Labour Leader Chris Hipkins has committed to reversing the National-led Government’s health and safety changes and making corporate manslaughter a crime, announcing the policy at E tū’s election campaign launch last night.
E tū is proud to welcome the commitment, along with Labour’s pledges to restore pay equity, bring back Fair Pay Agreements, and extend the Living Wage.
The Government’s Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill recently passed its third reading. It rolls back many of the protections brought in after the Pike River Mine disaster, which killed 29 workers in 2010. The changes exempt businesses with fewer than 20 workers from managing risks that aren’t considered “critical”, and let companies meet their legal duties by following codes of practice developed by industry.
There is currently no corporate manslaughter offence in New Zealand law. A new offence would mean companies could face criminal charges when their failures cost a worker’s life.
Mark Anderson is a gold miner from Waihi and the Convenor of the E tū Engineering, Infrastructure, and Extractives Industry Council. He says the announcement is welcome news for anyone working in a dangerous job.
“The health and safety changes are appalling,” Mark says. “They take power away from workers and hand it straight to the bosses. That’s a recipe for unsafe workplaces and, sooner or later, disaster.
“We’ve been calling for corporate manslaughter laws since we lost 29 men at Pike River. If a company cuts corners and someone dies, that company should pay the price. Right now, they don’t.
“In mining, you know how fast things can go wrong. Every one of us wants to get home to our families at the end of the shift.
“We need a Government that backs workers. That means voting for change this election.”
E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh says the commitments give working people a real alternative.
“It was a privilege to have the Leader of the Opposition come to our campaign launch and make such firm commitments to working people,” Rachel says.
“For three years this Government has come after workers. They scrapped Fair Pay Agreements, shut down pay equity claims, and now they’ve torn up health and safety protections that were built on the lessons of Pike River.
“Labour has shown there’s a better way. Restoring pay equity and Fair Pay Agreements, and extending the Living Wage, would make a real difference for people doing tough jobs on low pay.
“A corporate manslaughter law is long overdue. When a company’s negligence kills someone, a fine that gets written off as the cost of doing business isn’t justice.
“This November, working people have a real choice. We can stick with a Government that lets companies gamble with our lives, or vote for one that will make them answer for it.”