Every now and then, the government does something Labour agrees with.
We agree with increasing Health and Safety in the budget, and today’s announcement from Minister Kate Wilkinson of a Health and Safety Taskforce which will conduct a “wide ranging strategic review” of our Health and Safety laws, including legislation, regulation, incentives and enforcement is welcome. It’s a big step up from a couple of years ago when the government seemed to view health and safety as a “nice to have“.
I believe the Minister is genuinely concerned about our awful health and safety statistics, as we all should be. Labour proposed a Commission of Inquiry into Health and Safety as part of our election 2011 policy, so I’m pleased the government agrees that the current system needs a comprehensive review. We believe that New Zealand’s high workplace death and injury toll should be given the same ‘status’ as that given to the road toll – maybe the government agrees with that as well, because they’ve included former national manager road policing Paula Rose on the Taskforce.
So, a bouquet for Kate.
But she and her government continue to show a weird disconnect between the link between workplace health and safety and workers’ rights. They just don’t seem to get that a healthy and safe workplace goes hand in hand with a good workplace culture, effective worker participation and respect for the fundamental rights of workers. They don’t seem to understand the growing pressure in workplaces as jobs are cut to the bone, where workers are working longer hours than ever and taking shortcuts are often encouraged as a way to improve the stressed bottom line.
Our laws now allow sacking within 90 days for no reason, the government plans to weaken collective bargaining rights and introduce workplace experience ratings in ACC, which all discourage accident reporting. We might cover up our stats, but we won’t improve them, unless the government is prepared to fund an army of health and safety inspectors to enforce the law.
The Taskforce will be consulting the public. I hope everyone gets to have a say.
How many hands do you see shooting up when an employer calls for a Health and Safety Employee Representative in the workplace? Zero. NZ’s problem is not the legislation or vilolation or workplace rights, but the employees lack of interest in participating in keeping their workplace safe, as they see that as the sole responsibility of the employer or too boring a responsibility where their collegues will mock them. Even Union reps in my experience, pay lip service to or do not actively promote to H&S initiatives, unless it imporves their standing as a union rep in their fight against the employer.
Yee haa!
!!!!!
@ indiana, please try to keep reality out of the debate and focus on the ideology. Workers good. Bosses bad. Repeat.
“please try to keep reality out of the debate and focus on the ideology. Workers good. Bosses bad. Repeat.”
Though to be fair, if bosses were better at doing their own jobs instead of telling workers how to do theirs, maybe we’d see less 90 day sacking laws and more kiwi kids earning over $10.80 slave rates.
@Indiana – workers are supposed to be elected by their peers, not appointed by employers. There are workplace cultural issues, and I think your comment indicates exactly that.
@jennifer – it’s not ideological to be concerned about workers dying and being injured at work, or maybe it is in your world?
@Darien – the problem is that worker does not want to represent their peers when it comes to Health and Safety. What choice do employers have if employees are not interested – when by legislation they need to list their reps on staff notice boards? Even unions cannot get their members to become health and safety reps.
You wrote “but we won’t improve them, unless the government is prepared to fund an army of health and safety inspectors to enforce the law.” The employer is definitely in your sights as being the bad guy, yet you fail to acknowledge that even good employers stuggle with getting employees to be engaged in health and safety. So your army would out there happily dishing out penalties to employers but not to employees or employee reps for not being engaged. Where is the fairness in that? How many prosecutions has the DOL pursued against indvidual employees where they were negligent and caused injury to either themselves or others – about as many as there are employees raising their hands to be health and safety reps.
@Indiana
You make a number of assertions with no facts to back them up. Despite what you believe the real world keeps turning and isn’t flat.
@ Darien
You are exactly right. There is a strong connection between workers pay, conditions and rights with workplace health and safety practices. I will certainly be having a say when the taskforce consults the public.
@Mel – my assertions are no different to those made on this blog that people are being employed for 89 days and then told to leave for no reason – no facts to back them up either. I’m interested to know what the connection between workers pay, conditions and rights are, and workplace health and safety is? Is it something along the lines of “you report too many accidents, therefore we are going to pay you less and give you less hours unless you ease up on the reporting of accidents”. Should an employee not face disciplinary action for not reporting and accident?
From my experience, having taken a company from Primary level to the Tertiary level in ACC’s Partnership Programme audits, I’ve always found it fascinating that employees forget that they must report accidents even though it is on noticeboards, explained to them at inductions and at regular workplace meetings.
@Indiana – it’s the Minister of Labour who is gunning for health and safety improvements and good on her. If you can’t get people to “volunteer” to be health and safety reps in your workplace, then you probably need to ask yourself why. Perhaps its because you don’t get that the way people are treated impacts on how open and collaborative a workplace health and safety regime is. Blaming workers for not putting their hand up to be a health and safety rep to please you is a good place for you to start thinking about your workplace culture.
@Indiana : my comment above is probably a bit harsh, sorry. But there are cultural issues around health and safety, and it does require the effort of everyone to make things work well. It’s not a tick the box exercise and I’ve met many workers who are absolutely passionate about the job they do as health and safety reps. Having said that, I have also met many employers who do an excellent job. So, it comes down to either having a huge health and safety inspectorate who enforce the law, or finding ways to collaborate in the workplace, where everyone takes health and safety seriously because there is mutual respect for the roles each play and a joint interest in making the workplace successful. Harder than it sounds.
@Darien – you said “So, it comes down to either having a huge health and safety inspectorate who enforce the law, or finding ways to collaborate in the workplace” Which do you prefer and would promote as Labour policy?
@ Darien, isn’t the ‘collaboration’ model what we have now? And people aren’t interested, preferring to just get on with their job. Besides, Wilkinson will likely gut the current ‘red tape’ compliance and move to a ‘hands-off’ self regulating model, maybe with hefty fines for both workers and bosses.
@Indiana – the collaboration model, but that’s been gutted, and if as Jennifer claims, people aren’t interested, then there has to be a standards based approach.
@Darien – in what ways has it been gutted? Would you consider employers being able to self insure themselves?
First step repeal the 1992 act and revert to the status quo ex ante.