Leaders pledge to help keep contractors safe at work

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EMBARGOED TILL 8am, Thursday, March 5

Media Release

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Leaders pledge to help keep contractors safe at work

A group of prominent business leaders has today made a public commitment to take the lead on keeping their contractors safe and healthy at work.

The commitment was signed by 24 members of the independent Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum, who together engage up to 52,000 contractors.

“By signing this commitment, these chief executives and managing directors are acknowledging that they have a personal role to play in keeping their contractors safe and healthy at work,” says Don Stock, an independent director with a background in the construction industry who chairs the Forum’s contractor health and safety advisory group.

Their promise is part of the Forum’s Contractor Initiative which aims to harness the influence of leaders to improve health and safety in contracting chains.

“The approach recognises that contractors have become an integral part of the modern workplace and have as much right to be safe at work as the staff companies employ directly,” Don says.

“The way business is done now means it is not enough to focus just on health and safety in our own organisation. If we are going to have safe and healthy workplaces right across New Zealand we need to extend our activities into our contracting chains.”

Don points out that most Kiwi businesses now rely heavily on contractors, and that many of these contractors are the small to medium sized enterprises that work in our highest risk industries.

Although a reform bill currently before Parliament seeks to address the safety of contractors, Don says the business leaders are not waiting for a law change to take action. “Taking this sort of leadership to foster workplace health and safety is good for business, but it is also simply the right thing to do.”

The signing ceremony is part of a Forum workshop on contractor health and safety in Auckland where the leaders will be joined by health and safety professionals to design a work plan for action.

Editor’s note: The Health and Safety Reform Bill is due to be reported back to the House from the transport and industrial relations select committee at the end of March. It proposes a duty of care for workplace health and safety on those running a business, irrespective of workers’ employment status.

The Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum inspires and supports its members to become better leaders on health and safety. The Forum has more than 200 members, who are chief executives and managing directors of significant New Zealand companies or companies working in high risk industries.

For more information and a list of members see: www.zeroharm.org.nz

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