SafetyAtWorkBlog has been informed that Cath Bowtell has been appointed the new executive director of WorkSafe Victoria. Bowtell’s name may be familiar to some Australians due to her recent contest to be the next President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).
Cath Bowtell is due to take on the position in the middle of 2010. Continue reading “ACTU industrial officer is new WorkSafe executive”
Paul Howes, national secretary of the Australian Workers union has issued a media statement in support of the International Day of Mourning in which he says the Government is scared of BHP Billiton.
“Politicians – of all political shades – are just too scared to stand up to BHP-Billiton and tell them that in a safe work place people should come before profits”
The statement goes on to itemise the benefits of a unionised workplace and many of the comments will be familiar to readers and OHS professionals but what Howes statement implies is that not only is profitability given a higher priority than safety by the company but that the Australian Government is putting economic growth before corporate accountability for safety. Continue reading “Too big to be held accountable?”
On 27 April 2010, less than 24 hours after a highly critical television program was broadcast about his government’s mismanagement of its insulation rebate scheme, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to the families of the men who died while installing roof insulation.
“Certainly, when it comes to the Fuller family, I, together with other ministers of the government, are deeply sorry for what has occurred as it affects their loved ones and nothing, no action, actually brings those loved ones back,…”
There was a political imperative for the apology as the program reported that he met with one family and at the time expressed no regret. But in the context of this blog’s subject area, Rudd has said something that should kill corporate safety pledges. Continue reading ““For the government, safety has always been the number one priority” – Really?”
Queensland’s Premier, Anna Bligh, and Attorney-General, Cameron Dick have issued a curious media statement concerning their reform of the State’s workers’ compensation system.
The reform is intended “to ensure stability and certainty into the future” and “ensure that the Queensland average premium rate, while increasing, will remain the lowest of any state or territory.”
The Premier is saying the right message but the reality may be a little different. Continue reading “Queensland workers’ compensation reforms – is the good news really that good?”
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
A list of Workers’ Memorial Day events in Australia is available through the ACTU website. Continue reading “2010 International Day of Mourning”
Several weeks after UK Prime Minister called a general election and several months since David Cameron spoke volubly about the importance of occupational safety and health, workplace safety is yet to get a mention in the British election campaigns.
Croner and LabourNet reports that Mick Holder of the Hazards Campaign, said:
“While there isn’t anything positive for workplace health and safety activists in either the Labour or Tory manifestos, there is the worrying commitment to reduce regulation in the Tory one…..Given the Tory’s persistent and corrupt attacks on health and safety laws, including those in recent weeks, this must be an issue for those considering which way to vote in the forthcoming election.” Continue reading “Workplace safety still missing from British election and political radar”
If Victoria is the jurisdiction with the least changes needed to meet the new Work Health & Safety Act, it is worth looking at a recent enforcement activity. On 21 April 2010, WorkSafe Victoria announced an enforceable undertaking with the Department of Education & Early Childhood Development (DEECD).
According to the WorkSafe media release this agreement
“…requires all equipment in woodwork, metalwork and automotive secondary school classrooms to be audited by the end of the year – including equipment like planers, grinders and drills. Equipment which isn’t safe will be removed from use immediately or repaired, and all equipment will be recorded on a centralised register……
The undertaking also requires the DEECD to implement health and safety management systems across all secondary schools, which will be audited annually by specially trained staff members and overseen by WorkSafe.”
This undertaking implies that some schools did not already have an OHS management system or that some had not maintained the system in place at the time. There are thematic similarities with the Orewa College explosion and prosecution in New Zealand in 2009. Continue reading “Is the Education Dept getting off lightly?”