Dialogue: Safety on the job needs effort from everybody

By BOB HILL*

New Zealand's workplace death, injury and illness toll made headlines recently - for all the wrong reasons.

Tragically, a spate of 10 worker deaths in one month made workplace safety "news".

Firstly, these deaths are an appalling waste of life, a source of suffering to families, friends and workmates and an economic cost to the workers' employers and the country.



Secondly, we have, through the Herald, a debate between unions and employers that focuses on their separate interests.

The debate got everyone thinking about health and safety, and agreement that one workplace death is one too many.

But, disappointingly, the debate has focused on employers' responsibilities in isolation.

We are agreed about where we want to go, but need to emphasis that everyone has a responsibility in achieving this - principals, employers, employees, contractors, equipment suppliers as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Service (OSH) and other agencies.

OSH has dedicated front-line and back-office staff working to reduce the workplace injury and illness toll.

We are always looking for ways to do our job better and I have heeded feedback, principally from employers and unions. OSH will change accordingly.

I need to make this point because commentators are drawing on experiences with OSH to speculate on how the service will work in the future.

This is not a conclusion people should reach. We have the Implementation Advisory Panel (employer, union and industry sector representatives) to ensure our operational policy is workable and easily understood.

We are developing a compliance strategy that will give everyone a transparent and predictable framework for determining how OSH will react to any given circumstances.

Yes, proposed legislation contains extra compliance tools, the infringement notice, increased fines and imprisonment terms for non-compliance.

But good employers have nothing to fear. These tools give OSH the muscle to enforce an open and transparent compliance strategy and maintain standards that are fair to employers and employees.

We are developing best-practice guidelines and information so employers and employees can better understand their obligations, rights and how they might improve health and safety practices.

We must work together to improve health and safety outcomes. The proposed legislative amendments promote this. OSH will do its bit.

But OSH activities are only one influence for change. A best-practice health and safety culture can be developed only by all parties working together to establish safe and healthy workplaces.

Therefore, I hope the debate can move from blaming to involvement.

I believe it is useful to discuss the proposed amendment's underlying focus on productive and cooperative relationships.

It pushes the idea of employers and employees working together to achieve best practice.

The amendment stresses the importance with which Government views injury and illness.

But, primarily, the bill stresses the interdependence of employers and employees.

It stresses the health side of the occupational safety and health equation to protect people whose work-induced health damage is not obvious for years.



The new comprehensive coverage clause means all workplaces in New Zealand (previously parts of the transport sector were excluded) will be covered by the amendment, in line with the original thinking of the 1992 legislation.

None of this is threatening. It is designed to take us forward.

For most employers and employees, the bill is not turning the world on its head. It is about creating a workplace culture where health and safety are real priorities and builds on the existing legislation through small but significant steps.

This legislation is about where we are going.

I urge employers and unions to tell the select committee of any concerns about the amendments.

The closing date for written submissions is March 1, 2002.

* Bob Hill is general manager (workplace health and safety) with the Department of Labour.