Search Results for: Corporate Social Responsibility

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The Bhopal disaster should be remembered when considering what comes after the BP oil spill

As the BP/Gulf of Mexico oil spill dominates the American media, the rest of world has been noting a closure, of sorts, on the Bhopal disaster of 1984.  Seven former Union Carbide executives have been sentenced to 2 years jail each over the disaster.  The CEO, Warren Anderson, showed an appalling lack corporate leadership by … Continue reading “The Bhopal disaster should be remembered when considering what comes after the BP oil spill”

Missed OHS issues in insulation debate

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”

Finger amputation and arc flash burns

SafeWorkSA has issued media releases on 20 January 2010 concerning two recent decisions from the Industrial Relations Court.  The first of these will a situation of bypassing a machine guard that is all too familiar to OHS professionals – “a pair of vice grips had been attached to the finger guard at the front of the press, restricting its full range … Continue reading “Finger amputation and arc flash burns”

Work/life balance needs to grow into sustainability

Just as government is reigning in the excesses of the financial sector over the last decade or so, there is a strong movement to pull back on the workload excesses. Some of this is through the work/life balance movement.

In terms of occupational health and safety, this movement has a strong base that is reflected in a lot of OHS legislation where individual employees have a responsibility to ensure they are working safely and not putting themselves at risk. This can be a very difficult obligation when one is working in an organisation that does not grant safety or mental health or its social obligations much weight.

Asbestos Awareness Week calls for action

During Asbestos Awareness Week 2009 in Melbourne Australia the trade union movement pledged to begin a national strategy to control and remove asbestos from Australia.  This would have been a very tall ask any time in the last two decades but Asbestos needs to compete now with Climate Change for the attention of the media, … Continue reading “Asbestos Awareness Week calls for action”

Contractor management in Australia’s new OHS laws

When reading the draft documents for Australia’s harmonised OHS laws, it is very useful to run various scenarios or hazards through one’s mind and see how these could be affected or managed.  The most challenging hazards are the psychosocial hazards (or bio-psychosocial as they were referred to at the recent Comcare conference in Canberra) of stress, mental … Continue reading “Contractor management in Australia’s new OHS laws”

The need for a safety philosopher

It is very hard to be an OHS professional and not feel like one is part of the “nanny state” approach to personal choice.  There is a fundamental disconnection between the responsibilities on business for a safe workplace and the responsibilities on an individual to make themselves safe at work. When the work processes are … Continue reading “The need for a safety philosopher”