Health and Safety initiative doomed without worker

Media Release: National Distribution Union
Monday August 10 2009

Health and Safety initiative doomed to fail without worker voice – NDU

A union for workers in forestry says that the government’s new health and safety CEO’s initiative is doomed to fail unless it also includes the voices of workers.

Kate Wilkinson today released workplace fatality statistics for forestry and several other industries, and announced a Chief Executives' Forum on Health and Safety.

“It is ironic that Kate Wilkinson has labelled today’s move as a partnership approach,” said Robert Reid, National Secretary of the National Distribution Union.

“It is of course the workers in dangerous industries like forestry that are performing potentially unsafe work, not chief executives, and good workplace health and safety requires the involvement of all parties.”

That is why our health and safety law specifically notes that “successful management of health and safety issues is best achieved through good faith co-operation in the place of work and, in particular, through the input of the persons doing the work.”

“After moves last month to scrap the independent advisory group on health and safety that has provided much of the empirical evidence on workplace injury and disease, we are concerned that Kate Wilkinson is shutting out the necessary voices of workers and researchers that are needed to help us bring down our workplace fatality statistics.”

“We will be raising our concerns about this matter with the Minister when she meets with our Executive shortly,” Robert Reid said.

ENDS

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