Category: wellness

Eliminate the safety risk – sack the worker

A curious workplace safety and industrial relations issue has appeared in the Golden Circle factory in Queensland as reported in the Courier-Mail.  57-year-old forklift driver, Lance Pedersen has been sacked because he was found to be morbidly obese and with osteoarthritis in his knees.

The newspaper article raises many personnel management issues and there are sure to be more issues that have not been reported but a remarkable quote is reported from a company spokesperson:

“Golden Circle has an obligation to ensure the health and safety of all our employees,” the spokesman said. “We are therefore unable to continue to employ Mr Pedersen.” Continue reading “Eliminate the safety risk – sack the worker”

Shiftwork saviour? – Caffeine (sort of)

Caffeine is a commonly used stimulant in many workplaces around the world.  As such, it is often considered to be the friend of the shift worker and a new analysis of research findings may make that friendship stronger.

According to a new study from Cochrane researchers:

“The results of this systematic review suggest that caffeine may be effective in improving performance in persons engaged in shift work or suffering from jet lag, although it may not be possible to confidently translate such an improvement in performance to a reduced injury risk.” Continue reading “Shiftwork saviour? – Caffeine (sort of)”

Heart disease risk findings in women

The May 2010 edition of the  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine includes an important report about the increase of heart disease risk in young women.  There is often a lot of reports into the cardiovascular health of men so this report is very useful.

The basic findings of the report are:

“Nurses who indicated that their work pressures were a little too high were 25% more likely to have ischaemic heart disease as those who said their work pressures were manageable and appropriate.

But those who felt work pressures were much too high were almost 50% more likely to have ischaemic heart disease. After taking account of risk factors for heart disease, such as smoking and lifestyle, the risk fell to 35%, but still remained significant.” Continue reading “Heart disease risk findings in women”

The struggle to achieve cultural change on OHS

In 2008, a New South Wales Parliamentary Committee reported to the Government on problems with that State’s Ambulance Services.  The problems included bullying, harassment and a dysfunctional management.  A review into the Ambulance Services progress on the recommendations two years later has found :

“…the general feedback received from ambulance officers is that despite the new initiatives, little has changed, and significant management and cultural problems remain within the Service. While awareness of the Service’s new policies and initiatives appears to be high, adherence to and application of the policies – particularly by Ambulance managers – appears to be low, or at best, varied.” Continue reading “The struggle to achieve cultural change on OHS”

Casino smoking comes under a cloud

Crown Casino is a regulatory anomaly in many ways.   Smoking in workplaces has been a particularly difficult one for the casino.  When bans were first mooted the casino tried several control measures including air curtains between croupiers and smoking gamblers but the casino eventually agreed to be smoke-free, except in its high rollers venue, the Mahogany Room.

Now the poor air quality in that room is under threat due to one worker who, reportedly, seeking compensation for contracting lung cancer from her work activities.  According to a newspaper report four other employees are seeking relocation and have including the issue of smoking risks as one of the reasons.  Crown Casino has confirmed that smoking concerns have been raised. Continue reading “Casino smoking comes under a cloud”

Professor Niki Ellis hits out at the state of OHS in Australia

“…OHS is not fit for the 21st century.  It is isolated, has a limited academic base and remit, uneven provision, lack of good quality data, a poor image and is perceived by many as the servant of the employer.”

Professor Niki Ellis speaks frankly about the OHS discipline in Australia.

Professor Niki Ellis recently was appointed the CEO of the Institute of Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research (ISCRR) after some time in the United Kingdom and a short period as the acting chair of the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission.  Prof Ellis provided a refreshing and confronting presentation to the 2009 Comcare Conference (pictured right) that SafetyAtWorkBlog attended. Continue reading “Professor Niki Ellis hits out at the state of OHS in Australia”

Bank CEO says he ‘can’t really have work-life balance’

Mike Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the ANZ Bank provided some insights into his life as a senior executive at a conference in Sydney on 21 April 2010.  The most exciting information was a brief description of the assassination attempt on his life while working in South America but, in the context of health and safety, he also reveals a few nuggets of information.

Smith’s conference presentation was reported in the Australian Financial Review (article only available to subscribers) on 22 April 2010.  He states as a CEO “you can’t really have work-life balance”. Continue reading “Bank CEO says he ‘can’t really have work-life balance’”

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