Workers’ memorial sparks safety lessons
Remembering workers who died at work is being combined with renewed efforts to keep staff safe in their jobs in Palmerston North.
International Workers’ Memorial Day on Wednesday will be marked with the traditional lunchtime ceremony at Memorial Park, aswell as the first full-day symposium on improving systems to keep all workers safe at work.
Unions Manawatu¯ and the city council have worked together on the memorial service for more than 10 years. This year, they combine with Work safe new Zealand and Massey People, Organisation, Work and Employment Research (Mpower) to ramp up enthusiasm for workplace health and safety.
The symposium had been set up to run last year, but was postponed because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Memorial service organiser John Shennan said the ideawas to enhance the memorial day by injecting more enthusiasm into the role of health and safety representatives.
Representatives are trained workplace advocates for health and safety, with potential to go beyond making sure people simply complied with the rules to reduce risks of injury or sickness.
The seminar is endorsed by Palmerston North mayor Grant Smith, who said everyone deserved to come home at the end of their working day to their families and loved ones.
Worksafe board chairman and speaker Ross Wilson said it was fundamental that workers should be involved in improving their own health and safety protection at work. ‘‘Workers play an essential role in reducing work-related injuries and illhealth and good worker participation is critical to effectively managing workrelated risk.’’
NZ Council of Trade Unions president Richardwag staff and Mpower researcher Fatima Junaid will also speak at the seminar.
In the 12 months to the end of January this year, Worksafe has recorded 59 fatalities at work, including two in the Manawatu¯-whanganui region.
As well, some 32,664 people were injured in 2019, the last full year of data.
About 100 people are expected to attend the symposium, and to make the trip to Memorial Park for the ceremony, where members of the public are welcome.