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Scoop
15-07-2025
- Health
- Scoop
KiwiRail Bans 2500 Workers From Using Melatonin, Zopiclone Citing Safety Concerns
The company's chief medical officer says melatonin and Zopiclone are not compatible with safety critical work. Nine To Noon KiwiRail has banned approximately 2500 of its workers from using melatonin and Zopiclone, citing safety concerns. Melatonin will soon be sold over the counter without requiring a prescription. Rail and Maritime Union health and safety organiser Karen Fletcher said in a recent memo to staff, KiwiRail said workers in safety sensitive roles taking melatonin or Zopiclone would be stood down temporarily. She said the union was not consulted on the decision. 'We first heard about it when the staff got in touch with us and said, 'What's this all about?' They've been taking melatonin and Zopiclone for years and even decades, prescribed by a doctor, and sometimes the rail medical doctor. 'It came as a shock.' She said the staff included in the ban were those in high-risk, front-line roles, who often operated heavy machinery. Many were shift workers who relied on melatonin or Zopiclone to help them sleep, she said. 'Shift workers have to sleep at odd times of the day and night, and [sleep medication] has been really helpful for them. 'They take it to be fit for work because if they don't sleep, they're at risk of working in a fatigued state.' She said the workers often had to shift their start time and sleep time, working rotating shifts. She said the union had not had any issues with workers being impaired from taking sleep aids, and some said taking them made them feel the best they ever had at work. 'They're questioning why now, why the change, is there new evidence? 'And will people be able to take it in certain circumstances, and what will happen to our members if they're unable to transition off these meds that they've been using for decades in some cases?' KiwiRail's statement In a statement, a KiwiRail spokesperson told RNZ it made the decision based on advice from its chief medical officer Dr Simon Ryder-Lewis who is an occupational medicine physician. 'KiwiRail's chief medical officer has independently reviewed the use of Zopiclone and melatonin by safety critical workers at KiwiRail. This review considered the medical evidence regarding these medications as well as regulatory practices in rail and other comparable industries, both in New Zealand and internationally. 'Based on this assessment, the chief medical officer has determined that neither medication is compatible with safety critical work at KiwiRail.' KiwiRail said it placed the highest priority on safety and under its Fitness for Work Policy, all workers were required to notify their managers or supervisor of any factors which might impair their ability to perform their duties safely, including declaring prescription medications. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) also told RNZ it did not generally recommend melatonin for pilots and crew. 'We have found the use of melatonin by pilots and cabin crew is usually not useful to manage fatigue and roster-related time zone changes. Melatonin may be approved by CAA on a case-by-case basis for pilots without sleep disorders.' Sleep expert's view Deputy Head of the University of Auckland Department of Anaesthesiology Guy Warman has expertise in sleep, circadian rhythms and melatonin. He said it was common for shift workers, particularly those who work overnight, to feel tired while on shift and have poor sleep while off work. 'Shift work presents all sorts of challenges because people are working at times when the body is trying to promote sleep. 'People then seek ways of improving their sleep through medication and other means. He said melatonin was different from other sleep medications that acted as sedatives. 'It's not really a sleep drug, it's a hormone. 'Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in the brain in very low doses. It naturally acts on receptors in our central biological clock to reinforce our day-night sleeping cycle. 'However, in pharmacological doses, it can be taken to shift our biological clock and reduce sleep onset latency, which is the amount of time it takes to get to sleep.' He said as long as it was taken in appropriate doses and at appropriate times, the safety effects of melatonin were positive. 'The general recommendation is eight hours before doing any work. 'The evidence I'm aware of is that the melatonin will be gone before the eight hours are up.' He was not aware of any evidence that taking a standard 3mg of melatonin could cause impairment the day after it was taken.
RNZ News
30-04-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Rail freight will be less viable without Aratere ferry, critics say
Interislander is retiring its only rail-enabled ferry, the Aratere. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The Rail and Maritime Union says the decision to retire the Aratere will sever the rail connection between the North and South Islands for years and make it a less viable freight option. Interislander's only rail enabled ferry will be taken out of service this year to make way for the construction of new port infrastructure, which is set to see some jobs cut. Rail Minister Winston Peters said it would cost $120 million to move infrastructure and keep the Aratere in service. The ship, which first entered service on Cook Strait in 1999, made headlines last year when it ran aground near Picton because of an autopilot mistake. Rail and Maritime Union general secretary Todd Valster told RNZ that his members would not be directly affected as they did land-based work, such as jobs in the Interislander terminals. But, Valster said it would affect rail for at least four years. "Disruption to freight for customers, extended times, more risk, but also what a lot of people don't really realise is that a lot of stuff moves between the islands that is essential to keep the rail infrastructure going on both sides." He said it would make rail a less viable option for freight. "The customer may just think we'll just leave it on a truck, it might be the easier option and sometimes it's the cheaper option, but it's certainly not supporting the heavy investment New Zealand has done over recent times." Road freight lobby group Transporting New Zealand chief executive Dom Kalasih said the retirement would cause more risk to Interislander services. Kalasih said that would particularly be the case if one of its two remaining ferries had to be taken out of service. He said it would be "fascinating" to see how freight went without any rail enabled ferries in service. Tangi Utikere Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Labour's rail spokesperson Tangi Utikere said New Zealanders would now have to rely on two ageing boats, which required increased levels of maintenance. He said there would "clearly" be interruptions to services. "It is a given that we will see at some time only one of those boats operating, and possibly actually if both of the two existing ships are out of action for whatever reason, it may be that there are no Interislander ferries actually crossing the Cook Strait," he said. Utikere said Labour's iReX plan would have meant replacement boats arrived much earlier than the current government's approach, and the cancellation of the original deal meant there would be job losses while New Zealanders continued to wait for new ferries to arrive. "There is no contract in place. We don't know what the final costs will be. The cancellation costs are continuing to rise each day that we continue to wait for those decisions to be taken. There is little certainty, and little confidence I guess, that they will arrive in 2029." Rail Minister Winston Peters said the government would do required work in Wellington and build a new, double lane linkspan in Picton to serve rail and road for the next 60 years. "Under iReX, a whole temporary operation was to be built at taxpayers' expense only to knock it down when permanent infrastructure was built, plus 'Taj Mahal' terminal buildings and expensive works across the wider yards in Wellington and Picton. "That is not good use of funds, and we are getting the taxpayer a superior deal." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
