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What should the current and future priorities for workplace health and safety in New Zealand be?
Action area: Leadership
- Take a whole-of-government approach, giving a higher profile to health and safety. Others felt that there was a need to foster better engagement (at both sector/organisation levels) with the Workplace Health and Safety Strategy. This involves building a shared vision of safety and communicating that getting hurt at work is not OK.
- Government agencies also need to lead by example in their own health and safety practices.
- A number of attendees made suggestions around the role of the Department of Labour (the Department). These included suggestions to:
- stop restructuring the Department
- resource the Department properly to carry out its full range of functions - to advise, assist and visit workplaces
- increase the visibility of inspectors in workplaces
- make the Department a “knowledge portal” and upgrade the website
- engage better with businesses
- put more funding and expertise into the Department’s call centre
- Other attendees felt there should be ongoing focus on building safety culture in workplaces and driving safety culture through out New Zealand.
- Many felt there is an on-going need to target high risk groups e.g. high risk industries.
- There needs to be a focus on small and medium businesses – providing more education. Some suggestions included providing basic kick-start resources e.g. hazard builder, and providing mentoring from larger businesses.
- Encourage a wider community focus for health and safety – not just in workplaces.
Action area: Capability
- Many attendees stressed the need to continue to train health and safety representatives. Better training is also needed for managers and supervisors. Many advocated the maintenance of funding for health and safety training. More ideas are needed to provide more affordable training and funding.
- Focus on young/new workers – start health and safety training early in schools.
- We need to acknowledge good practice, where it exists and make better provision for sharing of what works – within and between sectors.
- Health and safety practitioners within the community are a valuable source of knowledge and practice. More use could be made of this resource. One suggestion was to develop a list of industry experts.
- More work needs to be done to incentivise businesses to improve. More NZ-based tools relevant to all workplaces and incentive-based systems need to be developed. One suggestion was a no-claims refund of 50% of ACC levies.
- Many felt there needed to be more support for professionalising the health and safety sector.
Action Area: Knowledge
- A fundamental priority needs to be around reducing the cost of ACC claims by reducing injury rates in NZ.
- There needs to be a better link between research and practice – the research base needs to be visible in the outcome. This needs to be supported by good data collection – particularly health-related data.
- Many felt there needed to be more focus on occupational health issues e.g. protection against chemical substances. Others felt there needs to be more education around hazards (as well as controls).
- Health and safety information needs to be made more accessible find (especially the Department), including how to access training and making it clearer where to get resources.
- Some felt there should be a focus on issues around the impact of drug and alcohol use in workplaces.
Action area: Health and Safety Infrastructure
- There needs to be better alignment of safety legislation, audits and investigations. Agencies need to be better aligned.
- Many attendees suggested a speedier review of the Approved Codes of Practice. Others called for improved ACOPS and guidelines in the area of occupational health.
- We need to encourage a culture of looking at health and safety practice through the supply chain.
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