consultation – Page 57 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

The importance of evidence in OHS decision-making

There are a couple of actions in Australia’s OHS profession that are worth linking together. The first is occurring outside OHS as well and that is the demand for evidence-based decision making. The second is the push by the Safety Institute of Australia and others to establish a core body of OHS knowledge.

On the first point a recent Editorial in Elsevier’s “Policy and Safety” journal summarise the recent evolution of evidence-based decision making and evidence-based polices (EBP) which gained credence through the governments of Tony Blair particularly. The editorial states that much of this push is a management strategy

“…based on the common-sense notion that business strategies and directions are underpinned by a solid information base will be superior to navigating without reliable charts and compass.”

In some ways this “notion” may be an assumption or an ideal. The notion is sound, as far as it goes but, according to the editorial, evidence could be better used informing policy rather than providing the foundation. Continue reading “The importance of evidence in OHS decision-making”

Oil rig workers speak about BP/Deepwater incident

The worker impact of the BP/Deepwater incident in the Gulf Of Mexico has finally been provide a mainstream media airing in 60 Minutes. Workers Comp Insider blog provides some commentary and embedded video of the show.

It is a curiosity of American television that everything is open for discussion even though an official inquiry is underway. This may be to do with the fascination of all things television but may also be reflective of a country whose legal structure allows for greater and more immediate self-analysis than the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth colleagues.

From the information available about the events preceding the disaster and immediately after, there was an increased production pressure on the oil rig’s workers. There was some confusion on the authority for decision-making on process matters. Emergency procedures were not well-developed or the practicalities anticipated.

Clearly there were flaws in the safety management system regardless of any design issues. The governmental inquiry will be able to provide a much more detailed and dispassionate report of these events but it is clear that at this one oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, safety management was not clearly understood or applied by workers at the frontline.

The world is looking forward to the “big picture” report.

New suicide report has something to say about workplace mental health

Work-related suicides have been in the press a lot in Australia over the last six months. In June 2010, the Australian Government released a report into suicide called The Hidden Toll: Suicide in Australia. It covers suicide as a social issue broadly but there are some mentions in the report about work-related suicides that are worth noting.

On social costs:

“Ms Dulcie Bird of the Dr Edward Koch Foundation argued that whole communities are often affected when a suicide occurs and described low estimates of the number of people effected by suicide as ‘a load of nonsense’. She gave the example of the suicide of a 16-year-old boy in a small town and noted her organisation had completed ’43 face-to-face interventions for that one suicide’. The Foundation commented that suicide results in the loss of the deceased person’s contribution to society as a whole. Continue reading “New suicide report has something to say about workplace mental health”

Teacher stress, resilience and protective factors

Teaching is a stressful occupation. Any occupation that requires one to not only talk to people but to educate them, is stressful. Imagine having to do this every week day in front of over twenty people who do not want to be there. During your lunch break, instead of putting your feet up and reading the paper, you may be required to patrol the inside of a wire fence wearing a fluorescent vest followed by children sucking up or making fun of you. On days off, you still have scribbled essays to mark or neatly written essays to vet against Wikipedia all the time. During holidays you travel hours to a remote caravan park on the bend of a river and there will still be a school child who recognises you and keeps saying “Hello, Sir”.

Such can be the life of a teacher but teaching is conducted at a workplace and health at work is a legislated obligation and expectation. On 23 June 2010, the Tasmanian Government felt the need to clarify some media reports concerning the stress levels of its teachers. The Education Minister, Lin Thorp, said in a media release that

“… a total of 57 Department of Education employees, including teaching and non-teaching staff, had taken stress leave in the year ending March 2010. This figure is the same as for the previous year. Continue reading “Teacher stress, resilience and protective factors”

When information supply is NOT consultation

In Australia there is a purposely created commonality between the developing OHS law and industrial relations law on certain issues. Consultation is one of those matters and, although a decision by the Federal Court of Australia on 11 June 2010 relates to the Fair Work Act, safety professionals and business owners should take note.

On 22 June 2010, Justice John Logan fined Queensland Rail $A660,000 for not consulting its workforce on the company’s privatization plan which would have affected employees’ jobs. (An ABC podcast of the matter is available online) One media report paraphrased Justice Logan:

“[he]told the court that workers were never given the opportunity to discuss if they would be moved into the new private business, how the privatisation would occur, or if they wanted privatisation in the first place.”

The most pertinent comments from 11 June 2010 judgement by Justice Logan are also quoted in various media reports:

“This change so radical, a breach so comprehensive, the occasion for consultation so obvious that anything less than maximum penalties would not do justice to the case and the need to ensure public confidence in the adherence to industrial relations bargains.”

The Australian quotes Justice Logan as saying

“Benign dictatorship is not to be equated with consultation…” Continue reading “When information supply is NOT consultation”

HSE and Lord Young test the waters of reform

The head of the UK’s Health & Safety Executive, Judith Hackitt has released part of a letter that she sent to Lord Young of Graffham on the announcement of his OHS review. According to Hackitt’s media statement she advised

“The terms of reference of your review extend beyond HSE’s remit, which is concerned with addressing real risks and preventing death, injury and ill health to those at work and those affected by work related activities.

“However, we in HSE have been saying for some time that health and safety is being used by too many as a convenient excuse to hide behind.”

Hackitt welcomed the review and has released Lord Young’s response in which he says:

“Thank you for your letter of 14 June confirming your commitment to the review commissioned by the Prime Minister into Health and Safety and the growth of the compensation culture. Continue reading “HSE and Lord Young test the waters of reform”

What does the Ark Tribe case have to do with workplace safety?

Australian trade unions, particularly those in the construction sector, have strongly supported Ark Tribe in his battle with the Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC). Outside of the world of Australian construction trade union politics, the Ark Tribe issue has been difficult to understand without over-simplifying the issue.

In 2008, Ark Tribe attended a union safety meeting conducted by union organiser Justin Feehan. The meeting was unauthorised and led to Tribe being called on for an interview with the ABCC. He refused to attend and legal action has been taken which is likely to be resolved in the Australian courts today. Tribe faces six month’s jail.

Regularly the saga has been described as one concerning workplace safety. An unauthorised safety meeting may have been the initial event but the issue passed being an OHS matter very quickly to become one of industrial relations and a cause celebre against the ABCC. Continue reading “What does the Ark Tribe case have to do with workplace safety?”

Category: consultation

The importance of evidence in OHS decision-making

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Oil rig workers speak about BP/Deepwater incident

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New suicide report has something to say about workplace mental health

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Teacher stress, resilience and protective factors

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When information supply is NOT consultation

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HSE and Lord Young test the waters of reform

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What does the Ark Tribe case have to do with workplace safety?

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