Media Releases

Sexy Stats and Pertenant Points for Easy Reference

As of 30 June 1997:

GENERAL:

Workplace fatals investigated by OSH year ended June 30, 1997 Total is 41 as compared to 53 for 1990
Of those, 14 were farm fatals
Jan 1 1993 to June 30 1997 HSE prosecutions lodged by OSH Total = 1,427, Against employer = 1,153 and Against employees = 74
Of the HSE cases concluded (total = 1,262) 754 were convicted and fined 103 were dismissed and 342 withdrawn. Total fines = $3,018,645
1,122 of these were initiated following an accident
Poor skill was the causal factor in 37 % of accidents

FORESTRY:

Approximately 100 fatalities per 100,000 workers in the industry in 1997
9 out of the 1997 total fatalities of 41 were in forestry
Forestry made up 20% of fatalities investigated by OSH from July 92 to June 96
Forestry was the employer of approximately 8,700 Kiwis in 1997
1995-6 intervention activity in the agriculture and forestry sectors involved 2,449 compliance actions, 1,039 investigations of a total of 5,772 activities
If you are working in logging you are 70 times more likely to have a fatal accident than the average NZ worker
If you worked in logging for 40 years you have a 1 in 7 chance of dying in an accident
Felling trees and operating mobile plants causes 9 out of 10 fatal accidents
Deaths over the last five years:
1. felling fatalities - cut up and hung up trees 44%
2. mobile plant fatalities - thrown out and crushed by rollover, no seatbelt 47%
"If they [forestry workers] all worked in a single factory and a man were killed every six or seven weeks, it is doubtful whether the factory would continue to operate at such a fatality rate." Dr Tom Garland
Cost of forestry ACC claims (new and old) for 1996 - $13 million

FARMING:

1997 farming made up 14 of the 41 fatals of the year
It employed approximately 140,000 New Zealanders
Farming made up 33% of fatalities investigated by OSH from July 92 to June 96
For intervention activities see forestry
By far the majority of accidents on farms are on machinery e.g. ATVs, tractors. In 96-97 tractors accounted for six of the 14 accidents
Of farm fatals investigated in 1997, six were the farmers themselves, four were employees, two were contractors ( including one vet), one was a child under 18 years and one was a farm cadet

CONSTRUCTION:

Made up 10 of the 1997 total fatalities investigated (41)
110,000 workers in NZ employed in this industry
July 92 - June 96 construction made up 21% of investigated fatalities
1995-6 intervention activity in construction stood at 12,204, including 6,862 compliance actions and 2,123 investigations