Healthy, Safe and Democratic...

I recently addressed the first meeting of the new University of Canterbury network of Health and Safety Representatives. Although required by statute, it has taken over two years of toing and froing with UC management to get to the point of convening this group.

All New Zealand workplaces must now have Health and Safety committees. These bodies determine Health and Safety policy and practice, and more than half of their members must be elected representatives of the employees. This requirement makes the Health and Safety committees the only democratic structure in many worksites.

Health and Safety reps are given special training; in Christchurch, this is provided by the Council of Trade Unions. Training is important as these reps have very significant powers, including the power to order a part of the premises closed until an inspector from Occupational Safety and Health can attend and check it.

With a high density of union membership at Canterbury, it is not surprising that most of these reps are AUS members. We see this as an important part of the university for AUS members to participate in. We also hope that, against a background of recent managerialist restructuring at Canterbury, this network will help to provide a structure within the university where more co-operative relationships can be developed between senior management and university staff.