NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Forestry deaths inspire Helen Kelly's conference speech

Audrey Young
By Audrey Young
Senior Political Correspondent·NZ Herald·
2 Nov, 2013 02:12 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Helen Kelly, President of the NZ Council of Trade Unions. Photo / Michael Craig

Helen Kelly, President of the NZ Council of Trade Unions. Photo / Michael Craig

The latest death of a forestry worker in New Zealand, Charles Finlay, featured large in a speech by Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly to the Labour conference in Christchurch today.

She said he was the victim of poor health and safety in an industry that was dangerous by design and which was designed in a manner that left its workforce scared of raising concerns.

"Workers like Charles are exhausted," she said. "Their families talk of them coming home at night and falling into bed without dinner, of constant conversations of corner cutting and productivity pressure and of numerous near misses where tired workers make mistakes that are the difference between coming home or not."

She talked about the CTU's campaign for greater safety in the forestry industry, which has had eight deaths this year, the CTU's living wage campaign, the fairness at work campaign and the campaign on insecure work.

She described in detail Mr Finlay's work pattern.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Charles Finlay got home at 6pm the night before he was killed, and was up again the next morning at 3am to meet his normal start time of 4 am. Charles was dead by 5.30am in the middle of the winter, in the middle of the country, in the middle of the night and on a dark unlit site. He regularly worked between 55 and 60 hours in a 5 day week and up to 64 hours when he worked a Saturday. Some days he also drove more than an hour each way."

Mr Finlay was on $16 an hour after 27 years in the bush. His employer was a contractor to Hancocks Forests - the biggest forest owner in New Zealand.

She said the 300 contractors in the industry were being squeezed by the nine big forest owners including being allocated work too late to make a safety plan and facing increasing productivity pressures requirements.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Charles and his family are the victims of a deregulated labour market. Charles' employment was insecure - he was not paid in bad weather, he was employed in an insecure supply chain arrangement.

"He did not earn a living wage, forcing him to work unacceptably long hours in a country with no maximum hours of work, and now this all means he leaves behind 7 year old beautiful twin girls and a lovely 21 year old son and a widow now receiving ACC of 80 per cent of $16 for the years to come to support them all."

"What happened to Charles is a problem the whole country has to think about. He had 1400 mourners at his tangi. You can feel the aching in a community like Tokoroa - Charles is the second Tokoroa man killed in the last two years in Forestry and 1 of 5 Forestry deaths in the Bay of Plenty in the last two years.

"These families - when you first meet them show you photos of their men and sons, they need you to understand that they were loved and good people, working hard, skilled, dedicated - they do this in the context of the forestry sector where the men are not respected; where their contribution to this huge industry is exploited. Our campaign for forestry safety is making big inroads."

Discover more

New Zealand|politics

Cunliffe gives first speech as leader

01 Nov 07:30 AM
New Zealand|politics

Cunliffe set to tackle insurers

01 Nov 04:30 PM
New Zealand|politics

Cunliffe brokers union deal on TPP

02 Nov 12:18 AM
New Zealand

War against workplace killers

02 Nov 04:30 PM

Forestry owners were now saying they would hold an inquiry and the CTU had been consulted on the terms of reference.

Workers were joining the union and many families were getting involved with the campaign.

But no matter how organised they got, the current law would not resolve the employment issues for forestry workers who had not had a collective agreement since they had an award.

They had not had a functioning structure for union membership since the New Zealand Forest Service was corporatised in 1987.

Helen Kelly said that the CTU worker rights campaign would be run into election year and part of it was to propose a new industrial law that would mean that standards negotiated within an industry through enterprise collective bargaining would be extended to industrial level agreements to cover all workers in that industry, when a threshold was crossed.

"For example, in aged care, where through collective bargaining, a certain percentage of aged care workers are covered by collective agreements, the standards from those agreements would be extended to all workers in the aged care sector.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Access to collective negotiations cant be determined by the fate of where you get a job and whether or not the job has sufficient strength to negotiate a collective agreement."

Talking about the CTU's insecure work campaign launched last month, Helen Kelly said at least 30 per cent of New Zealand workers, over 635,000, and perhaps as much as 50 percent were in insecure work.

"We know that 95,000 workers have no usual work time, 192,000 are temporary, 61,000 have no written employment agreement, 573,000 workers earned less than the living wage, and 570,000 workers were in one of five industries with the worst workplace health and safety records.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

live
New Zealand|politics

Listen: 'Is she the only talented person in the room?' Luxon on Stanford's growing workload

11 May 09:01 PM
New Zealand

Napier house fire

Premium
HealthcareUpdated

Concern 'patients will suffer' as practices with 46,000 enrolled switch funder

11 May 08:50 PM

One tiny baby’s fight to survive

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Listen: 'Is she the only talented person in the room?' Luxon on Stanford's growing workload
live

Listen: 'Is she the only talented person in the room?' Luxon on Stanford's growing workload

11 May 09:01 PM

PM questioned about the number of new policies the minister was introducing.

Napier house fire

Napier house fire

Premium
Concern 'patients will suffer' as practices with 46,000 enrolled switch funder

Concern 'patients will suffer' as practices with 46,000 enrolled switch funder

11 May 08:50 PM
Person critically injured in Levin crash, state highway closed

Person critically injured in Levin crash, state highway closed

11 May 08:31 PM
Connected workers are safer workers 
sponsored

Connected workers are safer workers 

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP