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Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson today announced funding of $300,000 for a range of health and safety initiatives to assist with the safe rebuild of Canterbury.

The funding is for the 2011/12 year and comes from the Employment Relations Education (ERE) Contestable Fund.

"The Government is committed to rebuilding Canterbury and ensuring that the transformation is achieved safely.  There has been and we will continue to see a large influx of contractors working in Canterbury,” Ms Wilkinson says.

More farmers are purchasing helmets and wearing them on their farms in response to the Government’s quad bike safety campaign, says Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson.

“The Department of Labour’s first monitoring results for the campaign, which began in November 2010, shows a 200 percent increase in the number of quad bike helmets being sold and a rise in farmers wearing them – this is a fantastic effort in just one year.

New regulations governing the commercial adventure tourism and outdoor education industries have been finalised and will take effect from November 1.

Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson says while the majority of organisations within the industries already have safety as a top priority, the regulations will ensure consistency across operators and strengthen our international reputation.

Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Phil Heatley and Minister of Labour, Kate Wilkinson have today announced the Ministerial Inquiry panel members and the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the inquiry into the operation of fishing vessels, including foreign charter vessels (FCV), in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters.

Phil Heatley says this will be a comprehensive inquiry.

"The TOR are deliberately broad in scope as in our view it is desirable to consider and address the breadth of issues that have been raised.

A new High Hazards Unit is to be established following reviews of the Department of Labour’s resources dedicated to the petroleum production and mining industries, Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson announced today.

The new unit will include three inspectors and a chief inspector for each industry, along with three further administrative and research support staff.

It will be funded through surpluses in the Health and Safety in Employment Memorandum Account at a cost of approximately $1.5 million in new funding annually.  

A Ministerial Inquiry will consider the operation of Foreign Charter Vessels (FCVs) in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters.

Initiated by Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister, Phil Heatley and Labour Minister, Kate Wilkinson, the inquiry will consider all key issues relevant to the use of FCVs.

Mr Heatley says while full terms of reference for the inquiry have yet to be established, it is important for both the Government and our fishing sector to affirm New Zealand’s international reputation as a world-leading fisheries manager.

Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson says a new safety policy developed and released by Federated Farmers is a welcome addition to ongoing work aimed at reducing accidents in the agriculture sector.

“Federated Farmers deserves to be congratulated for proactively providing its members with advice on meeting their workplace safety responsibilities.

“Farmers are responsible for what happens on their land and it’s important they take charge of protecting their families and workers from hazards,” Ms Wilkinson says.

A new Chief of the Employment Relations Authority has been appointed by Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson.

Alastair Dumbleton will lead the organisation through to May 2015.

“The ERA is a very valuable part of New Zealand’s employment relations system. Its members investigate and resolve employment relationship problems and Mr Dumbleton has vast experience in this area,” Ms Wilkinson says.

“Mr Dumbleton was the Authority’s inaugural Chief from October 2000 to December 2003.

Health and safety management is improving but New Zealand can do better to reduce death and injury rates at work, according to a new indicator report released today.

Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson says for the first time key health and safety statistics have been brought together in an annual State of Workplace Health and Safety in New Zealand report.

It tracks progress towards five key targets: fewer injuries and fatalities, less occupational disease, lower economic cost, improved industry and employee engagement and increased response to Government activity.

Paid parental leave payments will increase from 1 July 2011, putting extra money into the pockets of families with new babies.

Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson says the maximum parental leave payment will increase by $17 from $441.62 per week to $458.82 per week.

The minimum payment for self-employed parents will also increase from $127.50 per week to $130.00 per week.

"The arrival of a new baby is a major event for any family and any increase in financial support at this time is always helpful," Ms Wilkinson says.

Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson has today launched a new plan aimed at bringing down the high injury and fatality rates in the construction industry over the next three years.

“Construction is New Zealand’s sixth biggest industry and in the last five years 54 workers have died on construction sites in this country,” Ms Wilkinson says.

“Working with machinery, heavy materials and at height can be dangerous, but it is simply not good enough that some of these workers are exposed to unacceptable hazards.

An independent audit of the safety of New Zealand’s underground coal mines has found that while some improvements can be made there is no evidence that a dangerous situation is imminent at any of the four mines, says Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson.

The audit was ordered by Cabinet following the Pike River mine explosions which killed 29 miners in November last year.  Four mines were audited – Huntly East, Spring Creek, Roa and Burke’s Creek.

Today marks International Workers’ Memorial Day – a time for workers and employers to reflect on the importance of health and safety at work, says Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson.

Last year 77 people died at work in New Zealand. Of those, 29 were the Pike River miners.

“No one should be injured, let alone die from doing their job and it’s appropriate that today we reflect on those who have suffered because of their work,” Ms Wilkinson says.

Businesses and employees will enjoy greater certainty and flexibility at work with changes to the Holidays and Employment Relations acts due to take effect tomorrow, says Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson.

“The Government worked hard last year to produce a package of changes that will encourage employers to hire, reduce compliance costs and give employees greater choice with how they take their holidays,” Ms Wilkinson says.

Changes taking place tomorrow include:

Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson today announced the appointment of Diane Morcom as a new member of the Remuneration Authority.

The Authority is responsible for setting the rates of pay and allowances for MPs, Ministers, the Judiciary and local authority members.

Ms Morcom is taking the role left by the former Chair of the Authority, Michael Wintringham. John Errington, a member of the Authority, was appointed as Chair in November last year.

New safety guidelines have been released for farmers, their employees and contractors today outlining steps they can take to manage the hazards of quad bikes to avoid injury or death, Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson announced today.

On average 850 people are injured each year riding quad bikes on farms. Five die.

The Guidelines for the Safe Use of Quad Bikes on Farms support the Department of Labour’s Harm Reduction campaign, which aims to reduce the unacceptably high rate of farm accidents involving quad bikes. It is focused on four basic safety steps:

The Government has increased the minimum wage from $12.75 to $13, Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson announced today.

The training and new entrants’ minimum wages will increase from $10.20 to $10.40.

“This Government’s focus when reviewing the minimum wage over this term has centred on the need to protect jobs while ensuring a fair wage.

“Since being elected, we have raised the minimum wage by $1 – which equates to $40 a week,” Ms Wilkinson says.

Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson has welcomed new research showing trial periods had a positive impact on job numbers for small employers at a time of rising unemployment.

The analysis by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research looked at the impact of the trial period over the six month period following its introduction in March 2009.

“Unemployment peaked at 7.1 percent that year and considering the economic conditions small businesses were operating under, the indication that hiring was almost six percentage points higher than expected is extremely good.