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 … Continue reading “John Holland prosecution”

WorkSafe’s take on John Holland’s High Court failure

Further to the posting about John Holland Group’s failed bid to the High Court of Australia, WorkSafe Victoria has issued a media statement on the case which indicates what will happen in Victoria: “WorkSafe charged John Holland Pty Ltd in relation to an October 2006 safety incident associated with the transport of concrete panels for … Continue reading “WorkSafe’s take on John Holland’s High Court failure”

Who is advising John Holland?

The person, Sir John Holland, died in May 2009.  The company, John Holland Group (JHG), is in danger of a shortened life if it continues to make bizarre decisions. John Holland Group has been widely criticized by the union movement, principally for its decision to jump out of State OHS jurisdictions to the Commonwealth (Comcare) structure.  This was seen … Continue reading “Who is advising John Holland?”

Finger injury causes hefty new safety agenda for John Holland Rail

Comcare has instigated a hefty list of enforceable undertakings (EU) against John Holland Rail (JHR) after a contractor, Jack Wilmot, needed a finger amputated after a workplace injury. According to the report on the Comcare website “…an apprentice boilermaker was involved in an incident which resulted in crush injuries to his left index finger at … Continue reading “Finger injury causes hefty new safety agenda for John Holland Rail”

We’ve got Industrial Manslaughter laws, now what?

So, Victoria now has Industrial Manslaughter laws. Now what? Within days of the activation of these laws a worker died at the Thales worksite in Bendigo. This location is covered by the Federal Work Health and Safety laws, but this has not stopped social media from mentioning Industrial Manslaughter. It seems now that every work-related …

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Are the workers safe?

At the ALP National Conference earlier in December 2018, the Assistant National Secretary of the  Construction Forestry Mining Maritime and Energy Union, Dave Noonan, moved some amendments concerning apprenticeships.  In his speech to the conference he made some statements about safety training on a construction site in Tasmania that deserved some checking.  This is the relevant …

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Review of West Gate Bridge findings has important lessons for modern infrastructure projects

2020 will be the fiftieth anniversary of the collapse of the West Gate Bridge which resulted in, amongst others, the deaths of 35 workers, changed Victoria’s approach to occupational health and safety (OHS), instigated a Royal Commission into the disaster, strengthened trade union influence and established an industrial antagonism to the John Holland group of …

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