Govt to rethink farm health and safety rules with practical reforms
Farmers are welcoming new Government proposals to make farm health and safety rules more practical and grounded in real-world farming.
A dairy farming company has been fined $281,250 after a migrant worker was crushed by a trailer.
The decision against Sidogg Investments Limited was made in the Ashburton District Court yesterday.
In the September 2018 incident, the migrant worker was standing on the draw bar of a trailer being towed by an SUV.
The worker slipped from the draw bar and was drawn underneath the trailer and run over by the moving wheels, leaving him with spinal injuries, pelvic and rib fractures.
WorkSafe is now calling on those employing migrant workers to better communicate about safety hazards.
WorkSafe’s Chief Inspector Steve Kelly says the victim, a migrant worker with English as his second language, was not aware that standing on the drawbar of the trailer was a hazard.
“WorkSafe’s investigation found it was common practice for calf collection workers to stand on the drawbar, but this absolutely should not have been allowed.”
At the time of the incident a number of those employed by Sidogg Investments Limited were migrant workers and because of this, the company should have been taking extra precautions to ensure they understood health and safety risks clearly, says Kelly.
“At any farm where workers are employed and for whom English might be a second language, employers need to take extra precautions to ensure health and safety responsibilities are being met and understood by workers.
“As an employer it is your responsibility to make sure you find ways to clearly communicate risks. Employers should not allow any work to be carried out until they are completely satisfied workers understand safe practices.”
Alliance has announced a series of capital raise roadshow event, starting on 29 September in Tuatapere, Southland.
State farmer Pāmu (Landcorp) has announced a new equity partnership in an effort to support pathways to farm ownership for livestock farm operators.
Following a recent overweight incursion that saw a Mid-Canterbury contractor cop a $12,150 fine, the rural contracting industry is calling time on what they consider to be outdated and unworkable regulations regarding weight and dimensions that they say are impeding their businesses.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says his officials plan to meet their US counterparts every month from now on to better understand how the 15% tariff issue there will play out, and try and get some certainty there for our exporters about the future.
Brett Wotton, an Eastern Bay of Plenty kiwifruit grower and harvest contractor, has won the 2025 Kiwifruit Innovation Award for his work to support lifting fruit quality across the industry.