Category: Employment Issues

Auto Added by WPeMatico

Posted on

WorkSafe New Zealand Chair announces new Chief Executive, Sharon Thompson

Source: Worksafe New Zealand

WorkSafe New Zealand Board Chair Jennifer Kerr has announced the appointment of Sharon Thompson as WorkSafe’s new Chief Executive.

“Sharon has extensive public and private sector experience leading business transformation programmes and building highly engaged teams to overcome challenges and deliver results,” says Jennifer Kerr. “Sharon is well placed to drive the delivery of WorkSafe’s new strategy and operating plan, which sets out how we will undertake our role as Aotearoa New Zealand’s primary work health and safety regulator.”

Sharon will join WorkSafe from her current role as Executive Director, Transformation and Operational Delivery, at the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) where she leads the operations and capability functions. Previously, Sharon was at Inland Revenue, where she led a nation-wide customer facing and operations team through a major transformation as Deputy Commissioner, Customer and Compliance Services.

“It’s an honour to have been appointed as WorkSafe’s Chief Executive,” says Sharon Thompson. “I look forward to the privilege of working with the WorkSafe team, and with government and sector partners, businesses and workers, iwi, unions, and everyone who can help influence better health and safety at work in Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Jennifer Kerr says interim Chief Executive Steve Haszard has completed the priority tasks he was brought in by the Board to undertake. “I’m grateful for Steve’s clear and decisive leadership during a challenging time. WorkSafe now has improved financial discipline and a new strategy with a targeted focus on serious risk and harm. Under Sharon’s leadership, WorkSafe will continue to influence businesses and workers to better manage those risks, reduce harm and deliver better health and safety outcomes for all.

Steve’s last day will be Friday 12 July, and Sharon’s start date will be confirmed shortly. WorkSafe’s Deputy Chief Executive Operations Kane Patena will be Acting Chief Executive in the interim.

Media contact details

For more information you can contact our Media Team using our media request form. Alternatively, you can:

Phone: 021 823 007 or

Email: media@worksafe.govt.nz

Posted on

NZCTU condemns contractor reform as fundamental attack on workers’ rights

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is condemning a proposed change to employment law as a deplorable attack on workers’ rights.

Minister for Workplace Relations, Brooke van Velden, has instructed her officials to begin work on preventing workers misclassified as contractors from challenging their employment status in the courts.

“The Minister is consulting on removing fundamental employee rights, such as a minimum wage, annual leave, rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. That she even considers these changes worthy of consultation is deplorable,” said Wagstaff.

“If implemented, these changes represent the biggest attack on workers’ rights since the early 1990s and would open the floodgates to worker exploitation across Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Blocking workers from challenging their employment status in court will allow unscrupulous employers to circumvent employment law by hiring people as contractors, without fear of challenge.

“This could completely change the nature of employment. Workers in industries that currently seem safe from being engaged as contractors, would be at risk if these changes go through.

“The Minister wants to block vulnerable workers from even being able to have their case heard. This is not only unethical, but also legally unworkable.

“The NZCTU totally oppose any attempt by government to undermine access to justice for working people. Everyone, regardless of employment status, deserves good work – work that is well-paid, safe and secure and contributes to a meaningful and fulfilling life,” said Wagstaff.

Posted on

Interislander grounding a warning for the future

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff says that the grounding of the Aratere is a warning about the current state of the Interislander service.

“New Zealand has now found itself lucky twice with the Interislander. In 2023, the Kaitaki lost all power with more than 800 passengers on board. Now the Aratere is grounded in Picton. The health and safety of passengers and crew demands a full investigation,” said Wagstaff.

“Our thoughts are with the crew and drivers currently being evacuated.

“These are aging ships that require more intensive repair and maintenance – as we discovered last year when the Kaiarahi service was canceled for days. It’s beyond time that they were replaced with safe and efficient ferries.

“$15bn of cargo is carried annually by the Interislander. It’s in everyone’s interest to make sure that the service is seaworthy.

 “The decision to cancel the replacement ferries should be urgently reviewed in light of the developments overnight. The replacement ships from Korea could have been here from next year. 

“This is a symbol of the direction of this Government. We can’t get power to Northland. A key ferry service is grounded. Yet investment by government in infrastructure will fall every year under the new Budget. The priorities of this Government are all wrong.

“We need an urgent and thorough investigation into this incident, which must include how we are going to deliver new ferries in a reasonable timeline. This grounding is warning that without further investment, lives and our economic security will be put at risk,” said Wagstaff.

Posted on

Fears for regional news as NZME proposes job cuts – E tū

Source: Etu Union

Journalists at NZME’s regional and community newspapers in the North Island are seeking support from their local communities as they face the loss of more than 11 full time equivalent jobs from newsrooms across the North Island.

Titles like the Northern Advocate, Hawkes Bay Today, Bay of Plenty Times, Rotorua Daily Post, the Whanganui Chronicle, and other community papers will all be hit by cuts to journalists and the removal of all photo-journalists, if the proposal goes ahead.

The proposal includes cutting out all regional photographers, which Northern Advocate photographer Michael Cunningham said would be the end of an important era.

“The job was more than just taking photos, it was documenting Northland’s history, and also becoming the custodian of nearly 150 years of photographic history in Northland.”

Michael has been a photographer at the paper for 32 years and said the highlight of his work is the thanks he gets from the community.

“It’s probably the joy that you get from members of the community who are so happy that you’ve come to cover their event. It could be anything from the local bridge club to a future All Black.”

Photographs and video are an important part of telling these stories, and hugely important to any media organisation, Michael says.

“I believe that the stories and photos that the Northern Advocate has covered over these years have genuinely made lives better for a lot of people in the Northland community.”

Northern Advocate journalist Denise Piper said it is local communities who will miss out on coverage if the proposal goes ahead.

“Our job is all about holding the powers-that-be to account and giving a voice to the region’s most vulnerable, including patients, local businesses and environmental champions.”

E tū Negotiation Specialist Michael Wood says NZME must not underestimate the importance of regional news.

“The media are the vital connections between groups and individuals, from local sports groups to community culture, to emergency services organisations,” Michael says.

“Recent history with emergencies and disasters has shown exactly how important it is to have good reporting on the ground in all our communities. Reducing the capacity for local storytelling would harm how communities respond to these events.

“It will be little comfort for these regions that NZME claims this is not a cost cutting exercise but will free up resources for investing in four new reporting jobs in Wellington, Christchurch, and business coverage.

“We’re calling on the affected local communities to join our call to save these important roles. NZME needs to hear from local leaders and groups just how important it is to have strong local media.”

Posted on

Tiwai deal a great relief for workers and Southland community – E tū

Source: Etu Union

Workers at New Zealand Aluminium Smelter at Tiwai Point are celebrating the company Rio Tinto’s new electricity deal with Meridian Energy, finally securing a longer-term future for the plant.

The 20-year deal ends years of uncertainty about Tiwai Point, which is the largest employer in the Southland region and also supports the local economy by providing many opportunities for businesses in the area.

E tū delegate at Tiwai Point, Curtis Omelvena, says workers are thrilled with the news.

“We finally have job security after five years of constantly being threatened with closure,” Curtis says.

“I was wondering what to do if the place closed down, and I would have most likely left Invercargill and even New Zealand altogether. If it did close, I could imagine a lot of us younger workers leaving the area, leading to a big recession in Invercargill.

“It’s a hugely positive thing for the workers and the wider community in Invercargill, especially as the smelter is working hard to clean up the area.

Curits says the uncertainty has taken a big toll on the workforce.

“The last few years have been very trying on our patience and mental health. Morale will start improving from now.”

E tū National Secretary, Rachel Mackintosh, says the economic impact of this decision for the Southland economy is significant.

“The smelter contributes about $400 million to the Southland economy – it is vital for work and business opportunities in the region,” Rachel says.

“E tū members have been working through the uncertainty as best they can. Our union is committed to a Just Transition through economic changes, which means making sure that workers and local communities don’t bear the full brunt of the everchanging future of work.

“It is a big relief that our members at Tiwai Point, and everyone whose work is connected to the smelter, now have some real certainty about the future. We are looking forward to continuing progress on a collective agreement for E tū members at Tiwai, and with the company’s newly improved position, Tiwai workers should expect some real improvement on wages and conditions as a result of their collective activity.”

Posted on

TVNZ workers win in Employment Court – E tū

Source: Etu Union

E tū members at TVNZ are celebrating another victory today, with the Employment Court upholding the original decision of the Employment Relations Authority, accepting that the company has breached the collective agreement.

In a clear decision, the judge has confirmed that TVNZ broke its own agreement with staff, that it did not act sufficiently when this issue was raised by E tū, and that the collective agreement guarantees members the right to be properly involved in developing change proposals, rather than just responding to them.

To ensure that the collective agreement is now complied with, the Court has issued a compliance order which forces TVNZ to follow its agreement with staff.

“It is deeply embarrassing that TVNZ management need to have a court ordered process to force them to follow their own agreement with staff,” says Michael Wood, E tū Negotiation Specialist.

“In recent months, the company has alienated huge numbers of loyal viewers by axing important and popular current affairs show, done enormous damage to staff morale, and spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal and other costs as a result of a botched employment process.

“TVNZ is a Crown Entity with a statutory requirement to be a good employer, something that the judge commented on. TVNZ has not acted as a good employer and this will likely not be lost on the TVNZ Board and their Minister.

“It is time for TVNZ to seriously engage with their staff and unions to resolve this issue. From the outset, E tū members have been ready to sit down with the company and share their knowledge about how to build a sustainable future for TVNZ, rather than being dictated to.

“TVNZ faces major strategic challenges and with this significant legal loss on their table it is time for TVNZ to finally realise it needs to change course and come to the table with E tū members.

“This win for E tū members shows the value of workers belonging to a union so that they can have a voice during difficult times. We encourage everyone, in the media and beyond, to join their union.”

Posted on

Union members win ERA case: TVNZ breached collective agreement – E tū

Source: Etu Union

E tū members at TVNZ are celebrating a significant win, with the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) ruling that the company breached their collective agreement in its recent process to dis-establish prominent shows and make large numbers of staff redundant.

The determination agreed with E tū’s position that TVNZ did not comply with Clause 10 of the collective agreement, which requires a high level of staff involvement throughout change processes, an attempt to agree, and meaningful involvement in the development of proposals.

TVNZ members did not get that opportunity. The ERA has now directed that E tū and TVNZ will go to mediation to find a mutually agreeable outcome, and that failing this TVNZ will be directed to comply with the collective agreement. Redundancies will be paused until the matter is resolved.

E tū Negotiation Specialist, Michael Wood, says this is a huge win.

“We are really happy, but not surprised, that the Authority reached the same conclusion as us – that the process was a clear breach of the collective agreement,” Michael says.

“We negotiated for members to have meaningful input into change processes because the workers are the experts, and had TVNZ honoured the collective agreement from the beginning, we may well have reached a much more favourable option for everyone.

“Instead, we’ve had to endure this messy and incomplete consultation process, and the company has already steamed ahead with their plans to cancel our important news and current affairs shows.

“The determination demonstrates that TVNZ management seriously underestimated the extent to which they needed to engage with their employees to find a way forward in these difficult times for the company. They need to engage much more fully – and that requirement is for the benefit of viewers, and the public as a broad stakeholder, as well as for workers at TVNZ. Workers and stakeholders all deserve much better.

“We aren’t going to predetermine the outcome of our mediation, but we are hoping that TVNZ management will finally get the message that they can’t take their workers for granted in these processes.”

Posted on

Air Traffic Controller trainees now considered employees after Labour Inspectorate intervention

Source: Employment New Zealand

This follows an agreement between the Labour Inspectorate and Airways Corporation of New Zealand (Airways NZ) which means that Air Traffic Controller (ATC) trainees will in future be treated as employees for the practical second part of their training programme and paid accordingly.

Prior to the agreement, ATC trainees were not regarded as employees. During part 2 of their training, they were paid an allowance but not paid as employees. This will now change and the trainees will be paid as employees of Airways NZ during this part of their training.

The Labour Inspectorate became involved when they reviewed the recruitment process and training programme at Airways NZ.

Part 1 of Air Traffic Controller training takes place in Christchurch over about 8 months and is theory-based. Part 2 is on-the-job training at various air control towers throughout New Zealand and takes 9 months with the trainees working full-time hours.

The agreement also has implications for former ATC trainees. Airways NZ will now go back 6 years to calculate minimum wage, annual leave pay, public holiday and alternative holiday pay owed to participants, for part 2 of the ATC training.

Brendon Strieker, the Labour Inspectorate’s Regional Manager, Southern, said that when an inspector started investigating the relationship between the trainees and Airways NZ, they believed the relationship was one of employment, and that the trainees should be considered employees.

The Labour Inspectorate then applied to the Employment Court seeking a declaration that 2 trainees who were part of a group initially interviewed by a Labour Inspector, were in fact employees. They also applied to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) seeking minimum wage, annual leave pay, public holiday and alternative holiday arrears for the 2 trainees.

After the agreement between the Labour Inspectorate and Airways NZ, the Employment Court issued a consent Judgement stating that the 2 trainees were in fact employees during the second part of their training, while the ERA issued a determination by consent that the agreement between the parties was an order of the Authority.

“The agreement between the parties is welcome because it applies to all new trainees going forward. Also the employers have agreed to do the calculations for other participants in part 2 of the training going back 6 years,” said Mr Strieker.

Posted on

Motorcyclist dodges death at cattle crossing

Source: Worksafe New Zealand

A motorcyclist is lucky to be alive after getting caught in bungy ropes strung across a public road on the West Coast, in what a Judge has called “an extremely obvious hazard”.

The incident occurred in the Maruia Valley in March 2021, where sharemilkers had put the ropes across the 100kph road to relocate 800 cows.

A lack of signage meant the motorcyclist’s first warning of what was going on was when he saw the ropes. At that stage it was too late to be able to stop safely. When he struck the ropes it pulled tight, and he came off his bike, slid along the road and hit a fence post.

The victim was hospitalised with fractures to his right rib and a laceration of his right kidney.

“The injuries were incredibly serious and the rider is lucky to be alive. The businesses involved did not notify WorkSafe of the incident, and left the victim himself to do so weeks later,” says WorkSafe’s national investigations manager, Casey Broad.

The sharemilkers, Te Koru Wai Limited, were charged by WorkSafe for health and safety failures. So too was the farm owner, Dairy Holdings Limited. Both have now been sentenced.

WorkSafe’s investigation found the bungy ropes had been across the road for about three hours, and only two workers were present on the farm.

In sentencing, Judge Jane Farish concluded that “this was an extremely obvious hazard with a simple method of avoiding it” and that “the blocking of a public road should ring significant alarm bells”.

“In the direction the rider was travelling, there was no warning sign in place for the stock crossing. NZTA guidance requires farmers to install a temporary warning sign at an adequate distance ahead of the crossing, when more than 50 animals are being moved,” says Casey Broad.

“Stock crossings are commonplace in rural New Zealand, and the risks to motorists are well known. Having signage up and farm workers present while cattle are crossing is the safest way to go.”

“Working farms, like any other business, are responsible for ensuring work is safe. Our role is to influence businesses to meet these responsibilities and we hold them to account if they don’t,” says Casey Broad.

Read the code of practice for stock crossings | nzta.govt.nz [PDF, 576KB](external link)

Background 

  • Te Koru Wai Limited was sentenced at the Christchurch District Court
  • A fine of $220,000 was imposed, and reparation of $13,200 ordered
  • Te Koru Wai was charged under sections 36(2), 36(3)(c), 48(1) and 48(2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
    • Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of other persons, namely road users, was not put at risk from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking, namely the operation of the stock crossing on Maruia Saddle Road at Frog Flat Farm, Maruia Valley, West Coast New Zealand (Frog Flat Farm), did fail to comply with that duty in that road users were exposed to a risk of colliding into a rope placed across the road, and that failure exposed individuals to a risk of death or serious injury.
  • The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.
  • Dairy Holdings Limited was sentenced at the Christchurch District Court.
  • A fine of $211,700 was imposed, and reparation of $8,800 ordered
  • Dairy Holdings was charged under sections 36(2), 48(1) and 48(2)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
    • Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of other persons, namely road users, was not put at risk from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking, namely the operation of the stock crossing on Maruia Saddle Road at Frog Flat Farm, Maruia Valley, West Coast New Zealand (Frog Flat Farm), did fail to comply with that duty in that road users were exposed to a risk of colliding into a bungee placed across the road, and that failure exposed individuals to a risk of death or serious injury.
  • The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.

Media contact details

For more information you can contact our Media Team using our media request form. Alternatively:

Email: media@worksafe.govt.nz

Posted on

NZCTU slams Government cutting disabled workers wages as disgraceful

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The NZCTU is slamming a decision by the Government in Budget 2024 to cut a programme which ensured that disabled workers are paid the minimum wage.

“It is disgraceful that this Government is cutting the incomes of hundreds of workers with disabilities across Aotearoa New Zealand,” said NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff.

“The idea that any worker should be paid below the minimum wage, let alone as low as $2 per hour, is totally unacceptable.

“The Government was elected on a platform of supporting New Zealanders through the cost-of-living crisis, and yet with this change they are intentionally making life harder for disabled workers,” said Wagstaff.

“The previous Government’s decision to end the minimum wage exemption for disabled workers by paying employers a subsidy was a long-overdue decision,” said Nicole Wallace, convenor of Kaimahi Whaikaha, the NZCTUs disabled workers sector group.

“That policy was the result of decades of advocacy by workers with disabilities, the union movement, and disabled people’s organisations. Workers with disabilities deserve to work with dignity.  

“It is deeply disappointing that the new Government is reversing that policy and condemning many disabled workers to low wages.

“Workplace discrimination and lack of access to work are a significant contributor to high rates of poverty among people with disabilities. This decision will further increase poverty among disabled people,” said Wallace.