Source: NZCTU
The new Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill is a dangerous move away from the longstanding commitment to ensure all workers should come home healthy and safe, says New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi President Sandra Grey.
“New Zealand has a long way to go to make workplaces safer, and this Bill is a huge step in the wrong direction. This Bill is only the latest in a string of anti-worker attacks from Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke Van Velden.
“Under the guise of clarity and cost-saving, the Bill establishes a two-tier safety system where workers in small businesses will have significantly less protection at work than workers in larger organisations.
“The size of the business you work for shouldn’t dictate your standard of safety at work. Every worker should come home safe at the end of the day.
“Every 15 minutes in New Zealand a worker suffers an injury that requires more than a week off work. Instead of trying to improve our health and safety systems, this Government is choosing to water them down even further.
“75% of ACC’s work injury costs are made up of so-called less serious risks, but this Bill does little to address this issue. Workers in small businesses facing day-to-day risks like violence and aggression, stress and fatigue, and musculoskeletal injuries will suffer because of these changes.
“Everyone deserves protection at work. The Government is putting workers in harm’s way and saying to businesses that they don’t need to keep workers safe. This Bill is heartless,” said Grey.