Ms Curran spoke at a service to mark International Workers' Memorial Day in Dunedin yesterday. During the event at the Otago Workers' Memorial, small white crosses were symbolically placed in the ground, each bearing the name of a person who had died at work in Otago.
''Unfortunately, things aren't getting better in New Zealand; they are getting worse,'' Ms Curran told the about 50 people who attended the service.
New Zealand workers often found it difficult to report unsafe environments or refuse to carry out unsafe tasks, for fear of retribution from their employers, she said.
This was made worse by the 90-day trial period for workers, which made it harder for people to challenge their bosses.
Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei, of Dunedin, spoke about the passing of the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day) Amendment Bill this month, which ensured people got Monday off when the days fell on weekends.
She was shocked that during the debate, those opposed said the Bill ''somehow was an abuse of the memory of those who had fought''.
Those opposed had failed to understand that most of people who went to work were ordinary working-class men and women fighting for decency.
''Yet their sons and daughters, their grandsons and granddaughters still do not live in a country where we have a decent system of protection in the workplace.''
