Category: WorkSafe

Safety website says OHS association is heartless

Safety In Australia has posted an extraordinary article questioning the decision of the Safety Institute of Australia to proceed with a process to consider the expulsion of one of its members regardless of the member recently suffering a heart attack.

The article says that the SIA has received a doctor’s letter saying that Phil Kamay, the member in question, should not attend the special general meeting on health grounds but the SIA has decided to proceed regardless. Safety In Australia questions this decision on the grounds of fairness. It is unclear who, if anyone, will be presenting Kamay’s rebuttal of the accusations against him that have led to the expulsion moves.

On an unrelated note, it is understood that the SIA has two tables booked for Worksafe Victoria’s Safety Awards late next week and that Phil Kamay is a guest at one of those tables.

Kevin Jones

Powerful short OHS films and long-term safety promotion

The Australian OHS regulators struggle each year to make their annual safety week events last beyond the nominated week, the events and the newspaper advertisements.  Queensland’s Workplace Health & Safety (WHSQ) has released two short films focussing on workplace incidents.

The McGuane film provides a chronology of Gavan McGuane going to work for 30 minutes and remaining in hospital with serious facial and eyesight problems for over 50 days. 

There are telling comments from the McGuane family and his doctor about the personal cost of this workplace injury.  Continue reading “Powerful short OHS films and long-term safety promotion”

Small business OHS seems to be stalled

OHS research into why the small business sector does not “get” safety has been occurring in Australia for over ten years with some of the most useful being undertaken by Dr Claire Mayhew.  But the challenge, or problem, persists.

On 4 October 2010, WorkSafe Victoria released some information about an OHS blitz by inspectors on small businesses in Mildura, a rural town in the extreme northwest of Victoria.  In some ways, the tone of the media statement is a little defeatist or, at least, exasperated.

“Although we wrote to the businesses and told them we would be visiting, we still had to pull them up on a high number of health and safety issues,” Manufacturing and Logistics Director Ross Pilkington said.  “In many cases, the safety solutions were straightforward.” Continue reading “Small business OHS seems to be stalled”

Australia’s Safety Week

The last week of October each year is Safety Week in Australia.  It exists under different names in each State but everyone coordinates events for the same time each year.  Below are some  links for further information, some are more developed than others.

In 2009, I was a Safety Ambassador for Safe Work Australia and found that if one was prepared to give, the rewards were ten-fold.

If you are in Australia I strongly recommend attending one of the many free OHS information events.  If you are outside Australia, regularly check the Australia OHS regulator websites for some innovative approaches to safety and its promotion.

Queensland

Australia

Victoria

Tasmania

Australian Capital Territory (yes, the ACT has a month of activities)

Western Australia

South Australia

Kevin Jones

The cost of not having first aid

On 30 August 2010, WorkSafe Victoria released a media statement about a case in a Magistrates’ Court concerning the death of a worker.  Nothing new in that but in this case first aid gains a prominence that is rarely seen because in this case adequate first aid was not provided.  The uniqueness of the case justifies reproducing the media release in full:

“A Melbourne magistrate has described the failure of a Cheltenham company to seek first aid for a worker who hit his head and later died as ‘outrageous’.

Metal products manufacturer Pressfast Industries Pty Ltd was convicted and fined last week after a 2008 incident where a worker fell over and hit his head on concrete after being struck by a forklift.

The 60 year-old man was later found unconscious at work and died in hospital two days later.

“There was no qualified first aider on site, and the company failed to call an ambulance or seek first aid for the worker,” WorkSafe Victoria’s Strategic Programs Director Trevor Martin said. “The only staff member with first aid training was certified in 1984, and wasn’t alerted until it was too late,” he said.

In handing down his sentence, Magistrate Andrew Capell referred to the company’s decision not to seek help from the first aider, despite the expired certificate, as ‘outrageous’. Continue reading “The cost of not having first aid”

A bitter internal dispute at the Safety Institute gets a public airing

A member of the Safety Institute of Australia, Sue Bottrell, has taken offence at some of the content in this SafetyAtWorkBlog article.  She has claimed, in a proposed legal action against me, that my blog article, based on an article written by Gavin Waugh and published in Australian Safety Matters Magazine, has defamed her.

Similar legal action is being taken by her against Gavin Waugh, who has indicated that he will be contesting the accusations.

I regret that any element of the SafetyAtWorkBlog article was able to be misinterpreted and caused offence to Sue Bottrell.

Kevin Jones

Cath Bowtell jumps to federal politics

The current Executive Director of WorkSafe, Cath Bowtell, has confirmed that she will contest a seat in the Australian Parliament, according to The Age and AAP reports on 6 July 2010.

As previously stated, this move sets some challenges for WorkSafe Victoria.  The Acting Executive Director following John Merritt’s departure, Stan Krpan, put in his notice shortly after Bowtell’s appointment was announce several months ago.  It was rumoured that one of the labour law firms would snatch him up and although Steve Bell is establishing his own identity at Freehills, the firm lost a major brand advantage when Barry Sherriff left for Norton Rose.

There is no doubt that Bowtell fits the Labor Party needs of the Melbourne electorate but her departure must unsettle WorkSafe.  It now needs to go through the recruitment process again just as the federal government’s OHS harmonisation program is hitting its second phase.  WorkSafe’s HR people must be tossing up whether to choice another candidate with a strong social conscience but, barely hidden political ambitions, or to look again for an appointment from its own ranks.

Perhaps it needs to look to the small and sometimes dubious pool of Australian safety professionals.  The profession itself is traditionally conservative but at least they may be ready to serve the principles of safety instead of self interest.

Perhaps, WorkSafe should look overseas.  John Lacey, former President of UK’s Institute of Occupational Health & Safety, has been a regular visitor to Victoria for over a decade and maybe he could be induced to relocate, even for a 5 year contract.  It would be tempting to look for candidates from outside the political circuits in Australia.

Kevin Jones

© Workplace Safety Services P/L (ABN: 68091088621) and SafetyAtWorkBlog, 2008-2024. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kevin Jones and SafetyAtWorkBlog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Concatenate Web Development
© Designed and developed by Concatenate Aust Pty Ltd