Many OHS professionals and business gurus state that safety leadership must come from the top of the corporate tree. BHP Billiton received some rare positive press on 16 June 2009 concerning its OHS policies. According to Mark Hawthorne, BHP CEO Marius Kloppers has revealed he is battling “pig flu”, in his words. This seems to … Continue reading “BHP, swine flu and leave entitlements”
Recently SafetyAtWorkBlog wondered why the ACT OHS Commissioner referenced a commercial website instead of a government authority. The commercial website was www.fluthreat.com operated by HSA Group which since early April 2009 is part of Medibank Private. Fluthreat.com.au provides information on its Flu At Work page that is very flimsy and seems to be intended to … Continue reading “Corporate health adviser’s recommendations on swine flu”
On the eve of the ACTU Congress, the construction unions have threatened disruptions to building sites in, not surprisingly, New South Wales. This State was always going to be the one with the most to give up for the sake of national harmonisation of OHS laws. It is reported in the Australian Financial Review on … Continue reading “Trade union OHS protests are shortsighted”
Media reports on 11 May 2009 do not provide optimism for the introduction of harmonised OHS laws in Australia. The Australian reports that the ACTU is lobbying Federal ministers over the reports into the model OHS law that are scheduled to be discussed at the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council on 18 May. The unions believe … Continue reading “Australia’s OHS harmonisation likely to fall”
Elsewhere in SafetyAtWorkBlog is a summary of the recent statistics released by the Australian Safety & Compensation Council. Overall the injury trends are positive but it is worth looking at the report a little closer. On page viii, the report says “Due to large increases in employment, incidence rates fell 16%, from 18 serious claims … Continue reading “What’s really causing the reduction of Australian injury rates?”
It was predictable for the Opposition party to accuse Julia Gillard of arrogance for bypassing the Parliamentary process. Senator Eric Abetz wrote to the letters page of AFR on 21 January 2009, the text of the letter is below (although there were slight changes in the published version) “It is highly arrogant and misleading for … Continue reading “Gillard’s plans for new OHS agency – response”
WorkSafe Victoria has had considerable advertising success by focusing on the social impact of workplace injuries and death. In the newspapers and television over Christmas 2008, WorkSafe ads, like the billboard above, were on high rotation but, after the high number of workplace fatalities in January 2009, the strategy must be needing a review. In … Continue reading “Safety promotion needs backup”