Stop Playing Politics With Workers Lives

Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson has called on politicians and employers to stop the politicking of 2002 and make the new health and safety law work."The political process is over and it is time to make the new Health and Safety in Employment Act work," Ross Wilson said today.

After the Act was passed at the end of last year politicians and Business NZ continued to criticise it.

"Their comments completely ignored the fact that similar laws have been used in many other Western democracies with far better results than we have had in New Zealand," Ross Wilson said.

"We must put an end to politicking and send a consistent message, from political, business and union leaders alike, that the present appalling death toll is not good enough and that urgent action must be taken by employers and employees to clean up unsafe workplaces," he said.

"The record workplace death toll of 73 for the last year should be clear evidence to all that we need this new legal framework".

Ross Wilson said he was calling on politicians and employer spokespeople to stop the cheap shots and work together with us to make workplaces safer.

"Political debate was justified during the Parliamentary process but it is time to move on and co-operate and make the new law work," he said.