No. 32 - Protection Against Accidents (Dockers) (Revised), 1932

Provisions

• This Convention aims to ensure that workers who load or unload ships are protected against accidents. It deals with a number of technical aspects, such as:
  • safety of workplaces;
  • safety of means of access, such as ladders and gangways;
  • lighting;
  • handling of hatch coverings and beams;
  • safety of cargo handling gear and appliances, safe working loads, inspection of appliances and keeping of those inspections;
  • safety in general: standard loads, signals, stacking of goods, loading or unloading of goods in bulk, the use of stages and trolleys, etc.;
  • work in the presence of dangerous goods;
  • first aid;
  • designation of persons or bodies responsible for safety; and
  • provision for a system of inspection and the posting of regulations.
• Reciprocal arrangements are to be made between Member States that ratify the Convention, particularly with regards to mutual recognition of arrangements for testing, examining and annealing, and of certificates and records relating to these activities.

Administered by

Maritime New Zealand

• Maritime Transport Act 1994
• Maritime Rules Part 24A Carriage of Cargoes - Dangerous Goods
• Maritime Rules Part 24C Carriage of Cargoes - Specific Cargoes
• Maritime Rules Part 49 - Ships' Lifting Appliances

Department of Labour

• Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996
• Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
• Health and Safety in Employment Regulations 1995
• Code of Practice for Health and Safety in Port Operations 2004

The Code of Practice for Health and Safety in Port Operations was published in 2004. This Code was a replacement and a revision of the Port Safety Guidelines, which were published in 1997. The Code is based on Convention No. 152 - Occupational Safety and Health (Dock Work).

How New Zealand implements it

• The Health and Safety in Employment Act, and the Health and Safety in Employment Regulations cover the occupational safety and health of people working ashore. The Health and Safety in Employment Act also covers persons working aboard a ship in the following situations:
  • The worker must have a New Zealand employment agreement that is governed by New Zealand law; and
  • The ship must be:
    • A New Zealand ship (wherever it might operate); or
    • A foreign ship on demise charter to a New Zealand operator (when operating on New Zealand's coast).
• The Health and Safety in Employment Act also imposes a duty on both employers and employees to follow safe work practices.
• In the case of ships' lifting appliances, Part 49 - Ships' Lifting Appliances of the maritime rules provides that the use of lifting appliances must be carried out by a competent person as defined by the rule.
• The Code of Practice for Health and Safety in Port Operations provide recommendations and guidance on safe work practices for those working in port operations, and sets minimum requirements for lifting machinery and other equipment.
• The Code of Practice requires adequate measures to be taken to ensure employees' safe embarking, transport and disembarking. Any vessel used for this purpose must also meet the appropriate maritime rules.
• Ships' lifting appliances are subject to inspection in accordance with the requirements of Maritime Rules Part 49, and the power under Section 54, of the Maritime Transport Act which requires inspections in the interest of maritime safety and the health and safety of seafarers. Breaches of the obligations in respect of the certification, examination and inspection of ships' lifting appliances are punishable by a range of measures including fines, the suspension or imposition of conditions on or revocation of certificates, the detention of a ship and the seizure of equipment.
• The Code of Practice for Health and Safety in Port Operations also contains a section on hazardous substances which provides that the operation must comply with the Maritime Rule Part 24A Carriage of Cargoes - Dangerous Goods and Part 24C Carriage of Cargoes - Specific Cargoes which relates to the carriage of specific cargoes such as bulk cargoes, timber and livestock. The Code also provides that the operation must comply with controls placed on substances by regulations made under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. Additionally, the operation must comply with the specific workplace health and safety measure under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
• Inspectors employed by the Department of Labour carry out inspection of ports to ensure the safety of dock workers. Breaches of the Health and Safety in Employment Act can be punished in a range of measures including fines and prosecutions.

This Convention is not applicable to Tokelau.

Ratified - 29 March 1938

Total ratifications - 33

---