Safety overhaul would be fitting legacy
We need to instill a new way of thinking where everyone – from politicians to regulators, business leaders, and workers – steps up and does their bit to make workplaces safer.
THE Government has before it a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix New Zealand’s broken workplace health and safety regime.
Ministers must be bold and seize this chance to do all they can to prevent another workplace tragedy like Pike River.
This opportunity comes in the form of the report of the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety.
New Zealand’s workplace health and safety performance is poor when compared with that of similar countries. The taskforce report, delivered to Minister of Labour Simon Bridges in April, contains realistic and achievable recommendations that business leaders believe will restore confidence in our safety regime. They will also encourage the growth of safe and productive businesses.
The Government is expected to respond to the taskforce report at the end of this month and before that ministers will, no doubt, be considering how different groups might respond to some of the more controversial recommendations. These include recommendations to increase penalties, extend the offence of manslaughter to include corporations, give workers more power to influence workplace safety, and to increase funding for the workplace regulator.
The Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum represents about 140 chief executives and senior executives from big New Zealand companies.
Our members are not concerned about these recommendations, and are calling for them to be fully implemented as part of a comprehensive and balanced set of reforms.
Extending the definition of manslaughter to include corporations sends a strong signal that those in a position of responsibility must take the safety of people seriously. The forum supports this approach for cases of extreme negligence. Business leaders who are committed to ensuring a safe workplace should have nothing to fear from this change.
Evidence and experience tell us that genuine worker participation and engagement are essential for good workplace health and safety. There may be concerns that if worker participation provisions are strengthened they could be misused or deployed as tactics in industrial disputes. However, the forum believes that checks and balances can be put in place to overcome this concern.
Chronic underfunding of the health and safety regulator over many years helped create the systemic failures we now suffer from. A more realistic and sustainable level of funding is required. This could be achieved with a minimal rise in the employer levy, improved risk- based levies, fees for services, and by better pooling of harm prevention activities undertaken by Government agencies.
The forum strongly endorses the target the taskforce set for New Zealand – that our health and safety performance should be among the best in the world in 10 years. And we agree with the taskforce’s view that this target is achievable, ‘‘but will require a seismic shift in approach and attitude’’.
Ultimately, we need to create a stronger safety culture. One where people look after themselves and their workmates, where those in positions of responsibility understand the pivotal role they must play, and where government supports and encourages high safety standards. We need to be bold if this is to occur. We need to instill a new way of thinking where everyone – from politicians to regulators, business leaders, and workers – steps up and does their bit to make workplaces safer.
As a first step, the Government can adopt all the taskforce recommendations. Other people must then follow suit and demonstrate leadership in their businesses.
Some measures supported by the taskforce are already under way, and last week legislation to set up a standalone workplace safety regulator was introduced into Parliament.
The Government should also heed the taskforce’s call to introduce a new workplace health and safety act similar to Australia’s. This law must define responsibilities and consequences, and must be supported with resources such as guidelines.
The new regulator also should put a much greater focus on occupational health – which is estimated to cause eight to 10 times more harm than workrelated accidents.
A better differentiated levy system is needed, that reduces costs for good performers and increases them for poor ones.
The Government also needs to invest in collecting better data on injury and occupational illness.
Tinkering with our safety regime won’t prevent another Pike River, or the ongoing human and economic cost of our flawed system. Implementing all the taskforce recommendations would be a way for the Government to create a fitting legacy for the men who died at Pike River.