scholarly journals Beyond accident: A model for the compensation of work-related harm in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dawn Duncan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Work Stress ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Legislative Reforms ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Coverage Problems

<p>This thesis examines the compensation of work-related injuries and illnesses under the Accident Compensation Act 2001 (ACA). It proposes a set of legislative reforms to enable fairer and more equitable access to compensation for workers and improvements to work health and safety. This thesis approaches the development of a model for reform as an endeavour within labour law (rather than welfare or insurance law) and adopts a labour law theoretical framework for analysis.  This thesis argues that the current coverage problems are a product of the scheme’s unique political history, and starts by outlining the historical origins of the scheme and the political compromises, theoretical tensions, and ideological shifts that have led to the current ACA. It also examines the challenges posed by changes in the nature of work, the workforce, and the ways workers are engaged to perform work. This thesis focusses on the cover of chronic work-related health problems, and, in particular, the complex relationships of causation in work-stress related depression, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal conditions. While particular attention is paid to the complexities associated with work-stress-related illness the model proposed is intended to improve the cover of, and data collection on, all work-related health problems in New Zealand.  This thesis proposes a new Act to replace the ACA, with a new structure, new purpose section and definitions, new cover test, and the creation of a new work-health review panel. The reform proposal is intended to achieve fairer coverage of work-related health problems, and contribute to improvements in work health and safety in New Zealand, ensuring compensation, treatment and rehabilitation is available to the increasing numbers of workers affected, and making those conditions more visible within the workplace injury and illness statistics.</p>

scholarly journals Beyond accident: A model for the compensation of work-related harm in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dawn Duncan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Work Stress ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Legislative Reforms ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Coverage Problems

<p>This thesis examines the compensation of work-related injuries and illnesses under the Accident Compensation Act 2001 (ACA). It proposes a set of legislative reforms to enable fairer and more equitable access to compensation for workers and improvements to work health and safety. This thesis approaches the development of a model for reform as an endeavour within labour law (rather than welfare or insurance law) and adopts a labour law theoretical framework for analysis.  This thesis argues that the current coverage problems are a product of the scheme’s unique political history, and starts by outlining the historical origins of the scheme and the political compromises, theoretical tensions, and ideological shifts that have led to the current ACA. It also examines the challenges posed by changes in the nature of work, the workforce, and the ways workers are engaged to perform work. This thesis focusses on the cover of chronic work-related health problems, and, in particular, the complex relationships of causation in work-stress related depression, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal conditions. While particular attention is paid to the complexities associated with work-stress-related illness the model proposed is intended to improve the cover of, and data collection on, all work-related health problems in New Zealand.  This thesis proposes a new Act to replace the ACA, with a new structure, new purpose section and definitions, new cover test, and the creation of a new work-health review panel. The reform proposal is intended to achieve fairer coverage of work-related health problems, and contribute to improvements in work health and safety in New Zealand, ensuring compensation, treatment and rehabilitation is available to the increasing numbers of workers affected, and making those conditions more visible within the workplace injury and illness statistics.</p>

The Impact of Organisational, Social Environmental and Job Content Stressors on the Work Related Strains of Probation Officers

2001 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare O'donnell ◽  
Christine Stephens
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Workplace Stress ◽  
Probation Officers ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Work Stressors ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Job Content ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

In recent years workplace stress has been seen as an important occupational health and safety problem and probation officers in New Zealand have been identified as suffering from increasing perceptions of stress. Accordingly, the present study was undertaken with a sample of 50 New Zealand Probation Officers in three offices to examine the relationship of individual, organisational and work stressors with work related strains. It was predicted that work stressors would be positively related to strains and that individual differences (e.g., age or gender) would have a moderating effect on the relationship between stressors and strains. The results showed that stressors caused by organisational problems, such as role boundary and overload, were related to strains, more strongly than job content problems, such as difficult clients. Secondly, age may have a curvilinear relationship to strains. Thirdly, the office, or place of work, moderates the stressor strain relationship.

scholarly journals Working hours organization impact mechanism upon work-related accidents on microeconomic level

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-40
Author(s):  
M. Titopoulou ◽  
E. Titopoulos ◽  
J. Staykova
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Statistical Processing ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Working Time ◽  
Occupational Accidents ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Impact Mechanism ◽  
Work Related

Work organizations rapidly change, triggering the need for a dynamic approach regarding the occupational health and safety and accident prevention. The objective of this research is to examine the influence of the factor 'organisation of the working time' upon the occupational accidents in enterprises as well as to suggest a model of an impact mechanism of working time organization on the occurrence and prevention of accidents/near accidents, using a representative Bulgarian sample. The research is based on a survey conducted in 2016 among 410 employees (52.9% women; 47.1% men) from all economic sectors. Statistical processing and analysis are performed by SPSS/PSPP and statistical modeling by EViews/Gretl. Results show that approximately every fifth employee works longer than the standard weekly occupation of 40 hours; 17.1% of all suffered work-related accident(s); 36.2% work overtime and 41.1% recognize the presence of work-related health problems (most common are total fatigue, back pain, stress and headache). Among those respondents claiming to have work-related health problems, accidents at work occur most frequently when working over 40 h/week. The suggested 3-stage impact mechanism of the working time organization on the occurrence and prevention of occupational accidents allows us to track the chain effects of existing practices in enterprises with regard to working time organization, employees' well-being and the occurrence of work accidents. Prevention strategies should consider changes in scheduling practices, job redesign, and health protection programmes.

scholarly journals 50 years on from the Woodhouse Report

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Duncan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Accident Compensation ◽  
Working People ◽  
Worker Health And Safety ◽  
Work Health ◽  
Cover Inequalities ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Work And Health

It has been 50 years since the Woodhouse Report was published, resulting in the creation of the first ACC scheme for New Zealand. Work and the working environment have changed a great deal in this time, as have scientific understandings of the relationship between work and health. The Accident Compensation Act 2001, as it stands, is struggling to provide fair and equitable compensation to New Zealand workers, with significant gaps in cover, inequalities in the treatment of different occupations and a detrimental flow-on effect for worker health and safety. This article outlines some of the key areas of legal reform required to ensure that the ACC scheme can meet the needs of New Zealand working people in the future and help improve work health and safety.

scholarly journals Knowledge on occupational health hazard and safety practices among the municipal solid waste handler

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-72
Author(s):  
Sujan B Marahatta ◽  
D Katuwl ◽  
S Adhikari ◽  
K Rijal
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Health Hazard ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Safety Practices ◽  
Work Related

Background: All over the world nearly 860,000 people are injured every day and 2.3 million deaths occur annually due to occupational accidents and work-related diseases.There are limited studies that specifically determine the knowledge of waste handlers on occupational health problems and associated factors of occupational health problems and injuries in waste handlersin context of Nepal. Therefore, this studyaimed to assess the knowledge of waste handlers on occupational health and safety practices and its association with utilization of PPEs along with the condition of occupational health problems and injuries and factors associated with them among the waste handlers of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among selected 355 solid waste collectors by using semi-structured questionnaire and observation checklist, which was completed from March 2016 to May 2016. The data was entered into SPSS 20 version for analysis and a chi-square test was performed to see the presence of the association between the dependent and selected independent variables.Results: Among total respondents (355) surveyed 51.5% had got knowledge on occupational health hazard, 16.1 %  had got the knowledge to prevent from work-related health risks, 29% had got knowledge about PPEs and  31.5% had got knowledge about PPEs utilization. About 45.8% of the study participants had practices of the utilization of PPEs. Majority of the respondents i.e. 63.7% reported that they were suffering from occupational health problems. The evidence of the occupational health injuries was found to be low i.e. 25.4%. Similarly, variables which had significant influence on the occupational health problems were knowledge on occupational health hazard (p=0.016), work experience (p=0.021), health checkup (p=0.042) and for the occupational health injuries were monthly income(p=0.036), knowledge to prevent from health risk (p=0.001), gender (p=0.02), and knowledge of occupational health hazard (p=0.011), work experience (p= 0.025), work type (p=0.001), knowledge on PPEs ( p=0.034) and knowledge on work-related health risks (p= 0.027).Conclusion: Based on this study, its recommended to improve occupational health and safety practices. Awareness programs need to be focused to increase the knowledge on Occupational health hazards and safety practices to improve the utilization of PPEs..Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health SciencesVol. 3, No. 1, 2017, page: 56-72

Recommendations for implementation of the topic musculoskeletal disorders in the occupational health and safety postgraduate programmes at European Universities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Bellosta-López ◽  
Priscila de Brito Silva ◽  
Palle S. Jensen ◽  
Morten S. Hoegh ◽  
Thorvaldur S. Palsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders ◽  
The Impact

Historically, the role of professionals specialized in occupational health and safety (OHS) has emerged from the need to protect employers working in major risk industries such as nuclear plants and large-scale chemical industries in Europe. More recently, a few studies highlighted that the range of activities linked to safety management responsibilities includes monitor and prepare reports, inspection and auditing, regulatory compliance, emergency response, incident investigation, hazard and risk assessment, and training. Additionally, there are some supplementary non-safety related duties, such as including environmental responsibility. Considering that work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD) are a major burden worldwide, adding up to 1.3 billion cases, more than 100 million years loss of disability-adjusted life years and that such disorders are common causes of disability and sick leave, this topic is highly relevant to OHS professionals. In EU Member States for which data are available, a large majority of all workers report complaints related to musculoskeletal disorders as their most serious work-related health problems. The percentage of workers reporting such complaints as their most serious health problem ranges from 40 % in Luxembourg to 70 % in Czech Republic and Finland. Furthermore, more than half of workers with musculoskeletal disorders reported taking time off work in a 12-month period. In the EU, 26 % of workers with musculoskeletal long-lasting disorders, that is lasting over 3 months, combined with other health problems report more than 8 days of absence per year. Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have a key role in disseminating and increasing accessibility to the most up-to-date evidence available regarding the impact and management of musculoskeletal disorders, to facilitate translation of knowledge to implementation in practice. This way, the Knowledge Alliance Prevent4Work for Preventing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders has elaborated this document with the most recent and relevant knowledge within the topic. HEI that offer courses within OHS as well as graduation and post-graduation courses for health professionals that work within the area, may benefit from the recommendations presented here.

scholarly journals Health and Safety of Aircrew: A Critique of the National and International Debates

1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Boyd ◽  
Felicity Lamm
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Airline Industry ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Occupational Health And Safety ◽  
Aviation Safety ◽  
Civil Aviation ◽  
Safety Practices ◽  
Legislative Reforms ◽  
Regulatory Reforms

There are a number of current debates about the enforcement of occupational health and safety of aircrew and about their levels of injury and illness. The impetuses for these debates are the regulatory reforms of occupational health and safety taking place in both New Zealand and overseas. This paper aims to provide an informed response to this discourse on the health and safety of aircrew by drawing on a number of sources. The paper presents a critique of the legislation governing the health and safety of aircrew and of the industry's response to possible legislative reforms. The paper also analyses civil aviation safety practices both nationally and internationally, and will argue that civil aviation authorities are not necessarily the best agencies to enforce and promote occupational health and safety in the airline industry.

scholarly journals Invisible Consequences: The Health Hazards of "Women's Work" in New Zealand

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 341
Author(s):  
Dawn Duncan
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Women's Work ◽  
Health Hazards ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Women’S Work ◽  
Accident Compensation ◽  
Work Health ◽  
The Law

Gordon Anderson has written extensively on the changes in New Zealand's labour laws that have occurred since the late 1960s, and the consequences of these changes for workers. This period saw the narrowing and individualising of work health and safety, the separation of health and safety from other areas of employment relations and the workers' compensation functions of the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) scheme. This article explores one of the largely invisible consequences of these shifts, arguing that gaps have emerged between these areas of law, and these gaps fall disproportionately over the types of work that women typically perform. This article outlines the current gaps in the law and identifies the areas in need of reform.

scholarly journals Containing the Spirits: Lessons learned from the Management of Australasian Herbarium Wet Collections.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e26200
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Collins ◽  
Frank Zich ◽  
Jo Palmer ◽  
Gill Brown ◽  
Karina Knight ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Worker Safety ◽  
Hazardous Substance ◽  
Climate Control ◽  
National Herbarium ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Work Health

Several herbaria in Australia and New Zealand have recently been required to implement changes to the way in which spirit (alcohol or wet) specimens are managed in their institutions in order to deal with various curatorial and staff health and safety challenges. We will present an overview of some of the key lessons learned from addressing issues such as mould, FAA (formalin-acetic acid and alcohol solution), inadequate housing and storage of our spirit specimens whilst also ensuring that best-practice curation standards are implemented along with appropriate work health and safety practices to protect staff. For example, the National Herbarium of New South Wales spirit collection was stored until 2017 in metal filing cabinets and open wooden shelving. Due to unstable air-conditioning resulting in high humidity and condensation, mould had formed on all of the bottles and on all wooden surfaces. The external surface of each bottle was cleaned with prior to removal from the dedicated spirit collection room, the wooden shelving was replaced with open metal shelving, and room cleaned and resealed prior to return of the collection. Monitoring of the environment and condition of the collection continues, and future actions include replacing the specimen vials, many of which have failing lids. The Western Australian Herbarium recently renovated its spirit storage area from specimens stored in boxes on fixed open shelving to individual bottles filed in metal drawers. Health and safety concerns for staff handling heavy boxes, often up ladders, combined with the inflexible and inefficient use of space on fixed shelving are now solved. Plenty of space is available for specimen expansion, and the ease of access to each specimen makes the collection simple to maintain. The next step for the collection is to protect it better by implementing climate control. FAA was used as a fixative and preservative for plant fruit, flowers and other parts pre-1992 at the Australian National Herbarium in Canberra and the Australian Tropical Herbarium in Cairns. In response to changes in the Hazardous Substance classification for Formaldehyde a program was developed that focused on worker safety during replacement of the solution in approximately 15,000 bottles by minimising exposure and managing the manual handling risks of the work, whilst also ensuring best-practice curatorial outcomes for the specimens. This is a presentation on behalf of the Managers of Australasian Herbarium Collections (MAHC), a network of herbarium Collection Managers in Australia and New Zealand.

scholarly journals Exploring factors contributing to young workers’ vulnerability to work-related harm

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-63
Author(s):  
Manfred Manglicmot ◽  
Olivia Cotton ◽  
Sonia Chen ◽  
Joanne Crawford
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Young Workers ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Current Time ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Related Harm

New Zealand has experienced significant increases in youth employment rates in the last 20 years with 40 per cent of people employed part-time. This age group has been associated with the second-highest rate of injury claims.  At the current time, there is limited information on why young workers in New Zealand are more vulnerable to work-related harm.  This project aimed to explore this with a convenience sample of young workers using an online survey.  Participants represented a diverse ethnic population but the sample was predominately female.  In total, 32.7 per cent of respondents had received no occupational health and safety (OHS) training when starting work. Fifty-seven per cent of the sample thought that OHS was valued by their employer.  Interestingly, 63 per cent of the sample said they would be confident about speaking up about an OHS issue with most being willing to speak to their manager.  In relation to stress, the analysis identified that there was an association between feeling stressed and being unable to follow OHS protocols (p=0.05).  While this was a small exploratory study, suggestions made to improve OHS include clear and open communication between workers and employers, improved access to OHS resources and continuous and in-depth training.

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