Puataunofo Manukau Pilot Project
Previous Section | Table of Contents | Next Section
Injury Statistics - Work Related Claims: 2006
Workers in the manufacturing industry lodged 43,600 work related claims (19% of all claims). This was substantially higher than the number made by workers in any other industry. The construction and the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry lodged the second and third highest number of work related claims.
Serious Injury Claims
Industry
The highest number of injuries resulting in entitlement claims occurred in the manufacturing industry which had 7,600 (25%) such claims. The construction industry had the second highest number followed by the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry.
Occupation
By occupation group, plant and machine operators and assemblers lodged the most entitlement claims. The second and third highest numbers were made by trades workers (16%) and agriculture and fishery workers (15%).
Ethnicity
Maori had the highest incidence rate with 27 entitlement claims per 1000 FTEs. Pacific peoples were next at (19 per 1000 FTEs) followed by Europeans (15 per FTEs).
Fatal Injury Claims
For the year 2006, 81 claims were lodged for work-related fatalities.
Industry
The Construction industry had the highest number of fatal injury claims, with 23 claims (28%). This was followed by the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry which had 19 claims.
Occupation
By occupation group, 21 of those who died were agriculture and fisheries workers and 17 were plant and machine operators and assemblers. The remaining 43 fatal injury claims were distributed across a range of occupations.
| Date | Age | Brief Details |
|---|---|---|
| June 2003 | 33 | Victim was shifting goods onto a top shelf; shelf underneath gave way' victim fell 1.5M onto concrete floor |
| September 2003 | 58 | Shackle on crane gave way and fell on victim |
| October 2003 | 41 | Victim driving excavator. High via jacket caught controls, slewing machine and crushing victim |
| July 2005 | 40 | Steel manufacturing factory - victim crushed by rollers |
| January 2006 | 26 | Victim working on mobile platform. Head crushed between fixed pipe and mobile platform; probably accidentally bumped controls |
| January 2006 | 15 | Victim lost control of tractor on slight downhill gradient; crushed by tractor |
| May 2006 | 71 | Victim was erecting framing for a shade house, securing a cross beam. The beam fell, victim jumped backwards off ladder, fractured spine. Died four days later. |
Some Case Studies
Given the lack of quantitative data available for Pacific injuries in workplaces the Department of Labour Health and Safety Inspectors in South Auckland were asked to compile case studies involving Pacific workers. Important lessons and issues were raised by the cases reported in the media and from court cases.
Loss of Hearing
Department of Labour responded to two incidents at a company manufacturing air-conditioning systems. Pacific workers make up 90% of this company with the majority of them being Samoan. A hearing test was conducted for each worker and the results showed 60% of workers were deaf or suffering loss of hearing. After many years of working at the company the consequences of not wearing ear muffs to protect their ears has contributed to loss of hearing for these Pacific workers.
Maintenance of Machinery
A fatality at a large company in the white-ware industry involved a Pacific worker who crawled underneath a heavy task mould machine. The load fell down and crushed him to death. Whether it was fatigue or perhaps a literacy issue is still being investigated, however the machine had not been updated with a safety mechanism to automatically shut it off.
Record Fine
An Auckland concrete manufacturing company was fined $225,000 in the Papakura District Court in what the Department of Labour says is a record fine imposed in a health and safety case.
Judge John Cadenhead fined Fletcher Concrete and Infrastructure Ltd, trading as Stresscrete, $225,000 over a death and injury to two workers in March 2005: 46-year-old concrete worker Esera Visesio (Tongan/Samoan) was killed and crane operator Finauga Sau (Samoan) was injured as a result of the incident.
Judge Cadenhead handed down a written decision on 26 March 2007, confirming that Fletcher Concrete and Infrastructure Ltd knew the crane that killed Mr Visesio was faulty, as it was missing an integral safety mechanism for the safe use of lifting loads.
Trends in Work Related Claims
Industry
The manufacturing industry accounted for the highest number of claims between 2002 and 2005.
Occupation
Between 2002 and 2005, plant and machine operators and assemblers made the highest number of work related claims. The number of claims accounted for by this occupation group rose steadily from 39,700 claims in 2002 to 45,100 in 2005.
Ethnicity
The annual number of claims made by Pacific peoples rose from 10,900 to 12,900 in 2006. In 2002, Pacific people were the third highest group for workplace injury claim rates at 9,533. 2005 has seen this group move to 2nd highest group for workplace injury claims, up to 12,700. See Appendix 15B.