Worksafe NZ is targeting farmer safety practices says Jeanette Maxwell, and recent progress on safer working needs to continue

By Jeanette Maxwell*

There’s no denying farming isn’t the safest of occupations but if you only went off media reports, you’d be under the impression it’s safer to swim around Stewart Island trailing burley, than it is to walk through a farm gate. 

While we seem to be farming in glasshouses these days, there are some encouraging signs we are making good progress on farm safety.

Based on that barometer of workplace safety, our ACC levies, they are between 21 and 29 percent lower this season for farming ‘risk groups.’

They should go lower if we can keep a positive safety trend going. 

If we take the last Christmas/New Year period then it seems more than promising.

This period is when farmers are under pressure to get jobs done in the same way the Police use it as a measure for road safety. 

Over Christmas/New Year, the newly formed Workplace Safety NZ recorded one death over this period for agriculture and horticulture.

This compares to four deaths recorded over the same period in 2010/11.

In terms of annual occupational deaths on-farm, there’s no denying 2010 was a bad year.  Agriculture/horticulture recorded 19 occupational deaths in that year but since then the number has fallen.  There were 17 deaths in 2011, 14 in 2012 and 12 last year.  Every death is a tragedy but at least the trajectory is heading in the right direction.

Another barometer is what ACC records since they include a wider range of fatalities than Worksafe NZ.

ACC’s excellent online statistics tool tells me in 2008/9 they had 31 active new fatal claims but that had fallen to 19 in 2012/13. Again, it’s sad to see numbers like this but they also tell me that farmers are heeding the call to take workplace safety seriously.

Just to ensure this happens our farming ‘glasshouse’ has more than the media looking in at us.  We also have Worksafe NZ inspectors with the legal powers to covertly monitor what we are doing.  We’ve had a foretaste of this with its ongoing cycle helmet campaign.

My message for farmers is to be aware that we are in Worksafe NZ’s target group.

It is best to have polices and procedures in place, which ensures your farm business keeps one step ahead.  It is here where Federated Farmers can help out.  As a practical response to that 2010 spike in occupational deaths, we developed an Occupational Health and Safety Policy.  This provides practical information and advice in plain-English which helps farm employers meet their duties and responsibilities under the Health and Safety Act 1992. 

Some people have produced similar manuals costing many hundreds of dollars but if you are a member, ours only costs $70 (for non-members it is a wee bit more).  These days such a policy is a must and our one is completely farm specific.  It contains useful tools because evidence of compliance will help to ring fence your exposure should the worst happen.  That said, “evidence” means safety must become central to how your farm business operates.  Just having a policy will not pull the wool over Worksafe NZ’s eyes if you do not implement it.

The HSE Act takes a preventative approach, which means “it’s on us,” to proactively seek out, identify and anticipate possible hazards.  If you knowingly breach your obligations then the Courts have set a starting point of $50,000 according to our legal advisors. 

Having a proper plan like Federated Farmers Occupational Health and Safety Policy is a good place to start because the Worksafe NZ inspectors cometh.  Not taking workplace safety seriously is like entering winter with insufficient feed.  It is why I suggest either calling 0800 327 646 (0800 FARMING) to get our policy and/or speak to a health and safety consultant about implementing one on your farm.

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Jeanette Maxwell is Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre chairperson (and spokesperson on health and safety) and a version of this was first printed in the Ashburton Guardian.