The employers of 19-year-old forestry worker Eramiha Pairama, Puketi Logging, were found guilty of a charge under the Health and Safety in Employment Act relating to his death in 2013.
Puketi Logging failed to take all practical steps to provide Eramiha with a safe working environment. It also failed to ensure that there was no exposure to the danger of the work that he was being expected to manage on his own.
The CTU took the private prosecution after Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) inspectors made the decision not to.
Selina Eruera, Eramiha’s mother, is pleased that her son’s employer has been found guilty but says there is little comfort to be taken.
“Losing a loved one, dealing with various people and agencies, and a court trial only highlights the need for change. Though we are pleased with the verdict, it will never bring my son back,” says Erurera.
It is my hope that steps and changes to the workplace will now be taken seriously and enforced to ensure the safety of all workers.”
“Eramiha should not have died at work. He was inadequately trained, unsupervised and without adequate safety briefings,” says CTU President Helen Kelly
He simply should not have been left to work alone that afternoon. He died in 2013 along with ten other workers in the forestry sector.”
“The CTU needed to take this action highlight the inadequacy of the Government to step up on health and safety and carry out its role as legislator and regulator.”
“We acknowledge that Worksafe has increased enforcement, but we remain concerned that the Health and Safety Reform Bill racing through Parliament will reduce the rights of Kiwis to raise concerns about workplace safety issues.”
“The CTU has shown how leadership is important in the health and safety space to make a difference in the accident rate in Forestry now dramatically reduced. We now need the Government to take the same sort of leadership.”
“This is the second private prosecution taken by the CTU in forestry with a guilty plea being entered for the death of forestry worker Charles Finlay entered on 3 August 2015.”
“The CTU wants to acknowledge the generosity of all the lawyers who helped with this work pro bono including Nigel Hampton QC, who led the case,” says Kelly.
