By now you will have all seen the memo informing staff of the imminent elections for workplace Health & safety representatives. These elections are a requirement of the Health and Safety Plan recently negotiated between CANZ and the Department pursuant to the provisions of the H&SE Amendment Act.

Whilst we’re on the subject, it has been incorrectly reported by Auckland PPS management that the H&S plan is a joint agreement between CANZ, PPS and the PSA. This is, of course, incorrect and CANZ filed with the Employment Relations Authority in a successful attempt to enforce their right to a stand-alone agreement on this issue. Although there were those in the Department who wanted to enforce their version of legislative requirements upon us, sanity finally prevailed and we have had more than a significant input to the final result.

CANZ H&S Representatives
The successful applicants for the vacant positions will fulfil an important role in the future of Health & Safety in the workplace and we strongly encourage all interested CANZ members to participate in this election. We firmly believe that officially elected and adequately trained H&S reps will have a significant influence on future developments within Prisons, both from a custodial and non-custodial perspective. Accordingly, it is fair to say that the more H&S reps we have in place, the more influence we will be able to have on the future strategic direction in prisons.

Be aware that the process allows for some elected positions to be CIE-specific (especially in the bigger institutions such as Waikeria, Hawkes Bay, Christchurch etc.) and more details will be available via your site manager, who will be coordinating (not in charge of: not organizing: not decision-making) the process by agreement between the parties.

As stated in PPS H&S manager Fred Henare’s memo, this is a joint PPS/CIE/A&P election, so it is vital that the process is coordinated nationally. The nomination process is open for two weeks and this will be followed by the election process, so;
1. Get your name in the hat.
2. Get elected.
3. Get active in the Health & Safety arena.
4. Be prepared to work cooperatively with both management and fellow employees.

Remember – Health & Safety is a shared responsibility!

Regards,

Brian Davies
National Organiser/Health & safety Co-ordinator
CANZ