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Source: Worksafe New Zealand
Our October work-related health update.
Source: Worksafe New Zealand
The need to protect workers, and to be clear about health and safety practices on work sites, are lessons from a botched demolition that severely injured a labour hire worker in Auckland two years ago.
The worker, Mosese Foketi, was employed to do waste removal. However, he was involved in demolishing a wall, which collapsed and trapped him under a large slab of clay blocks and mortar in September 2021.
Mr Foketi suffered multiple injuries – breaking his back in several places, along with his foot and shoulder. Last year Mr Foketi spoke publicly about the toll the incident had taken, and that he had been pressured to tell WorkSafe he wasn’t doing demolition work.
WorkSafe’s subsequent investigation found roles and responsibilities were not clearly defined or communicated on site, and risk management and supervision had fallen short.
Mac Group Limited, which oversaw the demolition, and its labour hire company JNP Construction Limited, were both charged by WorkSafe in September 2022 and sentenced today in the Auckland District Court.
“We’re pleased to get a resolution in this case for Mr Foketi, who hasn’t been able to work since the incident. He lives with ongoing pain from injuries that are absolutely not his fault – and we’re glad the court agrees,” says WorkSafe’s acting national manager of investigations, Paul West.
“Demolition is dangerous work. This case is a lesson for all businesses and organisations to have effective health and safety measures firmly in place to protect all workers from this kind of harm. It’s also a lesson for businesses and organisations to be honest and upfront with WorkSafe, because the truth will emerge if you are failing your workers on health and safety.
“While labour hire workers might feel there is a power imbalance in their employment arrangements, they are as entitled to the same health and safety protection as any other worker in Aotearoa. If you have concerns about the safety of your workplace, speak up if you feel able to do so. If not to your employer, then to a health and safety representative, someone you trust, or to WorkSafe directly,” says Paul West.
Source: Worksafe New Zealand
WorkSafe New Zealand Board Chair Jennifer Kerr has today announced the resignation of Chief Executive Phil Parkes.
“Phil has been a strong voice for the need to collectively prioritise health and safety,” says Ms Kerr.
“It has been clear to me in interactions I have had, particularly with system partners, that Phil’s commitment and passionate and articulate advocacy for health and safety is highly respected.”
“Phil has been with WorkSafe for almost nine years and believes the time is right for his next chapter, and for new leadership and thinking for the organisation. I thank him for his service.”
WorkSafe is currently implementing the recommendations of the Strategic Baseline Review. This requires us to streamline our activities and refocus on our core functions.
As part of this process, WorkSafe is consulting with staff on a change proposal. This proposal prioritises our front line and core roles and focuses non-personnel savings over role reductions. When the organisational change has been completed and the recommendations of the Review implemented, WorkSafe will be in a better position to build our investment case for sustainable funding.
Phil Parkes will continue as Chief Executive while the organisation works through the change process and plans to finish up with WorkSafe by the end of 2023.
“It’s been a privilege to have worked with such a dedicated team who are committed to reduce work-related harm across Aotearoa. I acknowledge all WorkSafe kaimahi, and our partners in the health and safety system for their commitment to making a difference.”
“Thanks to the organisations and workers who put people first, and the mahi of talented, dedicated people in WorkSafe, we’ve seen work related fatalities in Aotearoa reduce since 2013. But there is more to do. We all need to keep doing everything we can to improve health, safety and equitable outcomes across Aotearoa.”
For more on WorkSafe’s organisational change see: WorkSafe opens organisation change process
Notes:
Source: Worksafe New Zealand
WorkSafe New Zealand has today opened staff consultation on its organisation change proposal.
WorkSafe is committed to working towards a sustainable operating model. The change proposal aims to streamline our activities to focus on the core functions New Zealanders expect of their health and safety regulator.
Since WorkSafe’s inception, our baseline funding has been maintained and we have received additional ongoing funding for specific activities, as well as time-limited funding for short-term cost pressures like COVID-19 and the Whakaari litigation.
As part of ongoing funding discussions, in 2021, the former Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety commissioned the Strategic Baseline Review.
The Review found that while WorkSafe is performing its core regulatory functions, work was needed to achieve a sustainable funding model and clarity about the outcomes WorkSafe is delivering to New Zealanders.
WorkSafe agreed to the recommendations in the Review, and we have been working at pace to implement these recommendations, which are critical to enable us to develop a clear investment case for future funding.
The current proposal includes a number of roles being disestablished and new roles being established. While the proposal is subject to change, the overall roles within WorkSafe may reduce by 100-120.
We have recently been provided with additional ongoing funding to allow us to maintain victim services and coronial services through this change process. We have also been supported with additional cost pressure funding for the Whakaari litigation and new contingency funding, which we can draw on for unexpected events. This support means we don’t have to further reduce services, including at the frontline.
The proposed changes would still result in WorkSafe having more staff than we did prior to COVID-19. We have worked hard to prioritise non-personnel cost reductions over changes that directly impact our people, including by reducing current vacancies within WorkSafe.
There is no proposed impact to our frontline inspectors and investigators. It remains WorkSafe’s intention to grow inspector numbers over the coming years, with more inspectors planned for later this year. If a health and safety inspector is operating in a non-frontline role, and is impacted through the change, they will be offered redeployment to a frontline inspector role. This reflects our commitment to streamline our activities to our core functions.
As we move through the consultation process our priority is to communicate with our kaimahi first.
Notes on new funding:
Source: Worksafe New Zealand
A teenage worker needed three fingers partly amputated when his summer holiday job went horribly wrong in a workplace incident with a leading stone fruit producer in Central Otago.
Matthew Nevill, who was 19 at the time, was trying to fix a chain on a conveyor belt at Clyde Orchards in February 2021, when his hands were drawn into the machine. The victim had two fingers fractured on his left hand, and required surgery to partly amputate three fingers on his right hand.
In a reserved decision of the Alexandra District Court, Clyde Orchards (1990) Limited has now been sentenced for its health and safety failures related to the incident.
A WorkSafe investigation found poor safeguarding of the machinery and an inadequate risk assessment contributed to the victim’s injuries. There were also no lockouts to safely isolate and de-energise the parts of machinery that could cause harm to workers. The conveyor involved has now been decommissioned.
“The injuries in this case were significant and affected the independence of Mr Nevill, who was on his fifth consecutive summer working for Clyde Orchards. Although he was the unfortunate victim, it could have been anyone on staff given the risks that were present,” says WorkSafe’s area investigation manager, Steve Kelly.
“Seasonal workers are just as entitled to health and safety protection as those who work year-round in a business. The shortcomings in this case are simply not good enough, when we know seasonal workers are at greater risk of workplace harm.
“Seasonal work and tasks like harvest can put a huge amount of pressure on everyone involved, so managing the risks is essential. The lives, health and wellbeing of workers must be your number one priority. We will continue to hold manufacturers to account for failing in their health and safety responsibilities,” says Steve Kelly.
Read more about the safe use of machinery
Read more about WorkSafe prosecutions
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
Source: Worksafe New Zealand
The importance of vehicle maintenance and driver training have been laid bare at the court sentencing for a deadly bus crash half a decade ago at Mt Ruapehu.
11-year-old Hannah Francis was killed and several others seriously injured when the bus, owned and operated by Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Limited (RAL), crashed while descending the Ohakune Mountain Road on 28 July 2018.
The coroner found the bus brakes overheated and failed, alongside critical errors by the driver. WorkSafe’s later investigation then discovered RAL had improperly maintained its buses and had fallen well short on training and supervising its drivers. WorkSafe charged RAL for its health and safety failures. The company is now in liquidation, but pleaded guilty in April 2023, and has been sentenced in the Waitakere District Court.
“This preventable tragedy reflects a failure to acquire the best equipment for the job. RAL knew its buses were at the limit of their capability, and acknowledged drivers should have had far more in-depth training on the risk of brake failure,” says WorkSafe’s area investigation manager, Paul Budd.
“These oversights cost Hannah her life, and led to physical injuries and lasting trauma for many of the surviving passengers. Some also have an enduring fear of getting on public transport, which is completely understandable, and will not ski or snowboard anymore.
“Any business with a vehicle fleet would do well to re-evaluate its suitability and maintenance in light of this tragedy. It’s also worth a close look at driver skills and training, especially in response to emergencies,” says Paul Budd.
Since 2020 WorkSafe and NZ Police have met monthly to review all heavy vehicle incidents where fatalities have eventuated, to ensure clarity over which agency will undertake investigations and to ensure those investigations are thorough and robust. WorkSafe is confident that this closer collaboration with Police achieves better outcomes for victims and investigations.
Today is the final step in a legal process that has lasted over five years for our two families. Hannah would now be 16 years old, and these five years have not lessened the pain of losing her, especially in the way that we did.
The hole that Hannah has left is huge. She has missed out living her life, meeting her milestones and embracing her dreams. She should be giggling, studying for her future, dreaming and living. Yet she isn’t.
Although today brings a close to the legal processes it does not bring an end to our loss. We continue to do our best to live our lives to the fullest as she would have wanted, as she did in the short time she was with us. We love you Hannah Teresa Francis. You are with us always and will never be forgotten by so many people who loved and adored you.
Throughout this journey we have had the support of a number of professionals that have done their very best to get some resolution for Hannah. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their tireless efforts to make changes that hopefully mean no more innocent children die.
We would also like to acknowledge the other people on the bus that day. This accident has also had a significant impact on their lives and should not be overlooked.
Ministers and agencies should do right by Hannah’s legacy and mandate seat belts in buses. We ask how many children have to be hurt before something is done?
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
Source: Worksafe New Zealand
The health and safety of customers must be a priority for businesses, WorkSafe New Zealand says, in light of a horrific sand boarding incident which killed a tourist on a family holiday in the Far North.
Jin Chang Oh was boarding the giant sand dunes at Te Paki when he slid into the path of a moving bus in February 2019. The South Korean national had been on a tour run by Sand Safaris 2014 Limited. His death was witnessed by his wife, son, daughter in law, and granddaughter.
A WorkSafe investigation found the company ineffectively identified and controlled the hazards and risks of sandboarding; it had not ensured riders were kept safe from vehicles and did not have an effective traffic management system in place.
Judge Philip Rzepecky agreed, saying “a clearly identifiable hazard” was overlooked and Mr Oh was “not to blame at all for what happened to him”. After a trial late last year the company was found guilty of health and safety failures, and has now been sentenced.
“The facts of this sad case speak for themselves. Allowing high-speed leisure activities to take place in such close proximity to moving vehicles without tightly managing the risks is asking for trouble,” says WorkSafe’s area investigation manager, Danielle Henry.
“Sand Safaris should have learned from an incident at the same location three years earlier, where a person sandboarding with another company was run over and seriously injured.
“Operators not only have a responsibility for their workers, but also their customers, and must not lose sight of that. While we want thrill-seekers to enjoy themselves, it’s critical that risks are not overlooked and businesses do what they can to keep people safe,” says Danielle Henry.
Read more about WorkSafe prosecutions
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
Source: Worksafe New Zealand
A Northland dive operator has committed more than quarter of a million dollars to putting things right after school children were put in danger of drowning on one of its trips.
Dive! Tutukaka Limited facilitated the kayaking and snorkeling trip for Tauraroa Area School in the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve in December 2020.
WorkSafe New Zealand investigated after two children became stuck in a sea cave when their shared kayak capsized in rough swells. One got her feet trapped in a crevice and was submerged each time a wave entered the cave. Her rescuer then got stranded on a ledge with the other young kayaker until a rescue helicopter could arrive two hours later. Both children were left emotionally traumatised by the experience.
In response to the incident, Dive! Tutukaka has entered into a legally binding safety pledge, known as an enforceable undertaking, which WorkSafe has accepted. The commitment includes:
“The investment Dive! Tutukaka will make exceeds what even the courts may have ordered in penalties. This demonstrates a substantial commitment to health and safety, with benefits circled back to the community, workers, and the industry,” says WorkSafe’s acting Head of Specialist Interventions, Catalijne Pille.
WorkSafe will regularly monitor progress on the conditions which have been agreed and can resume prosecution if the commitment is not upheld.
“In light of this incident at the Poor Knights Islands, and the recent fatality at Abbey Caves, this commitment is a timely boost for the outdoor education system. Students should be able to participate in activities safely, and parents must have confidence their rangatahi will be kept safe,” says Catalijne Pille.
Tauraroa Area School’s Board of Trustees was sentenced in December 2022 in the Whangārei District Court for its health and safety failures.
Read more about the Dive! Tutukaka enforceable undertaking
Read about the sentencing of Tauraroa Area School
Find out more about enforceable undertakings
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
Source: Worksafe New Zealand
WorkSafe New Zealand is urging workplace pranksters to keep health and safety top of mind, following an explosion that badly burned five workers in central Auckland.
In August last year, a barbeque gas bottle was mistakenly left running overnight in a shipping container on a Wynyard Quarter construction site. The next morning workers from subcontractor Vuksich and Borich opened the container to start work for the day. They could smell gas, and one of the workers joked about igniting his lighter. When he did, the gas caught fire and exploded.
WorkSafe’s investigation established this was a workplace prank gone wrong. All five workers, including the man himself, were burned. He deeply regrets his actions and has participated in restorative justice with the other victims.
“Being safe at work is a responsibility shared by both the employer and the employee and no one should be harmed because of a prank or joke gone wrong,” says WorkSafe’s area investigation manager Paul Budd.
“Our message is not about banning barbeques or restricting workplace socialising, but about keeping health and safety in mind whether you’re on the clock or taking a break together.
WorkSafe’s Energy Safety team says the incident is a reminder of the risks that exist with gas and the consequences that can follow. Energy Safety is the regulator for ensuring the safe supply and use of electricity and gas anywhere energy is used in Aotearoa, including workplaces.
“If you smell gas anywhere, take it seriously,” says Energy Safety’s technical officer, Paul Stannard.
“In some of the most significant gas-related events that have come to the attention of Energy Safety in the last few years, people have smelled gas but may not have recognised it as a warning sign.”
Be careful, don’t use flames or mobile phones, don’t turn on electrical appliances, leave the area and call the gas supplier or 111.
“WorkSafe took enforcement measures in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, after identifying issues related to gas bottle storage and worker training which Vuksich and Borich complied with. To further strengthen its safety management system, the company has since introduced a barbeque permit procedure and prohibits storage of gas cylinders or gas bottles inside shipping containers,” says Paul Budd.
“In relation to the incident itself we won’t carry out further enforcement, because prosecuting an individual or organisation is not in the public interest in this instance.
WorkSafe acknowledges Vuksich and Borich for the ongoing support it provided to the injured workers, as well as their cooperation throughout the investigation.
Read more about responding to gas leaks (www.worksafe.govt.nz/gas-leaks)
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