Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) is seeking public comment on some proposed revisions of the Sex Work Regulations. Several revisions specifically address workplace safety issues but also indicate out-of-date thinking on worker safety and safety management. Victoria licences its brothels and, as such, the occupational health and safety (OHS) laws apply as they do to all … Continue reading “Sex Work regulations review safety obligations”
An article from the January 2016 edition of the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (JOEM) has been gaining some attention through social media networks. The article, Tracking the Market Performance of Companies That Integrate a Culture of Health and Safety: An Assessment of Corporate Health Achievement Award Applicants, is being interpreted as evidence that health and … Continue reading “Health program impact on corporate share price is overstated”
The operation of the European Union is a mystery to everyone outside the EU and to most people in the EU. Any organisation that juggles the legislation of over 20 countries has a thankless task but some of the work being undertaken by occupational health and safety (OHS) advocates provides a clarity on power relationships … Continue reading “Can OHS achieve change in a neoliberal world?”
In a recent interview Richard Coleman states that the biggest opportunity for the occupational health and safety (OHS) profession is through health. He is another in the a long line of safety people (myself included) who advocate looking outside the traditional safety perspective to better understand safety. But health may not be the best option as … Continue reading “One view of how OHS needs to change”
Talking about workplace safety and machine manufacturing is unfashionable, perhaps because Australia’s manufacturing capacity is in strong decline. And occupational health and safety (OHS) seems preoccupied at the moment with psychosocial hazards and wellness. But one Australian researcher, Elizabeth Bluff, has undertaken an empirical study of safety attitudes, motivations and practice in the manufacturing and … Continue reading “Time to reassess our approaches to machinery safety”
Occupational health and safety (OHS) regulators seem comparatively quiet on the issue of mental health in workplaces. But this is not deterring industry associations from releasing their own guidance on psychosocial issues. Several weeks ago the Minerals Council of Australia released its guide, this week the Bus Association of Victoria released three guides about workplace mental …
Recently an article from an international real estate and investment company stated: “Marrying health and wellness with design, the WELL Building Standard is catching on fast in the West, but the trend is just starting to take off in Asia.” This statement is debatable but the recent concern over cheap, flammable cladding in high-rise buildings … Continue reading “Green Building can generate OHS returns”