Category: Employment Issues

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Marsden Fund changes will undermine prosperity and social cohesion

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The Government’s rewrite of the Marsden Fund’s investment plan and terms of reference demonstrates a complete lack of understanding and risks undermining the breadth of research that is essential for the wellbeing and prosperity of New Zealanders, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting President Rachel Mackintosh.

“Humanities and social science research, which has been defunded by the Government, provides fundamental insights into how our society and culture works and how we can overcome the key challenges we face, from climate change to housing to inequality,” said Mackintosh.

“The narrow focus on funding hard science research, on the basis that this will improve economic performance, shows how misinformed this Government is. Social science research provides critical insights in fields like public health, housing, education, and urban planning and infrastructure – which are all fundamental drivers of economic outcomes.

“Humanities research helps us uncover where we have come from as a society, the stories we tell ourselves, and our place in the wider world. It shows us how the many identities that make up this country can live together with empathy, understanding, and social cohesion – which are more crucial than ever in an increasingly divided world.

“This Government simply doesn’t understand what it is doing, nor how harmful its decisions will be for the future prosperity and social cohesion of Aotearoa New Zealand,” said Mackintosh.

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Government’s personal grievance changes will empower bad employers

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting President Rachel Mackintosh is saying that the Government’s proposal to further weight the scales in favour of employers in personal grievance cases will make workplace culture worse and harm efforts to create a fair playing field for workers.

“Making the personal grievance regime even tougher for workers will empower bad employers to think they can get away with mistreating their employees,” said Mackintosh.

“These changes exacerbate power imbalances between employers and workers and will encourage employers to not take workplace complaints and accusations of misconduct seriously.

“The personal grievance process is already a tough regime for workers and under the current law, many workers lose their cases, and many workers have their remedies reduced, sometimes by significant amounts.

“What the Government seems to be saying is that if a worker has been found to have contributed to the problem in any way, then they should not receive any financial remedy. They are trying to tie the courts hands and prevent them from establishing justice.

“This is the latest in a sustained series of attacks on workers rights from Christopher Luxon’s Government, who seem intent on making life harder for working people.

“The Prime Minister and his cabinet continue to demonstrate that they are governing only for employers and couldn’t care less about the people who get up every day and go to work to keep this country running,” said Mackintosh.

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NZCTU Rūnanga calling for submissions on proposed changes to NZ Post

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The CTU Rūnanga is asking affiliates to support postal workers and get out and make submissions against contracting out postal delivery, to stop job cuts and ensure fair pay and conditions for postal workers.

The Postal Workers Union is fighting NZ Post’s plans to replace postal workers with contracted couriers. The union believes that this move will lead to slower deliveries and poorer working conditions for the couriers, who are used as a “third-class workforce”.

The union has highlighted that the shift to contractors would mean there would be no posties employed by NZ Post after the planned job cuts. It contends that this violates the State-Owned Enterprises Act, which requires NZ Post to provide good and fair working conditions, instead leaving contractors to determine workers’ pay and conditions.

About the consultation

The Crown is seeking feedback on proposed changes to NZ Post’s minimum obligations under the Postal Deed of Understanding.

The Postal Deed of Understanding (the Deed) is an agreement between NZ Post and the Crown which sets out the minimum mail service obligations that NZ Post must meet to provide a nationwide postal service.

The Crown is seeking feedback on proposed changes to NZ Post’s service obligations, as part of the 2024 Review of the Deed. Their reasoning is to enable a financially sustainable mail service that continues to meet the communication needs of New Zealanders.

The review does not consider fair pay and conditions for their postal workers or the fact that, once rural outlets are closed, much needed postal services will decline for rural communities.

They are seeking feedback on five key proposed changes

  • Reducing minimum delivery frequency from:
    • Minimum 3 days per week in urban areas, to 2 days per week.
    • Minimum 5 days per week in rural areas, to 3 days per week.
  • Reducing the minimum number of postal outlets from 880 to 500. Considering a glide down to a minimum of 400 over time.
  • Providing for NZ Post to meets its requirement to extend its network in the form of delivering to cluster and community boxes for new addresses.
  • Allowing NZ Post to convert existing delivery points into communal points at a rate of up to 5% per year.
  • Instead of a 5-year period before the next Deed Review, suggesting the next Review be in 3 years.

How to make a submission:

Seeking feedback on moving towards a financially sustainable mail service | Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

Submission template: Recap of questions

Submissions must be in before 5pm December 10th

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Luxon surrenders worker protections to ACT Party

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

“The Government’s plan to remove unjustified dismissal protections from workers earning over $180,000 shows a concerning lack of leadership from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who has handed too many critical workplace decisions to ACT’s Brooke van Velden, the Minister for Workplace Relations who seems hell-bent on trampling on workers’ rights,” said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting President Rachel Mackintosh. “This move undermines basic employment rights and shifts the balance of power even further in favour of employers.”

“Personal grievances are an important remedy when a worker has been unlawfully mistreated,” said Mackintosh. “High-income earners are not immune to power imbalances in the workplace. Dismissing their right to fair treatment sends yet another clear signal that this Government values employers’ convenience over fairness at work.”
 
The proposed policy excludes senior executives and specialists from unjustified dismissal protections, unless they negotiate these terms individually—an unrealistic option when employers hold the upper hand in employment agreement negotiations.
 
“This isn’t about choice or flexibility; it’s about eroding trust and silencing workers,” said Mackintosh. “Luxon’s Government is setting a dangerous precedent, where protections for some can be stripped away under the guise of market efficiency.”
 
“The Government should reverse this decision and commit to fair workplace laws that protect all workers, regardless of income. Employment law must ensure dignity, respect, and a fair process for everyone. Anything less risks undermining the integrity of our workplaces.” Mackintosh said.

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High hazards newsletter – November 2024

Source: Worksafe New Zealand

Read our November 2024 high hazards update.

This edition of the WorkSafe high hazards newsletter covers:

  • Update from the Chief Inspector
  • International process safety week
  • Safety assessment gap found after incident
  • Recent electric shock incidents
  • Safety Critical Element failure learning – shutdown valve didn’t fully shut
  • New resource for warehouses
  • Hazardous substances professional specialist training modules
  • Incidents in the news 

Read the full newsletter(external link)

Subscribe to our high hazards newsletter(external link)

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RBNZ data highlights weak economy and labour market

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

“Unemployment is forecast to remain elevated until the end of 2025 and isn’t expected to fall back to its pre-recession lows within the forecast period. Without a plan to reduce it, we are choosing a permanently higher unemployment rate in New Zealand. It’s no wonder so many Kiwis are emigrating overseas,” said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney.

Today’s announcement by the Reserve Bank shows that the economy will remain weak going into 2025, and that unemployment will continue to climb, said Renney. “The forecasts show that employment is likely to remain below 2023 levels until December 2025 – while the labour force grows by 28,000 during that period. Over the past year economic growth was effectively zero.”

“Business investment won’t hit 2023 levels until 2027. Residential investment is still falling. Government spending falls and returns to its current level in 2026. There is no engine of economic growth except private spending, which is weak.”

“Many people will celebrate the fall in interest rates, and the hope that this will bring financial relief. But this data also shows that the labour market is in for the long-haul. Yet there is no plan to help towns like Tokoroa or Timaru deal with the closure of large employers. It’s time for a different track.” Renny said.

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Asbestos Awareness Week 2024: A chat with Garrett Davidson from The Floor Store Commercial

Source: Worksafe New Zealand

This Asbestos Awareness Week we sat down with Garrett Davidson, the Operations Manager at The Floor Store Commercial, to talk about how they tackle asbestos.

“We’re well aware of the dangers of asbestos and we don’t take any risks. If in doubt, we stop everything and get it tested. We’d much rather be safe than sorry. I’m lucky our Managing Director, Joe, is so supportive of health and safety. He’s made it really clear that the responsibility comes from the top down and we need to look after our men on the front lines.”

As Operations Manager, Garrett runs a tight ship when it comes to health and safety. It’s his job to make sure the safety and wellbeing of his team is the priority. The processes and policies around asbestos are laid out in their asbestos management plan and clearly communicated to the team on the ground.

“You have to have a clear, strict process when dealing with stuff as dangerous as this. Sometimes you get people saying you’re taking it too seriously but we’re talking about the health and safety of my team – of course I’m going to take it seriously.”

This Asbestos Awareness Week, we’re making it easier for you to take asbestos seriously. Check out our updated guidance on asbestos in your workplace and our asbestos management plan example and template:

Asbestos Awareness Week 2024 resources

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High-speed logging death adds to forestry toll

Source: Worksafe New Zealand

WorkSafe is again urging the forestry sector to reflect on what more it can do to improve safety, as the details of yet another worker death emerge from a court prosecution.

Jake Duncan was fatally struck when a log came loose and hurtled 325 metres down a hill at Tangoio, north of Napier, in June 2021. The 23-year-old was doing work known as breaking out, where felled logs are connected to a hauling machine for extraction.

The log had been put in place as a ‘plug’ which acted as a bridge for other logs to slide over, until it gave way with tragic consequences. This uncommon method is known as plugging and bridging.

The pre-harvest risk assessment only listed two hazards for the entire site, and did not properly consider the risks of the plugged log dislodging. The company should also have had better controls in place to minimise the risk of workers like Jake Duncan being struck.

These health and safety failures led to WorkSafe charging Mr Duncan’s employer, Logged on Logging 2020 Limited. In a reserved decision, the Napier District Court has ordered Logged on Logging to pay reparations. Another company, Forest Management (NZ) Limited, was sentenced in late 2023 for its health and safety failures unrelated to the death.

“Jake Duncan was a treasured father, partner, son, brother, and friend. The forestry industry owes it to whānau to ensure workers get home safely each day,” says WorkSafe’s area investigation manager Paul Budd.

Businesses must manage their risks and up to date, site-specific risk assessments are a must-have in forestry. Plugging and bridging is an unstable method, and logs should be cleared as soon as possible to avoid coming loose.

“Jake Duncan’s workmate only survived because he jumped in the opposite direction as the log came down the hill. The terror the two men must have endured as they saw the log coming towards them is unthinkable,” says Paul Budd.

WorkSafe’s new strategy zeroes in on forestry because its fatality rate is nearly 20 times higher than the average for all industries. Our priority plan for the sector notes workers hit or trapped by a moving object as a specific source of high harm. WorkSafe’s targeted frontline activities in forestry will be increasing as there are opportunities to significantly improve health and safety, reduce acute harm, and address inequities.

WorkSafe’s role is to influence businesses to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe, and where they don’t, we will take action.

Reserved decisions for Logged on Logging 2020 Limited
Reserved decision for Forest Management (NZ) Limited
WorkSafe’s guidance on safe retreat positions when breaking out

Background 

  • Logged on Logging 2020 Limited was sentenced in reserved decisions from the Napier District Court.
  • Reparations of $332,187 were ordered, but the company could not afford to pay a fine.
  • Logged on Logging 2020 Limited was charged under sections 36(1)(a), 48(1) and (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, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, including Jake William Duncan, while the workers were at work in the business or undertaking, did fail to comply with that duty, and the failure exposed the workers to the risk of serious injury or death.
  • The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.
  • Forest Management (NZ) Limited was sentenced in a reserved decision from the Napier District Court.
  • A fine of $50,400 was imposed.
  • Forest Management (NZ) Limited was charged under sections 36(1)(b) and 49(1) and (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, the health and safety of workers whose activities in carrying out work it influenced or directed, while the workers were carrying out the work, did fail to comply with that duty.
  • The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $500,000.

Media contact details

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

Email: media@worksafe.govt.nz

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Kinleith workers angry about proposal to cut 230 jobs – E tū

Source: Etu Union

Workers at OJI Fibre Solutions’ Kinleith mill in Tokoroa are hugely disappointed to learn today about a company proposal to end paper manufacturing, which would result in the loss of 230 jobs.

The workers, who are members of E tū, FIRST Union, and AWUNZ, were told about the proposal in a meeting this morning. Head delegate Ian Farall says the proposal demonstrates the failures of the company.

“I think it’s been a long time in the making, but the company has known it was going to get to this point, and have mismanaged the whole process,” Ian says.

“We’re all very disappointed by their inability to turn it around. They can’t control what the market does, but they could have been much better prepared for this point in the cycle.

“There have been many problems at the mill, they have not kept up with maintenance, and they have not made the right investments to secure a future for paper production.”

Ian says all members are feeling let down.

“There were a lot of angry people in the meeting this morning. People were speaking from the heart, about how disappointed they are. Union members had a near-unanimous vote of no-confidence in the management, to show how frustrated we are. Many chose to simply walk out.

“It’s not just the directly impacted workers who are angry. We’re in unity here, and we know the downstream effects will harm the whole community. It’s the truck drivers, the local cafes and other businesses – many people locally rely on the mill as the heartbeat of south Waikato.”

E tū Negotiation Specialist, Joe Gallagher, has been meeting with the members and management this morning. He calls on the company to do better by their workers.

“OJI have got themselves into this situation, and they can’t just hang the workers out to dry,” Joe says.

“We don’t believe the company has done everything they can to avoid this outcome. It’s a hell of a thing to tell people with Christmas just around the corner, and we need a longer period of consultation to really understand the potential alternatives to stopping paper production completely.”

Joe says the Government must also step up to support domestic manufacturing.

“The crisis in manufacturing is not simply about unstoppable global market forces. It’s the result of an ineffective energy market, a lack of planning for a Just Transition, and a Government asleep at the wheel.

“We will not become a high-skill, high-wage economy while our political leadership continues with such a hands-off approach to our industries. Kinleith is not the first plant to be in this position recently and it may not be the last.

“Now’s the time for both businesses and the Government to get real about the crisis before us and work to reverse it. That’s the leadership communities like Tokoroa deserve.”

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Pike River: 14 years on and far too many of us are being injured at work – E tū

Source: Etu Union

Statement by Mark Anderson, E tū Engineering, Infrastructure, and Extractives Industry Convenor

E tū acknowledges the anniversary of the 29 workers killed at Pike River. Today in Parliament the Minister of Workplace Relations, ACT MP Brooke van Velden, read out a statement commemorating the miners. While it is right that the House took time to recognise the hurt and pain caused by the explosion and its aftermath, the Government needs to do more honour the legacy of Pike River.  

The Minister’s actions on health and safety show the Minister has failed to understand the lessons of Pike River. Instead of boosting health and safety at work, her party and her Government are looking for ways to water down the protections it has delivered.

The Minister’s motion moved was:

That this House notes that today in 2010, 29 miners lost their lives while at work in the Pike River Mine: express its condolences to family and friends who will forever be profoundly impacted; and thank rescue and support teams for their service on that day and the days that followed.

If we want to honour the workers who died at Pike River, then let’s remember that WorkSafe and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 were an outcome of the Royal Commission of Enquiry. The true legacy of Pike River is that 14 years on we have managed to reduce serious injuries and deaths at work. But more is needed. The level of danger to workers is still far too high.

According to Stats NZ, last year a quarter of a million people were injured at work with 43,200 serious injuries or deaths. That is 120 serious injuries every day. There were 54 fatal work-related injuries. This is down from the 81 New Zealanders killed in 2022 but it is a fact that workers are still dying and that 43,200 serious injuries is still too many. One worker a week is dying at work in New Zealand.  

Pike River happened because the owners of the mine put potential profit before worker safety. They failed to be good managers. They blew up their business. They killed 29 miners and devastated the West Coast community.

The explosion in the mine was a brutal reminder that health and safety is not a barrier to business and economic progress. Better health and safety protects workers and it improves business productivity. We will have a better economy when we stop killing and injuring people at work.

The Health and Safety at Work Act is a good piece of legislation. It works because it requires everyone at work play a role in health and safety and it because ensures workers have a voice in how health and safety is practiced. Spending more on Worksafe and doing more to improve the Act and improve the guidelines, training and regulations that bring the Act to life must be a priority for every government. We owe it to the miners who died at Pike River to do more.