Leading Health and Safety from the front

Nearly 100 business leaders from throughout New Zealand will this week make a commitment to work towards zero harm from workplace deaths and injuries in their businesses.

The Business Leaders’ Health and Safety Forum, to be launched by the Prime Minister in Auckland on 15 July, is a coalition of chief executives, managing directors and country managers committed to improving workplace health and safety. Members of the Forum will sign a pledge committing to take personal responsibility and committing their organisations to Zero Harm Workplaces.

Forum spokesman Bruce Emson, CEO of NZ Bus says up to a hundred people die every year in workplace accidents across New Zealand and about 6,000 are seriously injured.

“This is unacceptable. Workplace deaths and injuries cost the country $16bn a year. Clearly we want that figure to come down – to significantly reduce what is paid in terms of ACC, hospitalisation and lost productivity,” says Mr Emson. “More importantly, we want to see our people go home safe each night. There is a human and emotional cost to victims of workplace accidents and their families that just can’t be quantified.”

The Forum is unique - chief executives from across the country will work together to influence how health and safety is valued and delivered across New Zealand workplaces.

The Workplace Health and Safety Strategy has identified that safety leadership is an area in need of development. The Forum seeks to fill part of that gap in national health and safety – engaged leaders.

“That’s the true value of the Forum – we’ve got the opportunity to influence real change” says Emson. “This is about New Zealand’s CEOs taking the lead on safety to make a difference in the day-to-day operation of their businesses, to the attitudes of their people towards their own safety and towards the safety of their workmates.

“The Forum will work on a simple premise: bring together the leaders of significant businesses and government and focus that influence on the only acceptable goal - Zero Harm Workplaces.”