Category: economics

The economics of OHS and the need to think upstream

Michael Belzer and Michael Quinlan have outlined the economics of occupational health and safety (OHS) in the editorial of the latest edition of The Economic and Labour Relations Review. This contrasts with earlier research about the business case for OHS as it broadens the pool of influences more broadly. They write:

“The economic approaches to OHS in the papers in this issue identify externalities and suggest that incomplete market analysis has created an inappropriate permission to ignore uncompensated costs in labour, product, and service markets; these incomplete markets lead to greater social risk as well as inefficiency. More integrated understandings of OHS are challenging but research performed without them leads to narrow and partial understandings.” (page 483)

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Amazon’s OHS risks and practices revealed

The political upheavals in the United States and the changes to corporate ideologies are concerning, primarily because of the potential infection of other nations. Businesses are not as globally connected as much of the media coverage implies. Still, Australian businesses watch the actions of global companies, and Amazon has been prominent in workplace and occupational health and safety (OHS) practices.

Recently, the US Senate Labor Committee released a damning report into Amazon’s high workplace injury rates, which includes important information for similar industries in local jurisdictions.

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CEOs and regulations

The Australian Financial Review conducts many conferences, business summits and CEO surveys to provide publishable content (and as a marketing strategy). Over the last month, several articles and features have been produced from its “Chanticleer CEO Survey”; one is called “Red tape standing between business and Australia’s policy challenges” (hard copy title, paywalled). I scanned the CEOs’ comments for relevance to occupational health and safety (OHS) and harm prevention.

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Two new books that challenge our OHS beliefs

I know the basics of occupational health and safety (OHS), but I struggle to integrate those basics into the changing world of work. As such, I have been reading about work’s socioeconomic, political, and philosophical context and how I can adapt OHS to workers’ needs and employers’ desires. Two books I purchased last week are challenging my understanding of work and OHS. Unsurprisingly, neither of them is about OHS. We often learn more about our own OHS discipline from how others see it.

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Latest OHS News from Maddocks

Last week, Maddocks law firm conducted an end-of-year summary of its workplace relations issues and a forecast for 2025. Occupational health and safety (OHS) are almost inseparable from industrial relations (IR), so the overlaps between the four or five topics discussed were enlightening and provided a good contrast to the information from other law sources.

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Our understanding of suicides is improving…..finally

[The following article discusses suicide]

In November 2024, Victorian Coroner John Cain said:

“”While our early research suggests that Victoria’s suicide rate has not increased overall, it is troubling that we continue to see no sustained reduction in lives lost.”

Cain has instigated a research program with the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne to provide a better understanding of suicide trends and rates. An understanding supported and queried by an article (paywalled) in The Weekend Australia written by journalist Stephen Corby.

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“Can I afford OHS?”

When you fail to speak in support of occupational health and safety (OHS) or, perish the thought, speak against OHS, you must be speaking in support of profit. Some would say the connection is not that simple, but really, it is.

Employers’ critical concern is, “Can I afford OHS?” This question shows a misunderstanding of OHS’s role in business success and continuity. The question would not occur if OHS had been integrated into the design of the business, its operations, and profit forecasts. OHS costs a lot more when it needs to be retrofitted to an existing company.

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