Safety at work is a key part of workers’ rights - Teanau Tuiono

Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono.

Opinion

THREE KEY FACTS:

• The Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum’s 2024 “State of a Thriving Nation” report found close to 50% of Kiwis have been hit by a workplace incident to themselves, colleagues, family or friends.
• Statistics in the report showed NZ workers were twice as likely to die from a workplace incident than workers in Australia.
• The law governing workplace safety is the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, through WorkSafe New Zealand

Teanau Tuiono is a list MP for the Green Party.

OPINION

Workers’ rights are human rights that have been fought for across generations. This fight continues in the face of a government that seems to be to be more concerned about profits than people.

I think the Government’s Health and Safety Reforms have so far failed to empower our workers, with their voices being sidelined while the red carpet is rolled out for business interests.

I mihi to the workers from across the union movement who filled out a room in Parliament and let their thoughts be known to us MPs. While the Government would have heard their concerns, it is unclear to me whether they were actually listening.

The reality is that we cannot build an effective health and safety system without the input of our workers and our unions. I think the Government’s seeming lack of interest in engaging with our workers throughout its ongoing review of our health and safety protections shows where its priorities truly lie.

This review is, in my opinion, about making life easier for businesses at the expense of health and safety.

Workers are the ones who bear the brunt of poor health and safety practices. Facing workplace hazards and risks daily, they are best positioned to identify dangers and propose solutions.

Unions, as representatives of these workers, play a vital role in ensuring those voices are heard and that policies reflect the realities of various industries. Union advocacy has historically led to significant improvements in workplace safety in New Zealand.

I believe excluding those voices from consultation weakens the foundation of any potential reforms. That is why I think the Minister for Workplace Relations Brooke Van Velden should be meeting with unions regularly.

And I don’t mean what I would call “fake unions” funded by big business like the Free Speech and Taxpayers’ unions.

There are things the Government could do now to show it is serious about enhancing workplace safety and protecting our workers.

It could start by introducing corporate manslaughter legislation to hold businesses accountable for negligence that results in worker deaths. This would send a strong message that New Zealand is serious about protecting its workers and ensuring safety is prioritised over profit.

Another area which could be improved, and where union involvement would be critical, is forging the right balance between flexibility and certainty in safety regulations.

Businesses often advocate for more flexible rules to reduce compliance costs, but this can lead to unclear safety standards that leave workers vulnerable. Workers, through unions, can provide valuable insights into where flexibility is appropriate and where stricter regulations are non-negotiable.

These are the kind of things the Government should be doing, instead, we have seen WorkSafe, the regulator responsible for enforcing and monitoring health and safety laws gutted to, I believe, fund trickle-down tax cuts.

This is worrying, as a strong and well-resourced regulator is essential to maintaining high safety standards. Reducing WorkSafe’s capacity risks an increase in workplace injuries and fatalities, particularly in high-risk industries such as construction and agriculture.

Aotearoa is already one of the poorest-performing nations when it comes to workplace safety. We need serious reform that puts priority on the safety of people, not the convenience of business.

Unfortunately, without meaningful participation from our workers and our unions, we cannot have confidence in this Government’s workplace safety interventions.

To create a truly robust and effective health and safety regulatory system, the Government must place worker and union voices at the heart of these reforms.

Only through a worker-centred approach can New Zealand build a system that is responsive, fair, and, most importantly, safe for everyone.