New Zealand’s Push For Workplace Safety Reforms Criticised

New Zealand's recent push to introduce more health and safety regulations has sparked criticism from some of the political parties. Calling up the government to show more common sense, New Zealand First, said the Health and Safety Reform Bill, now back from the select committee, required a plethora of changes.

New Zealand First Spokesperson Clayton Mitchell said: “We warned that a copy and paste of Australian legislation would never work here. This legislation will create many unintended consequences for New Zealanders and New Zealand First has been fighting to address this problem.” The spokesperson ripped into the proposed reforms, citing the move to treat farms as worksites and making spouses working on them as cause for prosecution if a fatal accident happens, as a mix of many wrong things. New Zealand First warned of a Pandora’s Box of unintended consequences from the legislation. It also said its fight to get against such reforms will continue until it gets the balance right.

Improvements

The Select Committee, which considered the Health and Safety Reform Bill referred it back to Parliament for improvements after a number of public submissions. The Government is now planning to clarify some of the provisions in the Bill to allay confusion and add more certainty for businesses, particularly small businesses, in making them know the requirements in meeting their duties. The Bill seeks key changes in the following areas:

1. Worker engagement and participation
2. Multiple persons conducting a business
3. The duty of officers
4. Volunteer workers
5. Definition of workplace
6. Duty of PCBUs who manage and control a workplace

The Bill is in the final stages in Parliament before becoming a law. Now WorkSafe New Zealand carries the responsibility to prepare people with information in educating about it before the law comes into force. According to government’s sources, the Health and Safety Reform Bill will strengthen the existing requirements for worker engagement and participation in health and safety matters. Stronger worker participation will follow when the workplace is made responsible for health and safety and workers can intervene when an unsafe situation arises. Dismissing all criticism, the government is hoping that the changes to the Bill will improve flexibility and innovation will not get stifled. The reforms seek all PCBUs or enterprises to engage with their workers on matters of health and safety and follow worker participation practices in giving workers opportunities to improve their safety and productivity.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at k.kumar@ibtimes.com.au)