Unions are put out that they were not invited to take part in an investigation into workplace deaths.
With the workplace accident death rate running at more than one person a week, Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson has called a meeting of chief executives to discuss ways to reduce it.
Unions feel they should be involved in the discussions.
"There's one problem here - this proposed group is missing the people who get hurt and killed on the job, who are workers, generally not chief executives or government agents," Maritime Union general secretary Trevor Hanson says.
While his union supported any move to try to reduce the number of workers killed or injured on the job, the strongest health and safety advocates were "made up of people who want to go home at night in one piece to see their family".
Rail and Maritime Union national secretary Wayne Butson says he wants workers "at the table giving their views on decisions that will affect them".
"We don't need another box ticking outfit having a leisurely discussion on the health and safety of workers from an air-conditioned boardroom," he says.
Health and safety initiatives developed without workers input would not succeed, he says.
Wilkinson will meet more than 25 senior executives from the country's biggest companies, along with the chief executives of the Department of Labour and ACC on Wednesday.
They will discuss a proposal to form a Chief Executives' Forum on Health and Safety that would work with the Government to reduce injuries and illness at work.
"Business leaders are in a prime position to influence attitudes and practices in their own industries and among the smaller companies they buy and sell from," she said on Monday.
"That means they are also perfectly placed to help us stop people dying or getting hurt at work, so we can keep businesses and New Zealand working."
