Category: business

Home-based businesses need OHS consideration

SafetyAtWorkBlog is largely produced from a home-based business and the issues of safety, mental health, work/life balance are real issues in this business.

In the development of OHS regulations, a “workplace” has been fairly generic.  For at least 50 years, our definition of “workplace” has reflected our individual experience of the places we have worked.  (Lately, in Australia, a “workplace” has been designed as a place where work is performed, which raises lots of difficult issues in itself.)  OHS regulations are rarely written by workers in  a home-based business and sometimes the regulations miss this important sector of the workforce and the community.

An article on women’s wages in the Australian Financial Review on 16 March 2010 (not available online without a subscription) includes one paragraph of interesting and relevant statistics: Continue reading “Home-based businesses need OHS consideration”

Abuse, egos, corporate governance and the safety profession

On 15 March 2010, the National President of the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA), Barry Silburn, distributed an email to the 3,600 SIA members strongly refuting the “unsubstantiated claims of irregularities” that were, apparently made by Gavin Waugh, Western Australian Division President and former National Secretary, in a member discussion forum and email circulated to members a couple of days earlier.

Many SIA members will be perplexed by having such an email lob in their inbox without any explanatory background and with obtuse language.  In some ways the email reads like the accountant has done a runner to spend all the members’ money at the casino. Continue reading “Abuse, egos, corporate governance and the safety profession”

The cost of doing nothing

It is always an option to do nothing.  The status quo can be very attractive but if one chooses to not control a workplace hazard that one is aware of then the penalty must be accepted and the responsibility accepted.

WorkSafe Victoria has provided details (not yet online) of a case where a director of a food manufacturing company did not act on a workplace hazard and that hazard resulted in

“…the worker’s middle three fingers …removed to the knuckle; and he suffered damaged nerves, constant pain, and restricted movement of his thumb.”

The sole director of the company, Dino Fabbris, was fined $A25,000 for

“…his failure to arrange for the shredder to be guarded – despite working on the factory floor on a daily basis and taking managerial responsibility for the company’s two factories.” Continue reading “The cost of doing nothing”

Workplace bullying and restorative justice – how to help the families left behind

A feature article on workplace bullying in The Age newspaper on 10 March 2010 has the additional or secondary benefit of again raising the relevance of “restorative justice” to the issue of occupational safety and health.

The main element of the article is the McGregor family who had two children commit suicide over related issues.  The son, Stuart McGregor,  described as being chronically depressed, was being bullied at work.  He confided in his sister, Angela McGregor, over the issues.  Angela had been bullied at school.  Alannah killed herself.  A month later, Stuart followed.

WorkSafe investigated the bullying at Stuart’s place of work, substantiated Stuart’s claims are is determining what further action to take.  The newspaper reports that there may be insufficient evidence to pursue the case through the Courts.

What the reporter, Helen Westerman, does is to relate the grief and hurt of the parents to the potential benefits of the application of “restorative justice” in workplace incidents.   Continue reading “Workplace bullying and restorative justice – how to help the families left behind”

Maybe Australia is looking in the wrong direction on harmonising workers’ compensation

South Australia has pledged to increase competition in its local workers’ compensation scheme in the hope of improving (some say fixing) it.  Most other Australian States have a competitive structure with private insurers.  In a couple of years, those insurers will be battling it out to achieve national coverage as the Federal Government moves to harmonise the State systems.

New data from Canada shows that perhaps Australia needs to take a deep breath and nationalise workers’ compensation for the good of the injured workers and business.

A February 2010 report from the Institute for Work & Health has concluded that

“The public administration of workers’ compensation in the Canadian systems provides a strong economic benefit to employers, arising from the lower administrative costs of a single public agency compared with the costs arising in a competitive insurance market. Continue reading “Maybe Australia is looking in the wrong direction on harmonising workers’ compensation”

Man survives trench collapse, employer fined £3,500

Trench collapses can be one of the most horrifying incidents on a construction site.  The UK’s Health & Safety Executive has released photos of the trench in which a worker, Mark Miller according to one media report

“…suffered a broken leg and bruising, and was incredibly fortunate to survive the horror of being buried alive.”

The same media report from Cambridge News says

“The court heard Mr Miller was saved by Hill [the contractor and Miller’s employer],…. after he rushed to free the trapped worker.

Robin Cooper, prosecuting, said: “He was buried up to his abdomen and felt his left leg break.  More earth then collapsed on him and buried him to above his head.”

Continue reading “Man survives trench collapse, employer fined £3,500”

“Imagination at work” but not safety

GE Capital placed a full-page pictorial advertisement in The Age newspaper on 4 March 2010 (page 5 of the business section).  The ad, partly reproduced below, promotes the company’s financial services with the corporate slogan of “imagination at work”.  Sadly safety at work wasn’t included in the ad.

SafetyAtWorkBlog readers are asked to list the workplace hazards in this picture.   Continue reading ““Imagination at work” but not safety”

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