Construction remains on of New Zealand's most dangerous jobs. Photo / 123RF
Construction remains on of New Zealand's most dangerous jobs. Photo / 123RF
A spate of injuries on construction sites has again drawn attention to the danger of working in this industry.
Speaking to the Front Page podcast, NZ Herald property editor Anne Gibson says the injuries seen recently have been quite horrific.
"In Hawke's Bay, someone fell through a skylight. A man had his arms amputated after high-voltage electrocution. Five people were hurt in a gas cylinder explosion in Wynyard Quarter. Scaffolding collapsed tragically at a Mount Eden construction site. And a man was also shot through the heart with a nail gun."
Despite the terrible nature of some of these incidents, Gibson does add that there is a downward trend in overall injuries.
So far, this year, we've had 1431 workplace injuries, accidents and serious harm," Gibson says.
"The data for 2022 is only for the year to August 11, but it is down quite a lot compared to previous years. In 2021, there were 2624 injuries while in 2020 there were 2500."
Data from WorkSafe showed construction had the second-highest number of deaths of any sector between February 2021 and January 2022.
Transport, postal and warehousing fared the worst with 17 deaths recorded, while construction came in second with 11 deaths.
The biggest construction firms in the country are taking this issue seriously.
Gibson notes that Fletcher Building chief executive Ross Taylor's pay is partly based on keeping the workforce safe.
"It's a good thing that boards and businesses are recognising that if someone is injured, you should make the CEO hurt financially."
Despite some businesses taking safety seriously, Gibson says there's definitely a broad spectrum of safety protocols across the country's building sites.
Gibson cites the City Rail Link project as perhaps the best example she's visited regarding health and safety protocols.
"When you enter the CRL, you have safety glasses, a hard hat, boots and gloves. You quite often have an extraordinarily long safety briefing before you go anywhere near their sites. You're warned about tripping hazards and all sorts of things that can occur during a visit."
But the same cannot be said for every site that Gibson visits as part of her job.
"I go onto some very Kiwi construction sites where there is no hard hat offered, no hi-vis vest. And fortunately, I have my own steel cap boots. But it really does surprise me that some of these sites can be so dirty and have so many hazards on them."
WorkSafe was formed in 2013 after the Pike River mining disaster to ensure greater consistency of safety protocols across the workforce.
"That has changed a lot of cultures and a lot of businesses," Gibson says.
"Many construction companies are tremendously concerned when it comes to safety and they're aware of their obligations ... WorkSafe got funding of about $148 million in the Budget - and that's definitely an attempt to do away with the Kiwi 'she'll be right' attitude."
Gibson does, however, warn that there is still a long road to go to ensure that all New Zealand workers are able to return home after their shift.
"There has been a big change with WorkSafe coming in in 2013, but the only criticism is that it's not well enough equipped. It's not well funded enough by the Government to really look at all situations where there are complaints or allegations of issues on construction sites. Despite getting $140m in the Budget, critics say it isn't enough to keep people safe."
• The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am.
