Pubdate: Mon, 07 Aug 2000
Source: Dominion, The (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2000 The Dominion
Contact:  P O Box 1297, Wellington, New Zealand
Fax: +64 4 474-0350
Website: http://www.inl.co.nz/wnl/dominion/index.html
Author: Paul Mulrooney

SOME BUSH WORKERS 'PART-PAID IN DRUGS'

Rogue forestry sub-contractors were paying some of their casual workers 
partly in cannabis, a former Occupational Safety and Health scientist said 
on Sunday.

Mark Fielder, who is now the health and safety manager at Waiariki 
Institute of Technology in Rotorua, said some workers in forestry gangs 
were so indoctrinated in the drug culture they worked in that they accepted 
the arrangement without question.

"In remote areas, cannabis is accepted as a payment system. A lot of these 
workers are on the dole so they're being paid under the table say $100 in 
cash and $100 in cannabis."

Mr Fielder said that in his position with OSH he had come across such cases 
from Te Kuiti, the east coast and Northland.

Legitimate contractors were the ones that suffered, he said, as by using 
cannabis for cash crop payment the rogue operators were cutting their costs 
and were therefore able to put in lower tenders for jobs.

Peter Clark, chief executive of east coast forestry firm PF Olsen and 
Company, said that though he had no personal knowledge of such activity, 
any sub-contractor working that way was only short-changing the industry.

"Forestry employers won't tolerate contractors misleading their workers 
that way."

Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton said he also had no knowledge of 
such under-the-table practices, but said that anyone caught would be 
subject to prosecution.

He said provisions in the Health and Safety in Employment Act, now being 
reviewed and to be tabled in Parliament this year, would tighten 
regulations and make illegal payments more difficult to get away with.

Mr Fielder said that in an effort to stop youth who were smoking cannabis 
from as early as 10 years old, the institute budgeted $10,000 in the past 
financial year for a drug testing programme for its students funded from 
their fees. A lot of trainees, as part of their course learning to work in 
solid wood-mill processing and on logging contracts with forestry 
companies, were required to undergo the testing.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart