Category: safety

Prominent OHS lawyer to facilitate workers’ compensation reform discussions

SafetyAtWorkBlog has been able to confirm the rumour that Barry Sherriff, a prominent Australian OHS Lawyer who recently joined Norton Rose, has been contracted to facilitate a series of exclusive forums on the reform of Australia’s workers’ compensation system.

Sherriff was one of the triumvirate who investigated a model OHS law for the Australian Government and should fulfill his contracted role for Safe Work Australia (SWA) admirably. Continue reading “Prominent OHS lawyer to facilitate workers’ compensation reform discussions”

LTIFRs (sort of) gone from Australia Post

The Communications Division of the CEPU has been in negotiations with Australia Post for some time to establish a pathway to better industrial relations.  On 18 March 2010 a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between the two parties, committing both to progress.

Of direct OHS interest is the following paragraph in the media statement about the MOU:

“As a gesture of good faith the MOU contains commitments from all parties that will apply immediately:

  • Australia Post will host a summit in April between senior executives including the Managing Director and senior CEPU representatives on the future challenges facing the business, the unions and their members; and
  • The removal of Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate’s in bonus targets for managers.”

Whether OHS will be discussed at the summit is unknown but the removal of LTIFR is of significance to OHS professionals.

Continue reading “LTIFRs (sort of) gone from Australia Post”

What is the best OHS conference you have attended and why?

Australia is beginning the new year’s rounds of safety conferences.  There is always a lot to criticise on OHS conferences but SafetyAtWorkBlog wants to hear about the best safety conference you have attended and what made it so good?  (Teleconference and web-based conferences will be dealt with another time.

Was it the speakers? The venue location? The comfy chairs?  The lunchtime food?  The quality of conference attendees? Or the really cool USB of conference papers included in the ID card lanyard, as happened recently in Australia?

The most interesting comment will receive two OHS-related books from the SafetyAtWorkBlog review copy library (there may be scribbles in the margins).

Kevin Jones

Harmonisation of Australia’s workers’ compensation system begins

SafetyAtWorkBlog has learnt that the national harmonisation process for workers’ compensation has formally begun with one of the first meetings being scheduled in Melbourne at the end of March 2010 and organised by Safe Work Australia.  The two-day meeting is invitation only and invitations have been sent to relevant stakeholders – insurers, rehabilitation, providers, unions…… The meeting is almost an introduction to the reform process but could provide a clear indication of the tensions and challenges for this program in the future.

Workers compensation issues in South Australia have been receiving considerable coverage in SafetyAtWorkBlog over the last few weeks.  The bigger picture in the complaints that the Australian Government has committed to a program of national harmonisation of workers’ compensation schemes, currently administered separate by each State.  This process is a bigger challenge than harmonising workplace safety laws and may be bigger than the reintroduction of a more worker-friendly industrial relations system.

The ABC News bulletin (video available) in Melbourne on 17 March 2010 ran a lead story about doctors’ reluctance to treat injured workers Continue reading “Harmonisation of Australia’s workers’ compensation system begins”

Is forklift safety a fantasy of OHS professionals?

Recently a colleague brought a YouTube video on forklift safety to the attention of SafetyAtWorkBlog.  The video illustrates the risks associated with jumping from a tilting forklift.  By comparing this to a mouse trap, the Washington Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) is illustrating the importance of the safety cage on forklifts and the role of seatbelts.  The video is from around 2005 and remains fundamentally sound in its advice.

Seatbelts are a continuously contentious safety advice on forklifts, not because they do not work, but because very few forklift operators use them.  Yet the seatbelt restraint is integral to the driver’s safety in a tipping forklift as the video below illustrates.

Continue reading “Is forklift safety a fantasy of OHS professionals?”

The OHS profession in Australia needs a saviour. Has anyone got one spare?

In December 2009, SafetyAtWorkBlog reported the comments by the English Conservative leader, David Cameron, on some concerns he had about the direction of occupational health and safety in England and how the newspapers were reporting OHS.

On 15 March 2010, The Independent published an article by the CEO of the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH), Rob Strange.  [IOSH says it is a personal opinion piece]  Strange’s article is not a rebuttal of Cameron’s speech but is an important statement in the dialogue, or debate, that must occur if workplace safety is ever going to be treated with respect.

Strange must deal with the notorious English tabloid press and some of his article shows that no matter what relationship one may wish to have with a journalist, there is no guarantee that the journalist or editor will run your perspective, argument or rebuttal.  His struggle shows how important it is to establish a respectful relationship with the media producers.  His example should be followed by safety professional associations elsewhere. Continue reading “The OHS profession in Australia needs a saviour. Has anyone got one spare?”

The fatal consequences of riding in the tray of a pick-up or ute

In 2007, Pedro Balading fell off the back of a utility vehicle while working in remote outback Australia and died.  On 16 March 2010, the owner of the Wollogorang cattle station, Panoy P/L, was fined $A60,000 over the death.

According to one media report:

“Pedro Balading, a 35-year-old father of three, was a Manila piggeries supervisor who arrived at Wollogorang Station in early 2007 and found himself isolated, underpaid and performing menial jobs. He asked to go home but was told by his employer, Panoy Pty Ltd, and the labour hire firm that brought him from the Philippines to complete his two-year contract.”

Work Health Authority‘s executive director, Laurene Hull said in a media statement:

“The danger associated with travelling in the back of a moving utility, where the risk of falling from the moving vehicle can result in death or serious injury is common knowledge,” Ms Hull said.  “Panoy Pty Ltd failed to take appropriate steps to ensure the hazard posed by travelling in the back of utilities was known to the workers and the risks appropriately managed.” Continue reading “The fatal consequences of riding in the tray of a pick-up or ute”

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