Cutting workers' rights would not improve workplace health and safety, Labour Party labour spokeswoman Darien Fenton said yesterday.
The announcement by Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson of a new Health and Safety Taskforce was an important step in making workplaces safer.
"But the Government's determination to weaken workers' rights could totally undermine its work," Ms Fenton said.
Allowing a worker to be sacked without reason within their first 90 days of employment meant, along with restrictions on access for unions, that even where there were health and safety concerns, it could be unsafe for workers to raise those issues with their employer.
The Government's plans to "seriously weaken" collective bargaining rights would have a further detrimental impact, she said.
Unions played an important role in promoting health and safety through collective bargaining agreements and encouraging worker participation.
The introduction of workplace experience ratings in ACC would also discourage accident reporting.
"We need to ensure that workers and employers are able to be open and honest about workplace safety," Ms Fenton said.
Ms Wilkinson said in a statement that the independent task force would undertake the first wide-ranging strategic review of the workplace health and safety systems in 20 years.
New Zealand's workplace death and injury rates were not improving and were poor in comparison to countries like Australia and the United Kingdom.
"The Government is taking action to ensure we get better results and see a 25% reduction in workplace deaths and serious injuries by 2020," she said.
The task force would review whether the overall workplace health and safety system was working effectively to reduce workplace injury and death.
A package of "practical measures" would be recommended to the Government in December.
The Council of Trade Unions welcomed the review but was concerned there was only one person from the union movement - CTU economist Bill Rosenberg - on the task force, compared with two from BusinessNZ.
"It is therefore vitally important the task force gets out and listens to worker perspectives," CTU secretary Peter Conway said.
Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive John Scandrett said that at a recent Shell Todd presentation, he was impressed by the Shell corporate culture and positive attitude to having the best workplace health and safety management.
The appointment of Shell general manager Robert Jager to chair the task force was an "excellent step".
"I'm impressed by the overall composition of the group and, provided the review does ultimately serve to present innovative but not excessively cost-loaded, outcomes I'm sure the business community will widely embrace the need for change."
