BY JOAN SHIELDS
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand - A group of 11 train drivers (engineers) compiled a 39-page report detailing growing dangers on the South Island's main trunk rail line.

The report states that the level of risk is swelling alarmingly as trains become longer and more frequent. "The traveling public have a blind faith that rail is safe. If only they knew," it says.

The drivers explain it is not uncommon for workers to fall sleep after exceeding the unenforced 11-hour operating limit. They also detail how the lack of track maintenance has caused derailments. Describing the stress drivers are under, the report says human error caused by unrealistic rosters meant safety codes were often breached. Drivers then covered up their actions rather than face dismissal.

New Zealand Rail was "pushing staff to extremes" in a "complete and utter disregard for safety," the report says.

A recent Militant Labor Forum here took up the question of health and safety in the workplace. Maevis Watson, health and safety consultant for the Meat Workers Union, pointed out that "the workplace plays a large part in our overall health."

Changes in technology and work organization have created a new generation of health issues, she told the meeting. "Workers are working harder, faster, and for longer, under intense pressure. Often one person is doing two people's jobs," she said.

Legislation doesn't exist to protect workers from new industrial diseases caused by chemical poisoning, she noted. Watson described one factory where all 60 workers had been affected by the chemicals they worked with, and two workers suffered brain damage.

She also detailed the way changes to the accident compensation (ACC) legislation in 1992 acted against workers. Employers increasingly pressured workers not to declare or take time off for workplace injuries, she said. Seasonal and casual workers who were injured often found that ACC refused to compensate them.

In the last two years 86 people died on the job in New Zealand. In 1995, there have already been nine deaths in the construction industry alone. An adviser for the government department that administers the 1992 Health and Safety in Employment Act attributed these accidents to "changes in technology, building methods, and employee numbers."

The heaviest fine enacted against an employer for negligence leading to death was $11,5000. Under the 1992 act, 19 workers involved in accidents have also been prosecuted for not taking care of their own safety.

Joan Shields is a member of the Meat Workers Union in Christchurch.  
 
 
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