The sixth video update of SafetyAtWorkBlog activity is now available for viewing below or at our YouTube channel.
In the update I bring you up to date with some of the recent blog coverage but also what I have been involved with over the last couple of months as well as some interesting conference coming.
No book mentions in this update but there will be a brief review of lots of books in the next update later this week.
SafetyAtWorkBlog will be reporting from the biennial Congress of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. For the first time Trade unions have been pivotal for the creation and enforcement of occupational health and safety (OHS) around the world.
Most of the past reporting on these events in mainstream media has focused on politics and industrial relations. OHS tends to get overlooked so SafetyAtWorkBlog’s attendance will be important.
Articles from the Congress will be available only to Subscribers. Continue reading “Exclusive reports from the 2018 ACTU Congress”
Below is the first video of what we hope to produce weekly – a SafetyAtWorkBlog Update. This short weekly video is an informal wrap up of some of the SafetyAtWorkBlog articles and a quick mention of what is coming up soon. This episode also mentions a couple of interesting safety-related books.
Please let me know your thoughts on this initiative.
A crucial element in achieving the aims of the independent review into WorkSafe Victoria, as discussed in an earlier SafetyAtWorkBlog article, seems to be the operation of the Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Committee (OHSAC). It was difficult to obtain a list of the current members of OHSAC. Due to the appointments being considered “ministerial”, WorkSafe would not reveal memberships.
But it is worth considering whether this type of tripartite-dominated committee is the most suitable or effective way of consulting on occupational health and safety issues. Can it represent the gig economy and new work arrangements? Given the broadening of OHS into mental health and wellness, does the current membership still represent OHS? Where’s the Human Resources representative? Does OHSAC membership fit with the diversity we now expect from our company Boards? But, above all else, does the growth in social media make these often plodding, and sometimes secretive, processes ineffective or redundant?
A spokesperson for the Victorian Government has provided the following names of current OHSAC members as at December 2017. SafetyAtWorkBlog has added titles and links to online member profiles:
In February 2018 the SafetyAtWorkBlog will celebrate ten years of independent writing about workplace health and safety matters. It will also be the first anniversary of having SafetyAtWorkBlog as a subscription service.
Some readers have asked for more information about the social media statistics of the blog as it would provide a unique perspective on something that is purely related to workplace health and safety. So here are some of the statistics related to the blog and related social media.
The twitter feed for
In support of this year’s election of new Board members to the Safety Institute of Australia, the Safety on Tap podcast has granted each nominee ten minutes to introduce themselves. Some of these episodes raised the following points of interest:
Continue reading “Configuring the safety profession for the future”
Last week SafetyAtWorkBlog wrote about the release of a WorkSafe Victoria Strategy 2030 discussion paper. WorkSafe has responded to a series of questions that were clear and straightforward. The response is largely unhelpful.
“The discussion paper seeks feedback on WorkSafe’s next long term strategy which will support an even greater focus on injury prevention, the provision of tailored services and empathetic support to every injured worker and the transformation of WorkSafe into a technologically agile organisation.
The discussion paper has been promoted with a series of community seminars across the state, shared on social media, and sent to our employees and key stakeholders to promote and encourage feedback among their networks.
Workplace safety affects every Victorian which is why we are seeking the views of employers, workers and the broader community.
A summary of the feedback will be made available on the WorkSafe website before the end of the year.”
The questions asked by SafetyAtWorkBlog are listed below.