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Health and safety
Tackling injury and illness
The new Health and Safety at Work Act, which comes into force in April 2016, emphasises that everyone within an organisation has a responsibility for health and safety.
BY BRYCE FLEURY, WORKSAFE NEW ZEALAND SECTOR ENGAGEMENT MANAGER
THERE HAS BEEN PLENTY of discussion around what the new health and safety law, which comes into force in April 2016, means for di erent industries.
This is good, as rst and foremost, people need to talk about health and safety. However, there has been a lot of misinformation and a few myths around supposed costs, responsibilities, enforcement and penalties.
Changes present opportunity
The changes are in fact a great opportunity for organisations to review their health and safety practices and culture. If needed, they can then revise how they manage critical risks that could cause illness, injury or even death.This is not only the right thing, it’s good business.
Dire statistics need tackling
In international terms, New Zealand’s workplace health and safety record is extremely poor. On average, 73 people a year die on the job, one in 10 is harmed and more than 600 die from work-related diseases. Our record is twice as bad as that of Australia.
The toll on the construction industry includes 54 deaths in the 6 years ending December 2013 and over 20,000 severe injuries out of a workforce of around 180,000. These numbers don’t include health issues with construction workers 20 times more likely to die as a result of respiratory disease than any other construction incident.
The new Act is part of a range of measures to tackle our poor health and safety record. The government has set the target of New Zealand reducing workplace serious harm and deaths by at least 25% by 2020. That’s a big ask, but it doesn’t necessarily mean organisations will face lots of extra work and compliance costs. If they already take a responsible approach to health and safety, little will need to change.
Who’s responsible for health and safety?
The short answer is everyone, but with clear levels of responsibility. Under the new law, an organisation has the primary duty of care to ensure the safety of its workers and anyone a ected by its work.
Company o cers – the directors, board members, chief executives and partners – are responsible for due diligence. They do not have to ensure the health and safety of the workers, but they do have to make sure their organisation complies with its obligations.
Workers, too, must take reasonable care for their own and their fellow workers’ health and safety.
Collaborative approach
It’s about collaboration, particularly when multiple trades are on site. The nature of construction means that, on any given day, builders, sparkies and plumbers might all work on the same site.
The Act aims to ensure that they work together to keep themselves and each other safe. It’s not about a mass of paperwork but about making sure that everyone knows who is taking the lead on health and
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