Richard Wagstaff: New Zealand has a woeful record on workplace health and safety

CTU President Richard Wagstaff. Photo / Supplied

Opinion

As the country winds down for the year, working people across the motu will be having a well-earned break over the holiday season.

Unfortunately, hundreds of Kiwi families have been robbed of the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones because of our poor health and safety practice at work.

Over the past year, 67 people have been killed at work. That’s 67 families without their loved ones joining them this summer – at a rate of more than one workplace death per week.

Working people in New Zealand should be able to come home safe from work every night.

This devastating legacy is deeply ingrained in our society, and highlighted by tragedies like Pike River.

When we compare our health and safety record with Australia the comparison is stark.

Across the ditch 169 workers died last year, roughly 1.3 fatalities per 100,000 workers. In New Zealand the rate is nearly double, at 2.4 fatalities per 100,000 workers.

To make matters worse, these figures are dwarfed by the additional estimated 750–900 deaths per year that are attributable to work-related health.

These deaths are caused by health impacts of work, including lung cancer from asbestos exposure or diesel exhaust.

So that’s another 750–900 Kiwi families spending their holiday without a loved one this year.

Our poor health and safety record is compounded further by adding in the high rate of serious injuries.

There are on average 2658 injuries per month that result in at least a week away from work.

Over the year August 2021 to August 2022, that added up to a total of 34,056 injuries resulting in at least a week off work.

We know these numbers won’t change unless we change how we approach workplace safety. There are several important changes needed to the way we do things.

Firstly, we need to reject any notion that fatalities, accidents, injuries, and occupational disease are simply part of doing business.

We need a change in mindset which involves a zero-tolerance approach to accidents, and an understanding that good workplace safety is part of good business practice.

Working people deserve to have a real say in how their work is designed and how it operates.

All workers must feel confident to speak out about poor health and safety in their work, and empowered to down tools when faced with a serious risk to their safety.

We also need to properly resource the health and safety regulator, WorkSafe, to be able to do its job properly. That means having enough inspectors as well as the capacity to respond appropriately when needed.

Currently, there is some significant progress underway.

A legislative change in the new year is set to remove the barrier to health and safety representatives in small businesses.

This small tweak will help upskill and improve health and safety outcomes in small enterprises by giving workers a platform to participate.

And the new Fair Pay Agreements Act will ensure that health and safety is on the agenda when FPAs are negotiated across industries.

Until now, many industries have been notoriously deficient in terms of health and safety practice and accident rates.

New Zealanders came together at the beginning of the pandemic, and our response was hailed as one of the best in the world.

The question is, how do we use that collective power again to ensure that next Christmas, more Kiwi families can be with their loved ones?

• Richard Wagstaff is the president of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions