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CTU Pursues Forestry Prosecutions

Filed under: General — Downunder @ 12:41 pm Thu 12th June 2014

If it had not been for the outcry from families losing loved ones, significant union pressure, and good media coverage, we would still be burying forestry workers, unaware of the growing callous disregard for human life within the industry.

In two earlier posts New Zealand Forestry Industry out of control (Dec 2013) and more recently New Zealand Forestry and Market Madness we outlined the human cost of a mismanaged industry sector, recording 10 fatalities in 2013, and the impact market investment strategies have had on the management of human resources within the industry.

At the same time, this is an industry that ignored its responsibilities to forestry workers and acceptable standards of safety – an industry that lost its capacity for self-regulation, requiring serious intervention to bring a halt to further unnecessary loss of life.

The intervention in its immediate requirements has been successful; there has not been a fatality for 5 months and there is an independent investigation looking for ongoing solutions to the overall rate of injury, which remains a concern.

Why did it take so long to react?

There is a detailed article here death stalks the forest outlining the working environment in which these accidents were taking place, and it remains a good question, why?

One of the leading proponents in the call for change has been Helen Kelly, president of the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) who more recently has questioned the threshold of prosecutions for accidents.

The CTU has looked specifically at fatality cases in 2013, where forestry companies have not been prosecuted for the death of a worker. The CTU has been successful in an application to launch a prosecution in the case of Eramiha Pairama (19) who was struck by a falling tree in an accident near Whakatane in January of that year.

A recently established Workers Memorial Fund has been launched to assist families to take legal action.

Pairama’s case will in essence be a test case determining whether our safety watchdog could have brought about change sooner had it been more vigilant in its approach to worker safety and the level of prosecutions.

This, and other such cases the CTU may bring to court, will become a valuable insight into how these New Zealand men where allowed to be treated so badly in a ‘civilised’ country with ‘modern working conditions’.

3 Comments »

  1. A disappointing response from the forestry contractors association; live interview recorded on national radio.

    The science of forestry safety is based on the number of near misses, not the number of fatalities.

    This is about emotive families and unions looking for more members.

    No, it’s not. This is about keeping workers alive, well and skilled and keeping an industry thriving and prosperous, without taking undue risks that unnecessarily kill forestry workers.

    Comment by Downunder — Thu 12th June 2014 @ 1:55 pm

  2. The Council of Trade Unions has been quick to respond with a statement:

    “FICAs (Forestry Industry Contractors Association) public meltdown is unfortunate and disappointing. We are very concerned that this type of behaviour may mean that workers do not feel able to come forward and voice their concerns about the realities of unsafe practices within the forestry industry.” CTU President Helen Kelly said.

    As was pointed out in New Zealand Forestry and Market Madness:

    That is not an industry cleaning up its act. That is not an industry showing a change in attitude toward worker safety. That is not an industry meeting acceptable levels of business management and respect for human resources.

    This is where WorkSafe and the forestry industry must face off. If WorkSafe is to bring us back to acceptable standards of forestry management, it won’t be without a serious confrontation with this industry – there’s going to be costs and some are not going to like that.

    Comment by Downunder — Thu 12th June 2014 @ 2:22 pm

  3. Forestry firm pays $120,000 for injury accident:

    A forestry company has been ordered to pay $120,000 after one of its workers was hit by a log weighing more than a tonne.

    He suffered fractures to his arm and leg which required multiple surgeries and left him unable to work.

    HarvestPro New Zealand Limited was found guilty at the Gisborne District Court under the Health and Safety in Employment Act of failing to take all practicable steps to protect the safety of Henare.

    It was fined $80,000 and ordered to pay reparations of $40,000.

    Comment by Downunder — Fri 13th June 2014 @ 4:02 pm

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