New Zealand needs to ban engineered stone to protect its workers – Green MP Teanau Tuiono

An unnamed engineered stone fabricator workshop that received a prohibition notice after WorkSafe inspections found serious safety issues.

Teanau Tuiono is a Green list MP based in Manawatū. He is the party’s spokesman on workplace relations and safety.

OPINION

Without workers, our economy would be nothing more than rubble. We cannot build the future we deserve without our workers.

Despite this, we have seen, in my opinion, an erosion of workers’ rights under a Government more worried about profits than it is about people.

We have witnessed the shredding of fair pay agreements, the slash and burn of more than 6000 public sector jobs and the reduction of minimum wage increases. Disabled workers are now even facing the stark reality of being paid as little as $2 an hour after the Government scrapped an initiative to ensure they are paid at least the minimum wage.

The Government must bring an end to this archaic agenda and begin to support workers so they can continue to support us.

A good start would be to answer the recent call of unions, health experts and safety specialists to ban engineered stone in Aotearoa.

An open letter from the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, signed and supported by many others, has urged the Minister for Workplace Relations to emulate Australia’s groundbreaking decision to ban the use, supply, and manufacture of engineered stone products.

Australia’s ban, effective from the start of this month, followed extensive consultation and analysis, revealing incontrovertible scientific evidence of the dangers posed by silica dust exposure to workers.

Engineered stone, while popular for its aesthetic appeal, contains high levels of crystalline silica. When cut, drilled or ground it releases harmful silica dust. This dust, when inhaled, can lead to accelerated silicosis, a fatal lung disease.

Workers exposed to this dust develop symptoms rapidly and at a younger age than those with other occupational respiratory diseases. Unlike many ailments, silicosis is incurable but preventable. A ban on engineered stone would eliminate the risk by removing the source of exposure.

Australia’s decisive action to put the wellbeing of workers first sets a powerful precedent. New Zealand must follow suit to ensure similar protections for its workforce.

We need to ban engineered stone and better support our workplaces to look after our workers.

Aotearoa has serious work to do when it comes to workplace safety. The numbers paint an incredibly bleak picture. Work-related health issues claim the lives of 750 to 900 workers annually in New Zealand and hospitalise a further 5000 to 6000.

Our fatality rate is double that of Australia’s while being roughly equal to Britain’s of the 1980s. Meanwhile, we have a far lower level of safety inspectors per capita than other countries. Australia for example has 11 inspectors for every 100,000 workers, while New Zealand only has 6.3.

This is not a coincidence. We need to better resource the Labour Inspectorate and WorkSafe to ensure we have robust workplace practices.

The Government must shift its priorities towards the wellbeing of our workers. Banning engineered stone would be a good start. However, the coalition has, in my opinion, left itself with plenty more work to do by unwinding decades’ worth of progress.