The Safety Institute‘s OHS Professional magazine for December 2009 included an article (originally published in an OHS newsletter from Piper Alderman for those non-SIA members) about the application of legal professional privilege using a New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission decision as its basis (Nicholson v Waco KwikForm Limited). The case received considerable attention by OHS law firms.
All posts for the month December, 2009
Legal professional privilege and safety management
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 31, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/12/31/legal-professional-privilege-and-safety-management/
HSE Chair’s review of 2009
Judith Hackett, Chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), reviews the performance of the agency in the December podcast produced by the agency. Transcript is available online The podcast provides a positive outlook for the HSE which one would expect. Hackett talks about the need for the HSE to dispel the myths that [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 30, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/12/30/hse-chairs-review-of-2009/
Search terms cloud for 2009
Below is a “tag cloud” of the most popular search terms used to arrive at SafetyAtWorkBlog. The smallest tag has a minimum of 30 entries.
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 30, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/12/30/search-terms-cloud-for-2009/
Safety is more than common sense
“Common sense” is a phrase regularly used to describe workplace health and safety. More often than not the term is used dismissively. This is part of the reason that the OHS profession struggles for legitimacy and why there is a constant sense of frustration in the profession and OHS regulators.
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 30, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/12/30/safety-is-more-than-common-sense/
Orewa College explosion update
The New Zealand Department of Labour has released a media statement about the prosecution reported on yesterday but “The Department will not name either the parties or the specific charges until the charges reach court.” This may be an indication of the political sensitivities of the prosecution. A representative of the Orewa College Board of Trustees, Phil Pickford,was interviewed by New Zealand [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 22, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/12/22/orewa-college-explosion-update/
Safety photo article reproduction
A very popular posting at SafetyAtWorkBlog has been Col Finnie’s piece on taking photographs for OHS purposes. An edited version of Col’s article was published, with authorisation, in the 19 November 2009 edition of Accident Prevention e-News which is now available online. Our thanks goes to editor Scott Williams, firstly, for reading SafetyAtWorkBlog and secondly for going through due process in seeking [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 22, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/12/22/safety-photo-article-reproduction/
CSR in firing line on asbestos compensation
SafetyAtWorkBlog has not reported on the asbestos compensation problems faced by James Hardie Industries directly because in 2009, the issue is one of corporate responsibility more so than workplace safety. The reality is that asbestos kills and victims deserve compensation. The fact that asbestos companies are avoiding their responsibilities is of little surprise. In Australia, most of the [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 21, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/12/21/csr-in-firing-line-on-asbestos-compensation/
John Holland prosecution
The John Holland Group has featured several times in the SafetyAtWorkBlog in 2009. Any organisation as large as this Australian conglomerate who promotes their commitment to safety and whose Board Chair, Janet Holmes a Court, has such a high profile is going to draw media scrutiny. In fact, the evolution of the John Holland safety culture and the struggle to maintain [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 21, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/12/21/john-holland-prosecution/
Boiler death puts OHS spotlight on New Zealand Education Department
Reports are coming out of New Zealand that representatives of the Education Department are uncomfortable with being charged under the country’s OHS legislation following a fatal boiler explosion at Orewa College. On 24 June 2009, a boiler exploded at Orewa College in Northland, New Zealand. Initial media reports said that the boiler was being repaired the day after a [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 21, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/12/21/boiler-death-puts-ohs-spotlight-on-new-zealand-education-department/
Coordinated raid on illegal workers in Australia
Illegal migrant workers are not a big problem in Australia. Those who are caught are usually working outside of the allowances of their tourist or student visas. Being an island nation and the bottom of the world, Australia does not have border protection issues to the extent of the United States or Europe. That’s an [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on December 18, 2009
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2009/12/18/coordinated-raid-on-illegal-workers-in-australia/
http://au.loadedweb.com/
