1. ANG, H. B. ,(PhD) & Lamm, F., (PhD), AUT University, New Zealand
XXI World Congress
Safety and Health at Work 2017
OSH in agriculture: Traditional and emerging risks
THE CHANGING FACE OF FARMING:
EMPLOYEES
ANG, H. B. ,(PhD) & Lamm, F., (PhD),
AUT University, New Zealand
OBJECTIVES
Farming in New Zealand (NZ) has one of the highest injury rates (see Figures 1- 3), and there is some evidence that casualised, contract workers are over– represented in the injury surveillance data. Previous research on farm safety interventions has often failed to include contract workers, many of whom are migrants, employed casually for poor wages and conditions. Moreover, contract workers, like standard employees, are dependent on the employer but with few of the legal protections, including OHS. This study, therefore, aims to update our knowledge on the OHS of vulnerable, contract workers in farming sector. The objectives of the paper are to: 1) identify the OHS experiences of contract workers in the farming sector; 2) identify the most common workplace injuries and fatalities suffered by contract workers this complex, challenging sector.
Figure 1
Figure 2
METHODOLOGY
This study used secondary quantitative and qualitative data from government and academic reports, with a heavy reliance on workers’ compensation data. The study also included quantitative estimates of the annual number of work-related injuries and deaths in the New Zealand farming sector. We divided the workforce into: 1) the farm owners who employ farm workers; and 2) contract workers. Given that NZ has a universal, no-fault system of compensation, the data is relatively comprehensive but there is still a disturbing level of under-reporting, particularly among vulnerable workers. Therefore, qualitative data provided a triangulation of the findings.
Figure 3
RESULTS
The emerging preliminary findings from this study show that contract workers in the farming sector are often outside of NZ’s OHS policy and practice mix in that they are neither an employee nor are they an employer (see Lamare, et al, 2015). It is clear that these dependent contractors have little control over their work, their pay and conditions, including their safety. As a result many struggle to cope with their working environment in which they have full responsibility for OHS and yet have little influence over their working conditions. Added to this mix are time pressures (“getting the job done”) and the isolation as well as the challenging working environment (Advert 1). Farm employees also share many of the OHS issues as these contract workers and that these findings are not restricted to the farming sector but can also be found in the trucking and construction sectors.
OUTCOMES
Vulnerable contract workers in the farming sector face a number of challenges, such as working long hours in isolation, hazardous terrain, natural disasters, financial exploitation, and that these challenges impact on their OHS. It is also argued that the effects of contracting and outsourcing work will in certain instances lower OHS standards because of the following reasons: 1) employment status of the contractor is fluid and ambiguous; 2) the nature of the work involved is typically hazardous; and, 3) remuneration is likely to be based on output. (see Table 1) Finally, the focus on the farming sector is useful as it is hoped that it will extend the empirical and theoretical research around contract workers and the OHS implications of these flexible employment practices (Quinlan et al., 2010; Sargeant, 2016).
Advert 1
REFERENCES
Lamare, J. R., Lamm, F., McDonnell, N., & White, H. (2015). Independent, dependent, and employee: Contractors and New Zealand’s Pike River Coal Mine disaster. Journal of Industrial Relations, 57(1),
Quinlan M, Bohle P and Lamm F (2010) Managing Occupational Health and Safety: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Sydney: Macmillan.
Sargeant, M. (2016). The Meaning of the Terms Precarious Work and Vulnerable Workers. E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, 5(3).    
Table 1
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