One of the most powerful motivators for behavioural change in workplaces is the legislative obligation on employees to not put themselves at risk of injury nor to act in such a way as to place others at risk. Reported in the Australian media on 31 March 2010, Fair Work Australia has ruled that employees in [...]
All posts for the month March, 2010
Employees’ OHS responsibility and working beyond the maximum hours
Posted by Kevin Jones on March 31, 2010
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2010/03/31/employees-ohs-responsibility-and-working-beyond-the-maximum-hours/
The first workers’ compensation harmonisation meeting a sham: unions
“The conference inside is a bit of a sham” claimed Brian Boyd, Victorian Trades Hall Secretary at the first meeting into the harmonisation of Australia’s workers compensation laws. “It’s really another hidden agenda about trying to harmonise workers comp after we fully know already, they’ve messed up harmonisation of OHS.”
Posted by Kevin Jones on March 30, 2010
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2010/03/30/the-first-workers-compensation-harmonisation-meeting-a-sham-unions/
Can OHS achieve “practical wisdom”?
Continuing SafetyAtWorkBlog’s belief that the best advice on workplace safety often comes from people outside the OHS discipline, Professor Barry Schwartz of Swarthmore College was interviewed in the Australian Financial Review on 30 March 2010 (only available by subscription). Schwartz was talking about the social and regulatory impact of the global financial crisis but his [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on March 30, 2010
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2010/03/30/can-ohs-achieve-practical-wisdom/
OHS lawyers see opportunities in harmonisation of laws
The current edition of Lawyers Weekly includes some thoughts from Australian lawyers on the impact of the harmonisation of Australia’s OHS laws. Michael Tooma of Norton Rose believes that the new positive duty of officers has sparked interest in improving corporate governance. Graeme Smith of Freehills has seen an improved recognition of lawyers’ roles in [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on March 30, 2010
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2010/03/30/ohs-lawyers-see-opportunities-in-harmonisation-of-laws/
Safety Cartoon
Ian Watson is an Australian safety professional who also draws cartoons. His warped perspective on workplace safety is refreshing and his cartooning style is plain, almost “naive”. He produces cartoons under the moniker of Unsafe! and one of his cartoons is below. Kevin Jones
Posted by Kevin Jones on March 29, 2010
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2010/03/29/safety-cartoon/
How many safety awards are too many?
On 23 March 2010, SafetyAtWorkBlog questioned the need for so many government-sanctioned OHS awards and noted that there is little overlap between wellness awards and safety awards. On 26 March 2010, Australia’s Safety Rehabilitiation and Compensation Commission (SRCC) announced a new category in its OHS awards that will “recognise organisations that promote health and wellbeing in the workplace–long before [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on March 29, 2010
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2010/03/29/how-many-safety-awards-are-too-many/
New OHS advice on quad bikes
On 22 March 2010, Workplace Health & Safety Queensland released new guidance on the use 0f quad bikes. There is no radical solution to quad bike deaths but there are some variations to existing advice which should be noted. The most obvious is that “quad bike” is used through instead of ATV (all-terrain vehicle). This may [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on March 29, 2010
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2010/03/29/new-ohs-advice-on-quad-bikes/
OHS exhibitions in Australia
Australia seems to have more OHS conference now than ever before. The growth in annual conferences seems odd in a country with such a small comparative population but perhaps because the population is spread so much and there is such a strong resource sector, perhaps it is understandable. SafetyAtWorkBlog put some questions about the phenomenon to Marie Kinsella, the Managing Director of Australian Exhibitions [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on March 27, 2010
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2010/03/27/ohs-conferences-in-australia/
Unprecedented interest in workplace bullying
On 25 March 2010, at the first of ten workplace bullying information seminars, WorkSafe Victoria, claimed to have a world-class approach to combating workplace bullying. The Europeans may dispute the claim but there is no doubt that WorkSafe is on the right path in responding to the unprecedented community interest in the issue. In a packed hall in the City of [...]
Posted by Kevin Jones on March 26, 2010
http://safetyatworkblog.com/2010/03/26/unprecedented-interest-in-workplace-bullying/
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