In Depth back to UNI In Depth home page 11/30/2000 NEW ZEALAND: Safety reps may get the right to stop the job 28 NOVEMBER 2000 By GRAEME PETERS Employees may be given the right to shut down production and refuse to work under a shake-up of workplace safety rules. The review of the Health and Safety in Employment Act has suggested that staff elected as health and safety representatives be able to close down what they consider to be unsafe work processes. According to a draft discussion paper leaked to The Evening Post, the review is also considering lifting fines for employers, introducing spot fines, and Occupational Safety and Health losing its monopoly on safety-related prosecution. But arguably the most controversial change is the facility for workforce participation in enforcing safety in the workplace. It has raised the ire of employers, who say it would give workers too much power. Employers' Federation policy manager John Pask said that giving staff the right to down tools would be "utterly dangerous". Employers had a lot of resources invested in production and so already had an incentive to run a safe workplace, without the threat of employees shutting them down. "It harks back to industrial revolution behaviour rather than being practical," he said. Workers might abuse their new power in wage negotiations, holding out the threat of closing down a crucial part of production to lever better pay and conditions. Mr Pask said that Occupational Safety and Health, which is preparing the discussion document in consultation with interest groups, was assuming that all employers were bad. He also questioned the ability of small workplaces to elect and train a safety representative. Ninety-three per cent of New Zealand employers had fewer than 10 staff. "The idea of having a structured process of health and safety representatives in most workplaces is quite bizarre." However, the Council of Trade Unions says that the vast majority of workers would not abuse their power. Spokesman Erik Greenslade said that those enforcing the rules would be trained to resolve safety problems. "We don't think people should be working in unsafe conditions. It is not good for production or management. If there is an unsafe practice going on, something should be done about it." The paper says that elected workers worried about unsafe practices could, as a first step, issue Provisional Improvement Notices (PIN) to their employer. Employers must treat the notices as they would one issued by an OSH inspector. If the hazard is sufficiently bad or is not fixed, they could issue a prohibition notice which stops works. Labour Minister Margaret Wilson is expected to release the discussion paper before Christmas or early next year. The paper is also expected to raise the prospect of Crown agencies losing their immunity from prosecution, a result of the Department of Conservation escaping court action for possible breaches of the Health and Safety in Employment Act or the Building Act over the Cave Creek tragedy. More Information Workers Lives On The Line In Health And Safety Debate ______________________ Union Network International http://www.union-network.org - contact@union-network.org