Australian media and politicians have been frothing over revelations and allegations of criminal and bikie gang influence in the country’s largest construction industry trade union, the CFMEU (Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union). The coverage has been almost entirely concerned with industrial relations, but occupational health and safety (OHS) is present in any trade union …
Significant changes in occupational health and safety result from one or more work-related fatalities. To my knowledge, this has not been labelled anyone’s “rule”, but it is a sad truism, and there are examples everywhere. Episode One of the BBC’s excellent Grenfell podcast series references the phrase “show me the bodies” as having been said …
There are two common approaches to addressing and preventing psychosocial hazards at work. One is to consider these hazards as originating within and affecting only workers and work processes. This looks at the hazards generated by work that affect work and downplays or dismisses factors from outside work. The other is to acknowledge that work …
Nobel-prize winner Joseph Stiglitz does not write about occupational health and safety (OHS). However, he does write about the sociopolitical and economic context in which businesses operate and from which worker health and safety decisions are made. In August 2024, Stiglitz is touring Australia. On August 7, 2024, he addressed a packed auditorium in Melbourne. …
On the afternoon of Friday, August 1, 2024, Safe Work Australia (SWA) announced important changes to the incident notification obligations in Australia’s Model Work Health and Safety laws. These changes are particularly relevant to the issues of psychological harm in workplaces and work-related suicides. I asked SWA for some clarifications on the changes and the …
Australia is currently in the Winter season of sniffles, colds, and influenza, which generates illness and workplace absences. In the northern hemisphere, excessive heat may be causing a similar level of workplace absences. A recent article from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation discussed workplace absences due to illness....
While watching Maddocks’ recent webinar on the Right-to-Disconnect for its local council clients, I was reminded of a comment from one of Maddocks’ competitors, Steve Bell, of Herbert Smith Freehills in a seminar earlier this year (paraphrased): “This is less a right to disconnect as a right to refuse to respond”. The webinar summarised three …
