WorkSafe New Zealand's initiative to recruit up to 60 new health and safety inspectors in 2025 is a positive step towards addressing our alarming rates of workplace harm, says the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA).
"New Zealand's workplace fatality rate is notably higher than that of comparable countries," says EMA Manager of Employment Relations and Safety, Paul Jarvie.
"The investment of an additional $2.7 million annually into growing the inspectorate will help to address this disparity,” he adds.
"We look forward to a new set of inspectors who will play a crucial role in fulfilling the responsibilities of a modern regulator.
"The addition of these inspectors brings New Zealand closer to meeting the International Labour Organisation’s recommended safety inspector-to-worker ratio, an area where we have lagged behind many of our international peers.
"We hope these new inspectors will focus on educating businesses and workers to better manage health and safety risks, rather than taking a prosecutorial approach.
"By fostering a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration, we can collectively enhance the quality of workplaces in New Zealand."
Mr Jarvie adds that changes to the Health and Safety at Work Act remove confusion over the respective roles of managers and directors.
“This confusion has resulted in duplication of responsibilities and over-compliance by some companies, which has cost them time and money without reducing critical risks,” he says.
"Managers are best placed to understand and oversee health and safety in their workplace. This lets directors and boards focus on their governance responsibilities of setting strategic frameworks, defining policies, and ensuring accountability.
"Governance is more about what needs to be done and why. Day-to-day management then becomes how to implement those directives.
"This change will assist in the maturing of health and safety management practices within businesses, and remove the culture of fear and costly overcompliance affecting many boards."
The Act ensures company directors are not absolved of all operational responsibility, as they must assure themselves through their due diligence duty that management is aware of their responsibilities and implement strategic plans.
