CFMEU: Pike River Safely Lessons

Press Release: CFMEU
CFMEU Mining & Energy Division

Today’s report form New Zealand’s Commission of Inquiry into the Pike River mining tragedy exposes the failure of New Zealand’s mine safety laws and looks to Australia for world’s best practice, says the CFMEU Miners Union.

Pike River shows the disastrous consequences of removing mandatory requirements on employers when it comes to safety, said CFMEU Mining and Energy General Secretary Andrew Vickers.

“The recommendations coming out of today’s report include making measures that we know are world’s best practice mandatory.

The death of these 29 mineworkers was even more tragic due to the finding the accident was preventable and caused by a series of failures and basic errors, said Mr Vickers.

“The company clearly put production targets ahead of safety considerations at Pike River,” he said.

“But we know companies will behave like that if it’s left up to them. That’s why we need strong laws and regulations that compel companies to put safety first.

“New Zealand did not have strong enough safety laws or law enforcement to prevent this disaster.

“Australia’s coal mining industry has world-leading safety laws and practice but there’s always pressure from companies to cut back on ‘red tape’, as we see with the current demand from Queensland industry to remove the powers of safety check inspectors.

“They tried that in New Zealand, on the grounds that bosses would never knowingly put their workers in jeopardy. Pike River is the result.

“Managers at Pike River knew what was international best practice because they had worked in Australia – but they didn’t comply with it because the law didn’t make them. Today’s report is a damning indictiment of the philosophy of industry self-regulation.”