Ross Wilson

Ross has been a key figure in supporting the involvement of workers in decisions which affect their health and safety, and in influencing Parliament to change legislation accordingly.

He was also instrumental in the introduction of free health and safety training for elected health and safety representatives, of whom more than 30,000 have been trained since 2003.

Ross has been a public figure since at least 1999, when he became president of the NZ Council of Trade Unions, but his involvement and influence over the health and safety of people at work dates back many years before then.

His awareness goes back to the mid-1970s, when as a young lawyer he represented injured workers seeking redress through the courts in the days before ACC cover.

In 1979 he began a 28-year career in the union movement when he joined the National Union of Railway Workers as assistant general secretary (industrial). His union colleagues credit Ross with building a deep and lasting awareness of the importance of health and safety.

A visit to Canada in the 1990s inspired him to introduce Workers Memorial Day each 28 April, an awareness-raising tradition which continues to this day nationwide.

As general secretary of the Rail and Maritime Workers Union, Ross promoted the active role of staff in helping to manage the return to work of injured colleagues. The template he championed has since been picked up by other unions working with other employers.

This initiative reflects his belief that the most effective results in health and safety arise from a partnership approach involving Government, employers, and unions.

Similarly, when the Government was looking to amend the health and safety legislation in 2002, Ross pressed for legislative recognition of the right of workers to refuse dangerous work, to participate in decisions affecting their health & safety, and to elect safety reps with powers to issue hazard notices.

In summary, over a long career as a lawyer and unionist, Ross has consistently acted to protect the health and safety of those most vulnerable to injury and illness.

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