Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

The Committee notes with interest the information provided in the Government's report and, in particular, the statistics concerning inspections which had been carried out and the number of fatalities reported having occurred during cargo-working operations.

The Committee notes the comments made by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) which points out that not all foreign vessels were inspected on arrival on the New Zealand coast due to time of arrival and insufficient inspection staffing. The NZCTU states that a number of accidents causing serious harm have occurred during the period covered by the Government's report. The Committee takes note of the Government's reply to these comments, where the latter emphasized that all these vessels have been inspected in the past two years; a total of 100 per cent of these vessels were inspected at either their first or second port of arrival, 99.5 per cent were inspected at the first port. As regards the incidents causing serious harm, the Government points out that their number had shown an increase in the earlier part of the reporting cycle and a significant decrease in the latter part.

The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information regarding the number and causes of all kinds of accidents reported (not only the fatalities) and the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation (point V of the report form).