Worker engagement

On this page you will find guidance about worker engagement, participation and representation (WEPR) in the maritime context.

Information for PCBUs

What is a PCBU?

A PCBU is any person or organisation that conducts a business or undertaking. It is a broad concept that includes most work arrangements we think of as “businesses”, and some arrangements that are not profit‑making or commercial.

Examples of PCBUs operating on ships include:

• the owner of a commercial vessel who operates it or hires it to others
• the operator of a commercial vessel
• a company that operates passenger ferries.

Examples of PCBUs on major ports include:

• stevedoring companies
• log‑export companies
• trucking companies
• companies performing marshalling service
• port companies
• New Zealand government agencies.

Your WEPR duties and how to meet them

PCBUs must:

• engage with workers on health and safety matters that affect them
• provide reasonable opportunities for workers to participate in improving health and safety.

The WEPR guidance for PCBUs:

This document explains your engagement and participation duties under HSWA:

This document gives examples to help you check if your existing engagement practices meet HSWA requirements:

This document covers practical ways to engage with workers:

This document outlines good practice for worker participation:

This document explains your duties around worker representation, including health and safety representatives and committees.

For more detailed information about PCBU duties for health and safety representatives and committees, see WorkSafe’s guidance, including its Health and Safety Representatives page.

Information for workers

HSWA gives different health and safety responsibilities to different groups of people.

If you do any kind of work for a business or organisation, you are considered a worker. For example:

• a stevedore is a worker
• a deck hand is a worker
• someone who manages stevedores or deck hands is a worker.

You are a worker regardless of:

• your legal arrangement with the person you work for, such as employee, contractor, or sharefisher
• how you are paid.

The business or person you work for is called a PCBU. The term is broad so it can cover many arrangements.

The terms we use in worker guidance

On ships and major ports, the most common type of PCBU is a business, so our worker guidance often uses:

• business to refer to the PCBU
• employer to mean the PCBU you do work for.

You can belong to more than one group at the same time. For example, if you are a self‑employed contractor working on a port, you are likely to be both a worker and a PCBU.

It is important to understand:

• your rights around health and safety at work
• what your employer must do when they engage with you about health and safety.

Your rights for engagement, participation, and representation

Worker‑focused WEPR guidance explains:

• your employer’s duty to engage with you on health and safety issues
• what HSWA requires of participation processes your employer sets up
• what your employer must do around health and safety representatives and committees.

It also explains:

• when and how your PCBU must engage with you
• what you can expect from your PCBU when they consult you on health and safety matters.