Health and Safety changes driven by ACT party ideology, not evidence, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff.
Changes to health and safety legislation proposed by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden today comply with ACT party ideology, ignores the evidence, and will compound New Zealand’s dismal health and safety performance.
“It’s disappointing to see the Minister has ignored the widespread consensus on what New Zealand needs to do to improve its poor track record and instead has chosen to carve out small businesses from good health and safety practices,” Wagstaff said.
“Exempting small businesses from best practice health and safety makes no sense when we know that small business are riskier and need more support.
“The Government seems to think the biggest obstacle to our poor productivity and health and safety outcomes is too many road cones. It’s no wonder New Zealand can’t get ahead when our leaders in Government seem so out of touch, and have no credible responses to these challenges.
“Given the massive challenge we have as a country to improve our health and safety performance, it’s astounding the Minister would target the use of road cones and expect WorkSafe to focus its scarce time and energy on creating a hotline.
“The Minister has been quick to cut support for important issues like modern slavery, and sat on her hands on other important health and safety concerns, like banning engineered stone. It would seem that this Government is more concerned about road cones than either of these issues.
“What’s worse is that these changes are being justified on the basis of cutting red tape for economic growth. Good business know that proper health and safety is not a compliance cost.
“On average there is a workplace fatality every week, another 20 are killed from occupational disease, and thousands more are incapacitated by injuries. Nothing in these proposals signals an intent to improve these numbers,” said Wagstaff.
