THE MARITIME union of New Zealand, the Rail and Maritime Transport Union and the New Zealand Merchant Service Guild have joined together to demand national stevedoring standards to deal with what they called a health and safety crisis in New Zealand ports.
The call follows the death of 26-year-old Atiroa Tuaiti, an employee of private stevedoring company Wallace Investments, on Tuesday at Ports of Auckland after a fall aboard a container ship he was working on.
The three unions jointly wrote to the minister of workplace relations and safety this week following the fatal accident.
Rail and Maritime Transport Union general secretary Wayne Butson said the industry was devastated to see the loss of another young life in the workplace.
He said circumstances surrounding the death are being investigated through the appropriate mechanisms.
“Another death in the Ports of Auckland after the last few years is a severe blow and a further sign that something is badly wrong in the port industry,” he said.
Mr Buston noted the employer in this case was not the Ports of Auckland.
“However, the recent health and safety inquiry into POAL revealed important information that is now being used to improve health and safety culture, and all port companies have a responsibility as a PCBU for all workers in their port.”
Mr Butson said there have also been several deaths and serious injuries in stevedoring in other ports in New Zealand.
“This is a systemic issue in the stevedoring industry and not confined to one port or employer.”
He said the unions are calling for robust and enforceable national standards in health and safety in the ports industry.
Mr Butson said an investigation into the factors that have caused so many deaths and injuries in the stevedoring industry must take place involving industry, government and union.
“We would expect issues such as hours of work, shift patterns, productivity pressures, training, fatigue, equipment, processes and PCBU responsibilities to be looked at,” he said.
“From this process, we would expect an outcome of national standards for stevedoring operations in port health and safety to be developed and introduced in an urgent timeframe.”
Mr Butson said it is clear that unless there is immediate action, it is only a matter of time before another worker’s life is taken, with the devastating implications this can have on families and communities.
