So, says Minister of Labour, Simon Bridges, who continues to insist that his updated Approved Code of Practice for Forest Operations (ACoP) has all the answers and if workers, employers and contractors just follow it, forestry will no longer be a dangerous industry.
Problem with that is that Simon developed the ACoP without asking the people who actually have to do the work and whose families continue to worry whenever their beloved husbands, sons, brothers and uncles go off to work.
It follows the previous ACoP which was signed off by the Hon Max Bradford (shudder) in 1999, and also developed without involvement with workers, unions or communities. Both are full of good advice about how to cut trees, safety gear, working with equipment and machinery etc. Both are voluntary, non-binding codes which state that :
“An approved code does not have the same legal force as a regulation, and failure to comply with a code of practice is not, of itself, an offence”
Both ignore the underlying issue in this industry of the impact of the deregulation of the labour market in the early 1990′s when work time and rest breaks requirements were gutted. The 2013 ACoP says :
Worker Health
Working hours shall be agreed (my emphasis) so as to provide all workers
- adequate opportunity to manage fatigue, including regular rest breaks , a meal break , a daily or nightly sleep period.
The 1999 ACoP says :
General Health :
Working hours shall be arranged so as to provide adequate opportunity for rest periods, which shall include:
- Short breaks during work hours, Sufficient breaks for meals, Daily or nightly rest.
So, in 1999 it was “arranged” and in 2013 it is “agreed”.
Neither are strong. Both ignore the reality that limits on working hours in this highly dangerous industry don’t exist.
You can’t tell me that long working hours, pressure to deliver on piece rates or low pay, working in bad weather on dangerous terrain, in the dark, with exhausted workers is safe.
But Simon Bridges prefers to ignore that. He says he has all the answers. The answer is his updated non-binding voluntary code of practice that he continues to flaunt in parliament – oh and to cut any requirement to have rest and meal breaks for all workers.
Open your ears Mr Bridges and agree to the growing calls for an independent inquiry into this industry before more workers die.
