staff – plenty of people get decent training and still forget to wear hard hats, gloves, put safety catches on so they don’t lose their hands in a saw etc. It’s human nature.
No doubt you get paper cuts – will your prescriptive policies prevent this? And no I am not being facetious – paper cuts are probably your biggest risk as a predominantly office worker, for others it is loss of limbs.
I am not sure your Commission of Inquiry will achieve anything other than emptying out the taxpayer’s purse.
I like you, Damien. Thought you won the Backbenchers debate hands down.
You’ll pull through this election if Clyde Graf steals some Auchin-whatevers voters on the 1080 issue.
Good luck, and best wishes to Clyde.
(Oh and now I see the accidental Clyde Graf pun. Lols. I’ll claim)
Being a policeman is, self-evidently, intrinsically dangerous yet apparently ACC levies indicate that it is safer than many blue collar jobs in New Zealand. Just shows how abominably bad industrial safety is in this country.
Spare a thought too for the white collar workers being jammed like sardines into the new “efficient” office buildings. Still not much risk of an industrial accident but megastressful all the same.
@ George:
Get hard, I ride around all day in a tin can hurtling around the country side at 100kph (I am a courier driver fyi), sitting in a stationary office building is not exciting in any way.
Danger money for those who are in danger!
“the fact that 85 New Zealand workers lost their lives last year in workplace accidents is a real wake-up call. Then there’s the nearly 500 extremely serious injuries and the tens of thousands of other workplace injury claims every year.”
Where is the outrage about these numbers? the deaths are higher than annual murders and yet an entire Trust (SST) was set up to represent its victims.
How come if a soldier dies NZ taxpayers fund the funeral etc but if a person working for Crown entity or indirect Government department (think trains) we don’t pay for their funeral and the PM certainly doesn’t attend. If all life is sacred we need to act consistently.
Rebecca, just as not all beneficiaries are bludgers not all employers are bad at workplace safety, but some are, and self regulation didn’t, on the whole, protect workers safety.
@Tracey : well put. Another worker died in a workplace accident in Invercargill yesterday in a truck loading accident. Another worker not going home to his family after work. You’re right – where’s the outrage?
ed says
“courier”
Do not be ashamed of your humble occupation. Many a messenger boy has gone on to great things.
Most film and TV productions (film, tv and commercials) will have an on-set safety officer around during shooting and in a lot of cases during the inital recces as well. The result of this, keeping in mind that some of the things we do involve a high element of risk, is an industry (in NZ that is) with quite a low rate of serious injury. Some would see it as an expense but most production managers seem to think we are very good insurance for their production.
Perhaps the LOO could raise workplace fatalities outstripping murders in the debate and ask the PM, who has the power NOW what his written policy on addressing it is?
Darien, does Labour accept it could have done more on mine safety in its 9 years? I am saddened to see the Pike River enquiry taking a back seat in the media. This evidence given recently gives pause…
“Mining expert ‘frightened’ by Pike River mine
Last updated 07:16 08/11/2011
A Japanese mining expert with 40 years experience quit the Pike River mine after only three months because he feared it was going to explode.
The royal commission into the deaths of 29 men in a series of explosions at the mine nearly a year ago will next week hear evidence from Masaoki Nishioka.
Radio New Zealand reported this morning that it had seen Nishioka’s written evidence.
He had 40 years mining experience but said he left Pike River after only three months because he became too frightened to go underground.
He would detail serious design faults with the water system, the coal faces being mined and the system for draining away explosive methane gas, RNZ reported.
Nishioka left a month before the mine began exploding. “