4. Review of New Zealand occupational health and safety practice, programmes and
4.5 Strategic issues for New Zealand OHS practice, programmes and interventions in relation to small
On review of the literature and key themes from the stakeholder interviews, there are several issues that have strategic implications for efforts to improve OHS practices in small businesses in New Zealand. Key underlying issues include the following:
• The lack of reliable OHS data. We still have no idea of the extent of the injuries, illnesses and fatalities within the New Zealand small business sector. There is no coherent data collection strategy for this sector, nor is there any compulsion to standardise the data and apply the ANZISC definition of ‘a small business’ to government statistics. Lumping different industries together (for example agriculture, forestry and fishing), some of which have the highest occupational fatality rates in New Zealand and include a large proportion of small businesses, makes industry analysis problematic.
• Lack of rigorous evidence ipso facto a lack of transparency. Compared to other countries, there is a dearth of publicly available government information, such as research reports, evaluations or discussion documents, on the topic. While some government agencies have endeavoured to make available information on a range of OHS topics, other agencies have released few reports. Therefore, it is difficult to ascertain the rationale for developing an OHS programme or intervention or its efficacy. Moreover, the paucity of OHS information available from government agencies is unlikely to be current and is typically at least 3–5 years old.
• The lack of sustainability of OHS programmes and interventions aimed at the small
business sector. One of the major concerns resulting from the stakeholder interviews
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intervention, in some cases, this was difficult to sustain. One of the main reasons for an OHS programme or initiative to falter was that, once key protagonists were no longer involved and suitable replacements were not found, it became difficult to sustain, as seen in the Cleaner Boat Production Project. Regular reviews of the OHS programme or initiative and ways of ensuring that there is continual commitment from all parties are essential ingredients.
• Fit for purpose? What was never clear from the findings in this segment of the project was whether or not the OHS programme or intervention actually fitted the purpose for which it was designed and, in particular, whether national and regional differences were taken into consideration. The antecedents of many of the New Zealand OHS programmes or interventions can be traced back to overseas. However, what is not clear is whether an overseas OHS programme or intervention applied to the New Zealand small business sector is an appropriate fit. The differences between FarmSafe and FishSAFE were primarily around engagement, and some thought had been given to this aspect of these programmes. However, there is no evidence that any consideration was given to regional differences when rolling out these or any other programmes or interventions.
• Limited content knowledge and integration in government departments. Occupational health and safety is a complex and multi-disciplinary discipline. Prior to the early 2000 restructuring of Department of Labour, it was a discrete division – the OSH Service. The interviewees, with years of OHS experience, were perturbed at the limited content knowledge of OHS amongst civil servants responsible for this area. One of the major reasons offered by the interviewees was the high staff turnover. The more experienced interviewees also noted that such limited knowledge of both OHS and the small business sector are likely to have a profound effect on the viability, quality and sustainability of OHS programmes or interventions aimed at this sector. Furthermore, industry representatives repeatedly commented that there is a need for better integration between the various government agencies when tackling OHS in small businesses. It was noted that, typically, the successful programmes or interventions were ones where all the parties (government agencies, industry associations, employers and employees) worked in tandem to reduce the level of injury, illness and fatality rates in small workplaces.
4.6 Summary
In summary, this review of New Zealand’s OHS practice, programmes and interventions in relation to the small business sector has highlighted several benefits, such as raising the level of OHS awareness in this often impenetrable sector. However, it has also exposed a number of significant issues, in particular, the lack of evidence about some fundamental questions:
• What is the extent of work-related injuries and illnesses in the New Zealand small business sector?
• What was the rationale for developing particular OHS programmes or interventions? • What worked well in the OHS programmes or interventions and what did not?
The health and safety characteristics and key issues facing small businesses identified by the stakeholders are already well represented and documented in the literature. What is not covered in the literature is any indepth critique of New Zealand’s OHS programmes and interventions for small businesses. The present report indicates, nonetheless, that New
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Zealand’s OHS programmes and interventions can be grouped under three headings – government-led initiatives, joint partnership initiatives and industry-led initiatives. Typically, these initiatives will change and progress from government-led initiatives through to industry- led initiatives. There also appear to be a number of factors that may influence the success of the OHS programmes or interventions – grassroots/community commitment and/or mentoring and a succession strategy to ensure the continuation of the programme/initiative. However, there is an underlying assumption that a cohesive community wanting to be involved in an OHS initiative already exists, which may not be the case. Although mentoring can be beneficial, it still requires a great deal of resources and commitment, which may not be possible.
Another key factor in the success or otherwise of the OHS programmes or interventions is the stakeholders/protagonists’ commitment and expertise. However, in order to develop, implement and drive the OHS programmes or interventions, these critical players are reliant on the support of management, good collaboration with interested parties and allocation of adequate resources.
What is not clear, however, from the interview data is whether there are problems when applying overseas OHS initiatives or OHS initiatives designed for large businesses to the New Zealand small business sector. What is also not fully explained from the findings is which is more appropriate for the small business sector – government-led initiatives, joint partnership initiatives, or industry-led initiatives. Therefore, it is evident that more research in this area is required.
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