In the ongoing debates about workplace safety, a critical question is often left unasked: What are employers doing to ensure safe and healthy work environments, and why are their responsibilities so frequently underplayed in public discourse? Too often, when workplace safety issues arise, the conversation quickly shifts to affordability and government intervention.
Continue reading “Employer Responsibility in Workplace Safety is Being Overlooked”Category: media
Reading behind the rows of Australia’s injury dashboard – farm fatalities or poor choices?
Australia now has a Rural Media Farm Injury Dashboard, which shows the location of agricultural injuries and deaths from 2020 onwards. This is the type of publicly available information required to help reinforce an awareness of the dangers of farm work and demystify and destigmatise occupational health and safety (OHS) in this sector.
There are limitations, though, so one must be careful not to hyperbolise the data.
Note: This article mentions suicide.
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Endorsing Exploitation? The Legal and Moral Blindspot in the Long-Hours Hustle
Recently, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an extraordinary article that seems to endorse the exploitation of the mental health of workers. (Although the article is paywalled, it is getting a run in some local Australian newspapers) The article reports that companies like Shopify, Solace Health, and Rilla are bluntly marketing roles that involve extreme hours, a relentless pace, and minimal downtime.
One job post literally reads: “Please don’t join unless you’re eager to work 70 hours a week.”
If the job ads for these prominent North American companies were posted in Australia, the unsafe working conditions would likely be deemed illegal.
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NZ OHS reform is all sticks and carrots of questionable quality
Recently, New Zealand’s Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Brooke Van Velden, was interviewed for almost half an hour by Jack Tame on her government’s proposed changes to occupational health and safety (OHS) laws. The interview was informative and entertaining, as it explained some aspects of the OHS changes, but also showcased a Minister who was uncomfortable with being questioned.
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Pyrrhic IR prosecution that ignores the OHS context
Recently, sentencing in a court case in Melbourne has generated much online chatter about excessive working hours and the exploitation of workers in a small law practice. One report of the $A50,000 fine against Erudite Legal says that the company:
“…forced a junior lawyer to work up to 24-hour days and watch an ice hockey movie at 1am so she could understand her boss’ philosophical position”.
Other media reports provide more details of the successful prosecution, but the occupational health and safety (OHS) context is mostly absent.
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What does the Labor Party landslide win mean for work health and safety?
This weekend, all the talk in Australia has been about the massive and unexpected electoral swing to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the federal election. Most pundits were expecting a majority government, at least, but now the ALP has a substantial majority in the House of Representatives. Possible constraints from a new Senate have yet to be identified.
But this blog is about occupational health and safety (OHS), so why start with an election summary? Industrial relations and, therefore, OHS were almost entirely absent from the election campaigns.
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The recent recommendations into OHS penalties are likely to go nowhere
The Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council‘s report on OHS sentencing received minimal media coverage. Perhaps more will come when the government responds to the recommendations. However, the coverage focused on the recommendation for a substantial increase in financial penalties for those who breach occupational health and safety (OHS) laws. The report contained much more than financial penalties, but the political climate will likely stifle any significant reforms.
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