Category: grief

Christopher’s Death and the Questions That Still Demand Answers

Patrizia Cassaniti has produced a remarkable book about how her life changed due to the death of her 18-year-old son, Christopher, in a scaffold collapse in 2019. Her story comes from grief and anger, and the book is one of the few that made me cry.

Cassaniti’s story is compelling and heartbreaking, but its refusal to name those responsible for the scaffold collapse shapes the book’s impact and raises deeper questions about accountability in workplace deaths. The new first-person accounts in the last third of the book are enlightening and enraging.

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Remembering the People Behind the Statistics

Occupational health and safety (OHS) can feel like nothing but administrative work, wading through safety clutter. It is easy to forget that OHS is about preventing harm or managing the consequences. There are people behind the statistics and families behind the people. I find it important to keep myself grounded by attending small events that remind me of why I do what I do.

Last week, just before Australia’s Safe Work Month, I attended a small gathering of people affected by work-related deaths, which was organised by GriefWork.

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Meaningful memorial that could have said much more

International Worker Memorial Day (IWMD) events are usually moving and solemn occasions.  Today’s event in Melbourne, Victoria, was a good example, but something was missing, especially given the calibre of dignitaries who were present. (A list of most of them is below)

Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari was on message as the first formal speaker.  He was the only speaker who addressed the IWMD theme –  The role of AI and digitalisation at work. He was followed by Premier Jacinta Allan, Melbourne Lord Mayor, Nick Reece, Acting CEO of WorkSafe Victoria, and Ash West. The Premier’s attendance was notable as I cannot remember the last time a Premier attended or spoke at this type of event.

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“show me the bodies”

Significant changes in occupational health and safety result from one or more work-related fatalities. To my knowledge, this has not been labelled anyone’s “rule”, but it is a sad truism, and there are examples everywhere.

Episode One of the BBC’s excellent Grenfell podcast series references the phrase “show me the bodies” as having been said by a British bureaucrat requesting more evidence of the risks of external cladding on high-rise apartments. Such a thoughtless request implies that nothing needs to be done until there is evidence of a significant likelihood of death.

However, this article is not about Grenfell Tower (which will be coming soon) but about occupational health and safety (OHS) consultation and its failure.

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Peter Howard and Work-Related Suicide

Work-related suicide is the psychosocial equivalent of a physical workplace fatality. They represent failures of occupational health and safety (OHS) management and the presence of unsafe systems of work.

Several years ago in Adelaide, Australia, a worker burned to death in his car outside the company’s premises. Work-related suicide after decades of bullying was the expected outcome, but the findings of a recent Coroner’s inquest were inconclusive. The death of 59-year-old Peter Howard deserves more attention and consideration.

Warning: this article discusses suicide

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Workplace deaths are convenient for no one

I don’t believe that International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) or the World Day for Safety and Health at Work should be held on any day other than April 28 each year. I don’t think Christmas should be moved or ANZAC Day. All these days are of significant cultural importance in Australia, and each of these dates has been set for the last few decades in the case of IWMD and ANZAC Day, and centuries for Christmas. Commemorating International Workers’ Memorial Day on a different day places logistical reasons and convenience above the significance of the day and the message it gives to the community.

Continue reading “Workplace deaths are convenient for no one”

Understanding Grief

Occupational health and safety (OHS) has always dealt with death. Many of the most significant legislative and operational changes have resulted from one or more work-related deaths. The horror and tragedy of each death cause us to redouble our efforts to prevent untimely death.

The reality of occupational deaths and the quest to prevent death are crucial elements of OHS’s beliefs, philosophy and principles. Each of these deaths generates grief, an emotional and mental state that an Australian book explores from the “lived experience”.

Life After is a curious book published in 2021.

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