executives – Page 55 – SafetyAtWorkBlog

2010 International Day of Mourning

Tomorrow, 28 April 2010, is the International Day of Mourning, a remembrance day for those who have died at work. In Australia most of the focus will be on the memorial event in Sydney as the majority of trade union leaders are in the city for the ACTU Organising Conference. This has the potential to leave events in other capital cities muted as second string trade union leaders are likely to host events.

Tasmania’s trade union movement has chosen to replace a fixed geographic event with a mini-event in workplaces. Its poster is on the right. Workers are encouraged to

“Wear a wristband as a sign of respect to those who have died at work
Hold a minute’s silence in remembrance”

A list of Workers’ Memorial Day events in Australia is available through the ACTU website. Continue reading “2010 International Day of Mourning”

If safety culture begins at the top, what message is the Australian Government sending on insulation installer deaths?

If safety culture is set and developed by leaders, what does it mean when a Prime Minister launches a scheme that places the creation of jobs over the need for worker safety?

Two days before International Workers’ Memorial Day, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Four Corners program analyses the failed insulation scheme initiated by the Australian Government in 2009.

According to the Four Corners website:

“Four Corners takes a forensic look at a chain of events that began with so many good intentions but ended in death and political humiliation. What exactly were the warnings given to the Department of Environment and the Minister Peter Garrett? Why did senior officials inside the Department reject safety concerns, preferring to play up the job creation aspects of the program?”

An audio preview of the Four Corners is available online. In that interview a whistleblower from the Department of the Environment states that

“..we were told that safety was of less importance than job creation.” Continue reading “If safety culture begins at the top, what message is the Australian Government sending on insulation installer deaths?”

Bank CEO says he ‘can’t really have work-life balance’

Mike Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the ANZ Bank provided some insights into his life as a senior executive at a conference in Sydney on 21 April 2010. The most exciting information was a brief description of the assassination attempt on his life while working in South America but, in the context of health and safety, he also reveals a few nuggets of information.

Smith’s conference presentation was reported in the Australian Financial Review (article only available to subscribers) on 22 April 2010. He states as a CEO “you can’t really have work-life balance”. Continue reading “Bank CEO says he ‘can’t really have work-life balance’”

Important lessons from France Telecom suicide investigations

On 9 April 2010, according to media reports, an investigating magistrate was appointed to investigate the more than 30 suicides that have occurred in the France Telecom (FT) workforce.

This follows the November 2009 court finding that management policy could generate harassment.

An inspectors report in February 2010 identified that “pathogenic” management methods were applied to achieve a job reduction target of 22,000 between 2006 and 2008.

Significantly one media report says that suicides are continuing in the workforce with ten occurring since the start of 2010.

An Associated Press report on 12 April 2010 quotes a union lawyer:

“At one time, there was an intention to create a sense of frustration so employees would leave. The problem was that it worked too well…” Continue reading “Important lessons from France Telecom suicide investigations”

BHP Billiton has another mining fatality at Leinster mine

On 12 April 2010, the electronic media (video report available) reported a fatality at a BHP Billiton mine in Western Australia where

“a truck plunged 18 metres down a shaft at the Perseverance nickel mine near Leinster.”

Newspapers on 13 April 2010 have provided further details. The 45-year old man, Wayne Ross, was operating a “bogger” at the time. A profile of a bogger operator is available HERE. which reads

“Being a Bogger Operator is a very physically demanding job. You need to operate heavy excavators in dark damp conditions, however you will be well rewarded for this. Some Bogger operators can earn around $80,000 a year.”

The Leinster mine has been the site of several deaths since 2006. Four workers have died on BHP Billiton mine sites since July 2009.

The Age reports that the bogger the worker “was driving fell almost 20 metres down the mine shaft” and it took around 18 hours to retrieve his body. Continue reading “BHP Billiton has another mining fatality at Leinster mine”

Information flow is critical for sound Board decisions on OHS

Peter Arthur, a Partner with Australian law firm, Allens Arthur Robinson, spoke on Boardroom Radio on 1 April 2010 about new duties that national OHS laws will place on Directors.

Although there are six elements in the new general duty, Arthur says that they all can come under the category of “information flow”. Continue reading “Information flow is critical for sound Board decisions on OHS”

Lord Young smashes bridges instead of building them at IOSH conference

Following the post on the 2010 British election campaign a reader pointed out that David Cameron’s reviewer of OHS, Lord Young, spoke at the 2010 conference of the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH) in late March 2010 and ruffled some feathers.

Lord David Young described the public perception of OHS as

“at best, as an object of ridicule and, at worst, a bureaucratic nightmare”.

However according to IOSH, Lord Young identified OHS professionals as the problem instead of considering the truth of many of the media reports. Continue reading “Lord Young smashes bridges instead of building them at IOSH conference”

Category: executives

2010 International Day of Mourning

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If safety culture begins at the top, what message is the Australian Government sending on insulation installer deaths?

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Bank CEO says he ‘can’t really have work-life balance’

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Important lessons from France Telecom suicide investigations

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BHP Billiton has another mining fatality at Leinster mine

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Information flow is critical for sound Board decisions on OHS

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Lord Young smashes bridges instead of building them at IOSH conference

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