The Forest Industry Safety Council (FISC) is announcing today that our Toroawhi / Worker Champion initiative is coming to an end. The Toroawhi initiative started in February 2020 as a pilot sponsored by WorkSafe. But the funding and initiative will finish at the end of March 2024.

"We make this announcement with sadness, but also with pride for the work our Toroawhi, Richard Stringfellow and Wade Brunt, have done over the last four years," said Safetree CEO, Joe Akari.

"They have visited many forestry businesses across the Motu, talking with hundreds of forestry people. They have worked hard to improve worker engagement and wellbeing, and to support crews and workers to achieve Safetree Certification," he said.

The initiative helped manage emerging risks. This included following the cyclones last year, where they helped crews deal with the additional risks of harvesting windthrown trees.

FISC acknowledges the great work done by Richard and Wade. They have had a lasting influence on FISC’s work, and on many of the crews and individuals they interacted with.

Safetree has several videos and stories about the initiative which are well worth viewing. 

Source: Safetree