Swimmer’s Wife Killed by Auckland Harbors Ship Welcomes Health and Safety Review

The wife of a swimmer killed by a Ports of Auckland boat is heartbroken that workers have died on the city’s docks and does not want any other family to join a “devastating club”.

Laura McLeod, whose husband Leslie Gelberger died in 2017, says she was pleased that Mayor Phil Goff and the Auckland Council were shedding light on the culture in Auckland’s ports and “holding them accountable.”

An independent review at the port, released yesterday, found systemic health and safety issues at the city-owned business.

“The fact that there have been two more deaths since my husband’s death, which itself was the product of a culture that prioritizes productivity over well-being, is heartbreaking,” McLeod said.

“How many deaths does it take for them to concretely change and, as recommended, prioritize safety over profit?”

In August last year, Palaamo Kalati, 31, a longshoreman, father of seven, was crushed by a container on a ship at the Fergusson Container Terminal.

And in 2018, 23-year-old Laboom Midnight Dyer died after a forklift he was driving overturned.

McLeod said his heart goes out to their families.

“I don’t want more families to join such a devastating club,” McLeod said.

In July last year, Ports of Auckland was fined $ 424,000 for failing to comply with health and safety obligations after a pilot boat collided and killed Gelberger while he was swimming.

Goff said the review, conducted by Construction Health and Safety New Zealand (CHASNZ), found a need for significant improvement at Auckland’s ports to ensure their health and safety approach reflects the level of risk inherent in port operations.

“The health and safety rules that keep people safe are not ‘nice.’ They are a vital component of good management in any workplace.

“When someone goes to work, they have to go home to their families and loved ones,” Goff said.

“Reviewers make a number of recommendations to improve health and safety in ports, including new requirements for the port executive director to prioritize safety over productivity and profitability, improve trust and communication between management and the staff, and for a new health and safety manager, report directly to the CEO and board of directors. “

Board Chairman Bill Osborne acknowledged that the health and safety culture in ports had been poor and has fully engaged the board in implementing the recommendations of the review.

“I now hope that Ports of Auckland will implement these recommendations without delay and, more importantly, hold management accountable for monitoring and compliance.”

Meanwhile, the Maritime Union has called for Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson to leave after the report.

The union’s national secretary, Craig Harrison, said the report confirmed everything the union had said about the port management’s failure to keep staff safe for several years.

“There is no confidence in the CEO and the board has not done its job,” said Harrison, who said the first step should be to replace Gibson.

At a press conference yesterday, Gibson said he had no plans to resign and said his approach is to make sure mistakes that have been made are corrected.

Gibson said he would remain in the position as long as the board had faith in him. Osborne said the board was confident in Gibson’s and senior management’s commitment to pushing forward with all of the report’s recommendations.

– additional reporting: Julia Gabel