Media Releases
Queensgate retailers get it together for workers
29 May 2006
Most retailers at Lower Hutt’s Westfield Queensgate plaza – asked by the Department of Labour to improve workers’ facilities – have come to the party.
The Department had acted on complaints that many stores had nowhere for workers to eat their lunch, and that staff had no easy access to seating or drinking water during the day.
Under the Health and Safety in Employment (HSE) Act and its regulations, all workers are entitled to reasonable standards of comfort while on the job. Workers are entitled to a separate meal area, fresh cool drinking water and facilities for resting. First aid provisions and fire extinguishers are also required.
Many Queensgate stores were missing all or some basic facilities, but health and safety service manager for Hutt-Wairarapa Kerry Gordon said staff facilities had “vastly” improved since the Department got involved.
The Department wrote to all 132 plaza retailers in February, asking them to bring staff facilities up to scratch by May. Health and safety inspectors had now visited all the stores, and were pleased at the level of improvements, Mr Gordon said.
“We provided retailers with information about standards of basic facilities, and most employers have run with it and either implemented or improved facilities to a reasonable level.
“We are pleased that most employers realise providing somewhere for workers to sit down and boil the jug, away from customers, a couple of times a day is going to result in happy, productive employees.”
Mr Gordon said most stores had fulfilled their obligations, while a small number would receive follow-up recommendations for issues such as the provision of fire extinguishers and seating. A couple of stores had been referred to the Department’s employment relations service, while about 20 outlets would from this week face follow-up action in the form of either a negotiated agreement or improvement notices, depending on their level of cooperation.
“We have seen facilities ranging from comfortable couches for staff in private areas, to workers having access to nothing but a thermos in a cubby-hole. One of the stores we need to follow-up is the one that initially sparked the investigation.”
Mr Gordon said health and safety inspectors worked closely with plaza management, and had resolved a number of outstanding issues, such as workers being able to eat their lunch in the food court or rest in the ‘relaxation zones’.
“Security staff had been stopping workers from using these public facilities during their breaks, but since we’ve raised it with plaza management, workers are now free to these facilities.”
Plaza management was now including details about basic staff provisions as part of info packs to new leaseholders, Mr Gordon said.
“We’ve experienced good buy-in from retailers and plaza management and very little negative reaction to what we’re trying to achieve for workers.”
He said the possibility of having a communal area for all plaza workers to have meals and relax in was the subject of further discussion with plaza management.
“We’re encouraging retailers to continue to work with the plaza management to provide some shared facilities. That would be the ideal outcome for everyone concerned.”
Background
Improvement notices are issued to employers or employees when there has been a failure to comply with the HSE Act. The breach must be rectified.
To the journalist: please note that health and safety services formerly referred to as Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) should now be referred to as the Department of Labour.