Headline: How many more forestry workers need to die Mr Bridges?
CTU renews demands for immediate interim regulation in forestry after reports that a 20 year old man was struck by a falling tree and killed this morning in a forestry block near Levin.
Helen Kelly, CTU President says “how many more have to die before the Government starts taking this seriously enough to act and properly regulate to keep our forestry workers safe at work?”
“The industry has failed to act and the Government has relied on its inadequate ACOPs for too long. This industry needs immediate interim regulation of its employment and safety practices to put a stop to the carnage.”
“Today’s fatality makes ten deaths in our forests this year alone. That’s ten families who are dealing with the loss of a loved one and communities who are sharing that hurt.”
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Wow where to begin with the lack of any responsibility in this article. What a toothless union based article.
As a union your safe work practice and training policies should be in place regardless of government attitudes, and i assume they are, although looking at available websites this does not seem to be the case.
If labour hire companies such as hays can already place mandatory requirements for this work, why cant’ you?
When i looked at training courses offered or recommended by you, all on offer was a course in how to be more unionised.
There isn’t even a an easy safe work practice link available. All there is, is handy school subjects to get this job.
Where are your own standards of training? like construction cards, chainsaw licenses, plant operations etc.
Why as a union will you not state that your workers will not work alongside or for anyone that doesn’t commit to the education, implementation and practice of a safe working environment?
Why aren’t workers randomly drug tested regularly?
You as a union have the power to set your own standards but instead you just blame the government. The usual kiwi it’s the governments fault response, where again is the personal responsibility?
I for one would never work alongside anyone who was extremely hung over or stoned over using power tools. This whole my rights outside of work are no bodies business is abhorrent to safe work practice and lacking any respect for the safety of any individual. If you want to do a technical job, do the required training courses and safety programs, stay drug free and sober during the working week. Because for goodness sake it’s not about you it’s about everyone else. So union what did the above article do about making your workers safer?
Nothing, not even a policy draft in response to these tragedies.
Whose really looking after who here. These workers pay you to do just this so do your job like your’e asking the government to do.
“I for one would never work alongside anyone who was extremely hung over or stoned over using power tools.”
Then, Jonny, in the real world, ‘you for one’ would probably quickly find yourself sacked for refusing a foreman’s ‘lawful instruction’ – unless you had the organised support of your fellow workers, i.e. your union. Your attempt to blame the lack of ‘personal responsibility’ of the workers and their union for unsafe conditions in the forest is contemptible.
http://convincingreasons.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/all-black-fatuousness-and-death-in-the-forests/
On further consideration, I can see that my first response to Jonny was emotional and unhelpful, especially the use of the word ‘contemptible.’ If I had the opportunity to re-write it, I would substitute for that the word ‘misguided.’
I agree with Jonny insofar as job safety has to be primarily the responsibility of the workers themselves, and the CTU statement makes a mistake in proposing government regulation of the industry as the primary solution.
However, in order for workers to be able to take responsibility for safety, they need union – otherwise safety-conscious workers who refuse to work in unsafe conditions will simply be victimised by bosses who invariably put profits ahead of safety.
It is in blaming the workers union for the situation that I believe Jonny is misguided.
There’s no right and wrong here, it’s just fucking sad. No one wants to work alongside an incompetent in any industry as it will affect their performance. It’s just fucking sad there is such a huge disconnect between those who make the laws, those who provide the ‘education’ to implement those laws (all on a big pay) and those who actually do the work and get stuff done.
Ten deaths is preposterous. One death is outrageous.
Ten forestry deaths, the Pike River disaster, pitiful, sad and sad.
Unions fought hard for basic rights (like being alive). They may be a slow machine but all the more reason to keep oiling their wheels.
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