Registration has been completed for the triennial Congress of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Drinks tonight, presentations tomorrow.
I will provide as much information as I can but the Congress has placed some limitations on media representatives, all 15 of us, as they are entitled to, but……..
The opening reception this evening will have actor
Governments use legislation and the threat of punishment as a deterrent for dangerous actions and poor decision-making. Imposing harsh consequences is hoped to change the behaviour of companies and individuals. Occupational health and safety (OHS) laws are no different with deterrence being used to justify the introduction and enforcement of Industrial Manslaughter laws, for instance.
The Australian Senate’s current inquiry
South Australia’s occupational health and safety (OHS) regulator, SafeWorkSA, is being investigated by that State’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC). SafeWorkSA has been subjected to several inquiries over recent years but the current ICAC one is perhaps the most significant, and one that is generating a lot of local discussion, and that should be watched by all OHS professionals, Regulators around Australia.
It is important to note the specifics of the Inquiry or “Evaluation”.
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”
Victoria’s Trades Hall has criticised the Master Builders Association of Victoria (MBAV) over its opposition to Industrial Manslaughter laws. The MBAV’s opposition is described as “tired” by Trades Hall in a small article in the OHS Reps SafetyNet Journal which illustrates how the gap is unbreachable.
This is what the OHS Unit of Trades Hall said about the
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) often sets the occupational health and safety (OHS) agenda, as it did on workplace stress and bullying. On 21 May 2018 the ACTU released a research report entitled “Australia’s insecure work crisis: Fixing it for the future“. The opening paragraph provides a clear indication of the report’s tone:
“The incidence of non-standard work in Australia is alarming. The fact that our national government and some employer groups seek to deny this reality and refuse to support reforms to better protect workers in insecure non-standard employment is a disgrace.”
There is a lot of useful information in this report but there is also a lot missing, a lot that could affect workplace safety.
Suicide prevention continues to be a growth area in rainsingfund-raising and awareness raising. On 17 May 2018, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull released a video supporting a treadmill challenge in support of suicide prevention. It seems an odd campaign when there have been various walks and other events in the past that have more of a public statement that being on a treadmill in a gym. But this is not the only odd suicide awareness event. Last week, Winslow Constructions had a program launch that was also a little odd and a campaign that is worthwhile, as far as it goes.
In May 2018, Winslow Constructions held a media event on one of its residential construction projects to the north of Melbourne.