The future of Australia’s Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, is uncertain as he struggles for credibility in the wake of furious political attacks. In the various media discussions there are hints of other issues, some related to OHS in Australia, that demand attention. Australian Standards and safety planning Chris Bowen, Minister for Financial Services defended Garrett’s handling of the … Continue reading “Missed OHS issues in insulation debate”
In early July 2009, the Chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Judith Hackitt spoke in favour of an accreditation system for OHS professionals. This has particular relevance for those countries and professionals associations which follow some of the UK initiatives. Hackitt is quoted in the HSE media release said: “We do believe that there … Continue reading “UK’s HSE wants OHS professionals to be accredited”
Managing workplace absenteeism often ignores the OHS issues that are integral to the issue. On 20 July 2009 the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development released its findings on the issue in its annual Absence Management Survey. The media statement identifies the reasons for short- and long-term absences. “The main causes of short-term absence are … Continue reading “Absence management data misses the OHS mark”
WorkSafe and the Safety Institute of Australia are at the forefront of pushing for a defined level of competence for the safety professional. WorkSafe identified this need many years ago and has been working on establishing alliances with safety professions since then to achieve its aims. Significantly similar issues have been discussed in the United … Continue reading “Should OHS regulators be involved in the competence of professionals?”
WorkSafe Victoria is very involved with moves to improve the professionalism of OHS practitioners in Australia. There is no doubt that improvements are required but the role of a state-based regulator in a non-regulatory system is curious. Surely such changes should be run from a national perspective Safety professionals often look at the prominence, influence … Continue reading “A vision for the OHS profession”
Earlier this year, SafetyAtWorkBlog reported on the attack on a nurse in the Torres Strait Islands north of Australia, the investigation of the issue by Queensland Health and the mechanisms introduced to get the working conditions and accommodation up to a safe level. In this case there was a clear link between occupational health and … Continue reading “Management failures and a rape of a five-month-old baby”