Kerre Woodham: What makes NZ workplaces so dangerous?

It's the 15th anniversary today of the Pike River mine disaster, and on this anniversary, unions are calling for a corporate manslaughter law to be enshrined in legislation, as it is in other countries like the UK, Australia, Canada. 

29 men were killed when an explosion ripped through the Pike River mine on the West Coast of the South Island. And despite reforms following Pike River, including the creation of WorkSafe in 2013 and the Health and Safety at Work Act in 2015, New Zealand continues to record twice as many workplace deaths as Australia, four times as many as the UK per capita. Workplace injuries and illnesses cost the country an estimated $5 billion each year. 

A new Public Health Communication Centre briefing by leading health and safety experts finds that weak enforcement, inadequate fines, and a poor understanding of legal duties by employers and political leaders are key reasons for the lack of progress.  And it warns that proposed changes to shift the regulator's focus from enforcement to advice, alongside ACC's move to deprioritise injury prevention, risks further undermining worker protection. 

And yet, when you look at the health and safety legislation and the red tape and the orange road cones, not a single road cone seems to have helped in preventing workers' lives being lost. We're 25th in the OECD. Australia is a dangerous place to work. And yet somehow, we manage to record twice as many workplace deaths as they do. What is it? Are workers in high-risk jobs depending on the rules to keep themselves safe? To keep their mates safe? Rather than using their own nous and judgement they think, well, the rules are there, I don't have to think about it. I don't have to think about what I'm doing. 

Are too many workers turning up impaired by alcohol or drugs, and that impairs their judgement? They don't see things, or they cut corners, or they're tired, fatigued. Are bosses cutting corners and risking people's lives? Or are the bosses putting in health and safety protocols that workers are simply ignoring? 

What is it about this country that means we are so bad at either looking after ourselves and our mates, or finding ways to protect our workers? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Carrywood and Mornings podcast from News
Talks HEADB.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
It's the fifteenth anniversary today of the Pike River mine disaster,
and on this anniversary, unions are calling for a corporate
manslaughter law to be enshrined in legislation as it is
in other countries like the UK, Australia, Canada. Twenty nine
men were killed when an explosion ripped through the Pike
River mine on the west coast of the South Island,

(00:33):
and despite reforms following Pike River including the creation of
Work Safe in twenty thirteen the Health and Safety at
Work Act in twenty fifteen, New Zealand continues to record
twice as many workplace deaths as Australia, four times as
many as the UK per capita. Workplace injuries and illnesses

(00:57):
cost the country and estimated five billion dollars each year.
A new Public Health Communications Center briefing health and safety
experts finds that weak enforcement and adequate finds, and a
poor understanding of legal duties by employers and political leaders
are key reasons for the lack of progress, and it

(01:20):
warns that proposed changes to shift the regulator's focus from
enforcement to advice, alongside ACC's move to deprioritize injury prevention risks,
further undermining worker protection. And yet when you look at
the health and safety legislation and the red tape and
the orange road cones, not a single road cone seems

(01:42):
to have helped in preventing workers' lives being lost. We're
twenty fifth in the are we cd.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
You?

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Australia is a dangerous place to work? And yet somehow
we manage to record twice as many workplace deaths as
they do. What is it our workers in high risks
jobs depending on the rules to keep themselves safe, to

(02:12):
keep their mates safe, rather than using their own nous
and judgment. They think, well, the rules are there, I
don't have to think about it. I don't have to
think about what I'm doing. Are too many workers turning
up impaired by alcohol or drugs and that impairs their judgment?
They don't see things, or they cut corners, or they're

(02:36):
tired fatigued. Are bosses cutting corners and risking people's lives?
Or are the bosses putting in health and safety protocols
that workers are simply ignoring? What is it about this
country that means we are so bad at either looking

(02:56):
after ourselves and our mates or finding ways to protect
our workers.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
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