Port Health and Safety in NZ
Posted by Dave Griffith
Port operations provides one of the most challenging and complex work environments from a health and safety perspective in New Zealand. A lot of people working for different organisations, using large machinery and vehicles, with tight deadlines are working fast and hard in a confined geographical footprint. The addition of water and weather…
Read MoreTime to axe performance reviews?
Posted by Dave Griffith
Workplace staff performance reviews have become a pillar of the vast swathe of administrative tangle otherwise known as ‘best practice’. Like many good ideas they started off with the best of intentions but have morphed into something that is often counter- productive in many workplaces. Many workers are now faced with an annual ritual…
Read MoreFatal pipeline blast – company fined
Posted by admin
A piping firm has been fined over a fatal pipeline explosion in Onehunga, Auckland. The June 2011 blast killed one worker and left another a double amputee. Canadian Pacific Ltd was today sentenced to pay $55,250 after being found guilty of failing to take all practicable steps to protect employees and failing to…
Read MoreInequality drives many to quit New Zealand
Posted by admin
Emigration is driven not only by opportunities, but also by inequalities. The OECD has issued alarming advice for governments to take “urgent action to tackle rising inequality and social divisions”. New Zealand has left these issues unaddressed for too long, and we need to acknowledge it is one of the reasons why our…
Read MoreOpen Season on Open Plan Offices
Posted by admin
The vast majority of the worlds office workers are victims of the open plan office concept. According to those that support an open plan-et they increase productivity and raise staff morale. Staff thrive in this highly collaborative environment as they happily go about their business. In recent years this office based utopia has…
Read MorePort worker injured by falling container
Posted by admin
A Lyttelton Port Company worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said the injured driver had pulled a stack of seven shipping containers down, with one crushing the cab of his forklift. “You could certainly hear when that container came down. The noise is what got our attention.” The driver, aged in his 20s, managed…
Read MoreYounger managers shafted in salary stakes
Posted by admin
Why am I paid so much less than my predecessor? This question will be asked many more times in the next few years as Australian business engages in an aggressive round of white-collar job deflation that does not even register a blip in wages statistics. You know what I mean: the company replaces…
Read MoreMoney laundering scams target NZ small businesses
Posted by admin
New Zealand small business owners are being warned to watch out for overseas money laundering scams. The latest scam to target honest Kiwis has seen businesses contacted by a fake overseas customer asking to purchase products. However, they pay over the stated amount, and then ask for the excess to be sent to…
Read MoreDeath by caffeine – how much is too much?
Posted by admin
Sadly, tragic news has emerged that a man in Britain recently died from caffeine overdose. John Jackson was 40 years old. What makes this unfortunate death worrying is that it was due to consumption of caffeine-laced mints. Misfortune can strike us in many ways, but we generally don’t expect a tin of sweeties…
Read MoreAxed KFC staff get their jobs back
Posted by Dave Griffith
Following a public outcry KFC has been contacting laid off disabled workers with offers of re-employment. Some workers have leaped at the chance but at least five turned it down. Jared Dixon has autism and was last year forced out after 16 years working part-time at the Greymouth store. The 36-year-old was among…
Read More