NZ health and safety culture slammed

Criticism of New Zealand’s health and safety system and a demand for change in the safety culture has poured in from industry bodies since the release of the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety’s report. 

“New Zealand’s data on death and injury at work makes sorry reading compared to other developed countries,” said New Zealand’s Chief Human Rights Commissioner David Rutherford.

After ten months of consultation, research and analysis, the far-reaching independent report delivered scathing criticism of New Zealand’s current health and safety system, saying it was “not fit for purpose”.

It found that one in ten workers were harmed at work in some way every year, with 26,000 injuries resulting in compensation claims.

“The report is clear that the period of deregulation in the 1980s and 90s has made New Zealand’s workplaces less safe and contributed to our appalling rate of workplace deaths and injuries,” said Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union assistant national secretary Ged O’Connell.

“The Pike River tragedy is the most shocking example of this, but the reality is the number of workplace deaths in New Zealand is equivalent to two or three Pike Rivers every year.

“This report provides compelling evidence that health and safety in this country needs a major overhaul, and that means strengthening the law, giving workers more voice and properly resourcing our health and safety regime.”

The report found there was no single critical factor behind New Zealand’s poor health and safety record, but that the system had a number of significant weaknesses that needed to be addressed if there was to be a “step-change” in workplace health and safety performance.

The report recommends a new standalone crown agency dedicated to health and safety (which the Government has already accepted – see Page 14 for more information), a new workplace health and safety act based on international best practice and increased worker participation and action to create a more positive culture.

The report criticised the latter, describing New Zealand’s attitude as “risk tolerant” when it comes to safety.

“Our national culture includes a high level of tolerance for risk, and negative perceptions of health and safety,” states the report.

“Kiwi stoicism, deference to authority, laid-back complacency and suspicion of red tape all affect behaviour from the boardroom to the shop floor.”

Labour minister Simon Bridges welcomed the report and said the Government would respond to it’s recommendations by July.