National Action Agenda 2010–2013
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Appendix 1: Priority Sectors THAT Make Significant Contributions to Fatal and Serious Injuries
The construction sector is New Zealand's sixth largest, with approximately 180,000 workers.[2] In the most recent injury statistics,[3] it had the third highest incidence rate of work-related injuries, with 149 claims per 1,000 FTEs.[4] The fatal accident rate was more than three times the average for all sectors and remains the largest contributor to worker fatalities of any sector (34%). The fragmented and mobile nature of the sector, together with skill shortages and high use of non-standard employment arrangements, presents significant challenges to both the sector and regulator.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors have around 150,000 workers,[5] representing about 7% of the workforce in New Zealand. Despite this, the sector was responsible for 15% of fatalities to workers in 2008. The incidence rate of work-related claims is highest in this sector, with 156 claims per 1,000 FTEs. The key causes of deaths have remained unchanged in the period 2002–2009, notably farm vehicles, being struck by falling trees, mobile plant, livestock handling, and slips, trips and falls on fishing vessels.
The manufacturing sector is New Zealand's second largest sector with around 257,000 workers,[6] and it lodged 39,600 work-related claims (17% of all claims) in 2008.[7] This was substantially higher than the number made by workers in any other industry, but the sector has the second highest incidence rate of work-related claims, with 150 claims per 1,000 FTEs.
Figure 1: Fatal injury rates to workers, averaged 2002-08, for those sectors with 100,000 or more FTEs
Source: Injury Statistics – Work-related Claims: 2009 Reported 31 March 2010 (ACC data).
Figure 2: Serious injury rates to workers, averaged 2002-08, for those sectors with 100,000 or more FTEs
Source: Injury Statistics – Work-related Claims: 2009 Reported 31 March 2010 (ACC data).
Key causes of fatal and serious injuries
The top three common causes, accounting for almost half of all the fatalities when averaged over the past 4 years (see Figure 3) are:
- being hit by a moving object (farm vehicles accounted for 23%)
- being hit by a falling object (tree felling represented 13%)
- falls from height (48% occurred in the construction sector).
Figure 3: Main types of fatal injury to workers, averaged 2006-2009
Source: Department of Labour fatality data.
Hazards such as slips, trips and falls from height cause 31% of all serious harm in New Zealand workplaces (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: Main type of serious harm injury, averaged 2006-2009
Source: Department of Labour serious harm data.
In the manufacturing sector, 39% of injuries are caused by machinery-related hazards.
Key causes of current work-related ill health
In 2004, the National Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Committee (NOHSAC)[8] reported the following findings by combining New Zealand and overseas data. Each year in New Zealand, there are:
- about 700-1,000 deaths from occupational disease, particularly cancer, respiratory disease and ischaemic heart disease
- about 100 deaths from occupational injury
- 17,000-20,000 new cases of work-related disease
- about 200,000 occupational accidents resulting in ACC claims, about half of which result in disability and about 6% in permanent disability.
Footnotes
[2] Statistics NZ Household Labour Force Survey: December 2010 Quarter.
[3] Injury and fatality data are from 2008, in the most recent Statistics NZ annual release of Injury Statistics – Work-related Claims: 2009 (released October 2010). The data are also indicative for other years.
[4] Full-time equivalents.
[5] Statistics NZ Household Labour Force Survey: December 2010 Quarter.
[6] Statistics NZ Household Labour Force Survey: December 2010 Quarter.
[7] Injury Statistics – Work-related Claims: 2009. Reported 31 March 2010 (ACC data).
[8] The list of sectors were limited to those with 100,000 or more because this provided those sectors that contribute the most to the New Zealand work toll.