Revelations that cigarette sales are falling faster than ever, with vaping a major factor, is again raising concerns that the Government’s move to restrict vaping flavours and potentially cap nicotine levels in vaping products will only slow such success The End Smoking NZ charity has analysed tobacco company returns published by the Ministry of Health, showing 2,132 million cigarettes were sold last year in New Zealand – 410 million fewer than just two years ago. Continue →

Logging company Mike Harris Earthmoving Limited was fined $100,000 at the Rotorua District Court after a worker suffered burns from an electric shock that left them without full use of their right hand Any business conducting work near live powerlines must consider the risk they pose as part of its safety planning, says WorkSafe. Continue →

Cuts prevention is a crucial topic about which every worker should be knowledgeable. Continue →

Overcoming organizational barriers to change requires 1) observation to identify your organization’s safety culture, and 2) action to improve it. Continue →

Affco New Zealand Limited were fined $230,000 and ordered to pay $65,000 for failing to keep a worker safe at its Moerewa plant Failures at a meat processing plant led to a worker suffering severe burns to almost his entire body, says WorkSafe. Continue →

Industrial safety supplies are crucial when it comes to ensuring safe work conditions for workers and giving them the proper tools also increases confidence and a sense of security Slice The Bureau of Labor Statistics from the U.S. Continue →

A New Zealand partnership forged under lockdown aims to change people’s reliance on alcohol and traditional chemical based sanitation products, in a market estimated to grow by around 30 percent globally by 2023 Disinfectant and sanitation company, AWS, has signed an agreement with specialist healthcare company Pharmaco after forging a partnership over video calls in lockdown. Continue →

Tiny needle-like fibres that can become airborne if bedrock is disturbed has the potential to cause an asbestos-type disease, scientists warn The fibres come from a mineral called erionite which originates in silica-rich volcanic rock commonly found in many parts of the world and especially throughout the Auckland region. Continue →

Two parties were fined a total of $63,000 after twice disregarding WorkSafe notices about unsafe work from a height, and putting workers at risk of serious harm The Judge also imposed a Project Order under section 155 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, which require both parties to prepare and present at least three safety seminars and produce an article outlining the incident and the lessons learned from it for publication in an industry magazine. Continue →

COVID-19 has changed where some of us work, which can come with new challenges around employment law, health and safety, as well as costs, privacy and data security issues Changes to employment agreements Employers should consider whether they need to update the employment agreement to reflect the variations made to working arrangements. Continue →