Latest news with #healthandsafety
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Consultation to cut red tape for adventure activities, amusement rides begins
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The government is consulting on health and safety regulations to reduce red tape for adventure activity and amusement ride operators. Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said at the moment businesses running low-risk activities could be required to meet compliance standards designed for higher-risk operations. "We're making it easier for recreation providers by making sure only those running genuinely high-risk adventure activities need to meet the stricter safety requirements. The first proposed change is to amend the definition of 'adventure activities' in the Adventure Activities Regulations," she said. "There's a big difference in the level of risk associated with things like white water rafting and bungy jumping versus a bike ride on one of the New Zealand cycle trails. "We will be consulting with the sector so that we get the boundary right between high risk and lower risk activities." The second change was to update the Amusement Device Regulations so only transportable high-risk amusement devices required a permit from local councils, van Velden said. "I have heard from local councils who say the regulations are outdated and in need of review," she said. "Councils currently permit a wide range of amusement devices regardless of risk. There's a difference in risk between large Ferris wheels that are frequently dismantled and reinstalled, and small merry-go-rounds or fixed amusement rides that are never moved." Van Velden was also looking to include a provision on clarifying the obligations for volunteer organisations in the Health and Safety Reform Bill. "I have also heard from a number of groups that recreational organisations are reluctant to organise volunteer work in the outdoors, like checking traps and pest control or trail maintenance, because of concerns about triggering health and safety liabilities," she said. "I have asked my officials to consult a wide range of affected groups like the Federated Mountain Clubs, Aotearoa Climbing Access Trust, Department of Conservation, Volunteering NZ and Local Government NZ. "It is important we get the balance right between encouraging voluntary activities that all New Zealanders benefit from, while keeping people safe." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Tata Steel fined £1.5m after worker Justin Day crushed to death
Tata Steel has been fined £1.5m after a contractor was killed at work in its Port Talbot Day was found slumped in a "hot rolling channel" on 25 September 2019 after being crushed by a large steel 44-year-old's family, from Llansamlet, Swansea, said they had been "shattered" by his death and were "disgusted" by a lack of support offered by the Health And Safety Executive (HSE), which brought the case, said the "long and complex investigation" had led to the "right result". The court heard Mr Day worked for contractors Mii Engineering, of Bedwas, Caerphilly, and was on site at Port Talbot on 25 September Gobir, prosecuting, explained during the hearing that Mr Day had finished work in an area that had been isolated to make it safe to move completing and signing off the work, he then went outside, leaving his radio in a shared area, before colleagues told him he had been called via the radio as an oil leak had been Day returned to the area he had been working in, which the court heard had since been partially made "live" again. As he walked across the floor and climbed down into a part of the machinery, it activated the sensors and a large steel beam began to move, crushing Mr Day. Passing sentence at Swansea Crown Court, Judge Geraint Walters said that by all accounts Mr Day was "well versed in work of this sort" and there was an appropriate risk assessment in place by Tata Steel for the initial repair the judge said Mr Day "should have been told that the call was cancelled or at the very least contacted to tell him that the system was partly live to reduce the risk".Having reviewed CCTV footage of the moments before Mr Day's death, Judge Walters said he believed Justin Day stepped down into the coil tilter machinery as he "knew there were men underneath" and there was "every reason to anticipate" that he would do so. "It's obvious he was trying to communicate with those beneath," he said, adding it was not a "reckless act" as Mr Day believed he was "safe to do so". During the hearing, Judge Walters said systems in place were not "sufficiently adhered to" and "the company fell short of the appropriate standard".Taking into account Tata Steel's previous record of 21 offences across 12 court appearances between 2011 and 2023, and four victim impact statements read in court, Judge Walters said no fine he could impose could "restore life".Describing Mr Day as a family man "who has left many of them bereft", he turned to the public gallery and said: "No fine I impose today can alleviate the suffering of those who lose a loved one."No fine I impose today can restore life. None of that is within the court's gift."Tata Steel, who had previously pleaded guilty to two offences including failure to ensure the health, safety and welfare of a contractor, was fined £1.5m and ordered to pay costs of £26,318.67. Mr Day's wife, Zoe Day, said her husband was a "great man" who was "respected by all his friends and family". She said she had been due to meet him that day for their son's local rugby game but at about 15:00 BST she took a call from her uncle asking about an accident at the steel "frantically ringing around" his friends, Mrs Day found out her husband had been crushed."I didn't know what to do with myself," she said, adding that, soon after, one of Mr Day's friends pulled up in a car. "He just shook his head and I realised then that Justin had been killed."The couple, who had been together for 24 years, shared a "beautiful family and a granddaughter", Mrs Day said, describing her husband as "just a typical family man, a grafter and a gentle giant".She said as a family it was hard to find closure."It's changed me as a person completely. I'll never be the same person, the Zoe that was married to Justin and happy."It's gone on for nearly six years now and we just want closure, it's been extremely hard."Our lives were absolutely shattered and they are still shattered now, it doesn't get easier at all."Mrs Day said she was "disgusted" with Tata Steel, claiming there had not been "any emotional support or anything or counselling, not even a letter or a phone call" from the company. She said: "There are loads of stories, loads of memories, lots of good good times, unfortunately they all came to an end. "He went to work and he never came home to his family."Speaking after the hearing, Gethyn Jones, HSE lead inspector, said he was pleased Tata had pleaded guilty to the added: "This has been a very high-profile case. A man got up in the morning, went to work, and never returned home to his family. "It's a tragedy. The message for us is the human cost. At the end of the day, a family lost a loved one, irrespective of the legal proceedings today."A spokesperson for Tata Steel UK said: "We wish to express again our sincere condolences to Mr Day's bereaved family, friends and workmates."
The Guardian
a day ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Caroline Shelton obituary
My friend and former colleague Caroline Shelton, who has died aged 67 of cancer, was a tutor in trade union studies and a trade union activist, with a special interest in health and safety. Having been a shop steward while working in the computing sector, in the early 1990s she became a lecturer in trade union studies at South Thames College in London, where she was elected as health and safety officer of her Unite union branch and nominated to join me and other colleagues on the board of the London Hazards Centre, which helps Londoners to assert their right to live and work in a safe, healthy environment. She was also a Unite delegate to the Kent and Medway Trades Union Congress, a Labour councillor in Gravesend, Kent, for a number of years, and a Labour delegate to Gravesend constituency Labour party. Caroline was born in Gravesend, and was raised in a trade union-supporting family. Her bookbinder mother, Joy (nee Mitchell), was a mother of chapel in the Sogat printing union, and her lorry-driver father, Gordon Shelton, was an enthusiastic member of the Transport and General Workers' Union. In 1967, when Caroline was 11, the family moved to Wellington in New Zealand, where she attended Wellington East girls' college before returning to Gravesend in 1972, after which her education continued at Wombwell Hall school in nearby Northfleet. She also attended the Royal College of Music on Saturdays before going on to study music at Goldsmiths College (now Goldsmiths, University of London). After graduating from there in 1980, Caroline began working as a peripatetic music teacher for the Inner London Education Authority, travelling around various schools, before deciding that computing offered her better prospects. A year studying computing at Bristol Polytechnic (now University of the West of England) followed, after which she worked for Bowater-Scott and Wellcome Dartford (later subsumed into GlaxoSmithKline) in Gravesend. There she was elected as the shop-steward of her MSF/Amicus trade union branch, as well as a delegate to the MSF/Amicus London regional council and its annual conferences. In 1992 she changed tack again to become a lecturer at South Thames College in Lewisham, teaching trade union studies there while also freelancing for the Workers' Education Association and Ruskin College Oxford. In 2011 she was elected as a Labour councillor in Gravesend, and in 2018 she became health and safety officer of her Unite trade union branch. Caroline attended pickets and protests with her branch banner for as long as she could, and saw active trade union branches as being essential to challenging all social injustices and mitigating all work-related hazards. When ill health forced her to resign from our board in March, she was elected honorary president 'in grateful appreciation for her many years' service as a determined fighter for a safer London'. She is survived by her younger brother, Craig.
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
908 Devices to Participate in the Canaccord Genuity 45th Annual Growth Conference
908 Devices Inc. (Nasdaq: MASS), a core small-cap growth company focused on purpose-built handheld chemical analysis tools for vital health, safety and defense tech applications, announced it will participate in the upcoming Canaccord Genuity 45 th Annual Growth Conference. 908 Devices' management is scheduled to present on Wednesday, August 13 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. Interested parties may access a live and archived webcast of the presentation on the 'Investors' section of the company website at: About 908 Devices 908 Devices is revolutionizing chemical analysis with its simple handheld devices, addressing life-altering applications. The Company's devices are used at the point-of-need to interrogate unknown and invisible materials and provide quick, actionable answers in vital health, safety and defense tech applications, addressing the fentanyl and illicit drug crisis, toxic carcinogen exposure, and global security threats. The Company designs and manufactures innovative products that bring together the power of complementary analytical technologies, software automation, and machine learning. For more information, visit
Times
4 days ago
- General
- Times
Find a way to live with swooping seagulls, Scots told
Homeowners and businesses have been urged to learn to live with attacks by seagulls rather than asking for permission to destroy their nests. Due to declining populations, the birds have protected status even though there have been increasing reports of them stealing food in coastal resorts. Last year NatureScot, the government agency, turned down a record 620 applications submitted by individuals and businesses to demolish gull nests, many more than in previous years. Just 40 applications were rejected in 2023 while only one was turned down the year before that, according to data obtained by The Mail on Sunday. The agency said it has a duty to balance health and safety concerns with gull conservation and the birds were facing 'serious declines' in their populations. Its approach now was to support individuals, businesses and communities to 'better manage gulls without the need to kill the birds or destroy their nests'. A spokesman said: 'There will be times when gulls are causing a health and safety issue. In the longer term, we need to find ways to live with gulls and other wildlife.' The gull threat is most obvious in seaside communities where they forage for food such as chips, pies and pasties in people's hands. The birds can also be aggressive when defending nests during the egg hatching season. • Eat with your back to the wall: smart ways to keep seagulls at bay The threat has been raised in parliament by the Scottish Conservatives as concern grows over gull attacks. Douglas Ross, the Highland list MSP and former party leader, said he had been 'inundated' with complaints. 'It's an escalating problem that's putting public safety at risk,' Ross said. 'The SNP government and NatureScot are completely out of touch with reality.' Richard Lochhead, an SNP MSP who represents Moray, said he had contacted Jim Fairlie, the agriculture minister, about the issue. One mother wrote to him about her and her children being regularly attacked by the birds. She said: 'I'm terrified to even leave my house at times. I've been dive-bombed and there comes a point where it's a serious problem. I am genuinely developing a phobia of them.' • Seagull after your chips? Fear the squadron, not the loner Capturing, injuring or destroying any wild bird in Scotland, or interfering with nests or eggs, is illegal. However, licences are granted to get rid of nests in areas where gulls are a menace. While 2,041 such licences were granted in 2023, only 505 were in 2024. Gulls are a common sight in many areas near the coast but some species, such as herring gulls and kittiwakes, are on the UK red list as species of conservation concern. The latest Seabirds Count census shows all five breeding species of gull continuing to decline, with numbers in Scotland down by between 44 per cent and 75 per cent depending on species. The declines are attributed to factors such as changes in food availability and land use, with some species also suffering losses because of recent outbreaks of avian flu.
