“Moral Harassment” = Workplace Bullying. France Telecom lessons

The France Telecom suicide saga has reached a conclusion with a French Court sending several of company’s former executives to jail as a result of “collective moral harassment”. This will have very little impact on the management of occupational health and safety (OHS) in Australia because of the timing and inadequate translation and context. “Moral …

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Grab bag of OHS issues – politics, dust, occupational violence and international HR

Over the last week or so, as the Australian Parliament resumes operating, the Liberal/National Government is trying to reduce the influence of “militant” unions through its “Ensuring Integrity” Bill but opponents say this may affect the management of occupational health and safety (OHS). The Federal Department of Health has established a National Dust Disease Taskforce …

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WA Budget

Western Australia’s transition to harmonising with the Model Work Health and Safety laws is progressing, according the recently released Budget Papers for 2019/20. Volume 1 of Budget Paper No 2 lists some significant issues for the Government and specifically the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety:...

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The mental health “one in five” statistic examined for validity

This blog has a policy of linking to source documents wherever possible. Recently I investigated the origin of the statement and its variations: “In a 12 month period, 20 per cent of Australians will experience a mental health condition.” Clarity on this is going to be important as Australia has several formal inquiries relating to …

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Families of the Dead speak to government

Last time we looked at the Australian Senate Inquiry into “The framework surrounding the prevention, investigation and prosecution of industrial deaths in Australia“, various submissions were considered.  The Inquiry is continuing to hold public hearings, the most recent of these provided an opportunity for relatives of deceased workers to present their arguments.  It is an enlightening …

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WA research project on work-related mental health

Western Australia’s Parliament heard more about the State’s investigation into work-related mental health on June 26 2018.  According to Hansard (page 3788), Alison Xamon of the Greens posed questions to the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Mental Health, Alanna Clohesy of the Australian Labor Party, about the Education and Health Standing Committee report, The Impact of …

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Read widely, carefully and analytically.

One of the most rewarding sources of occupational health and safety (OHS) information is the literature review undertaken by, usually, university researchers.  It is rewarding because someone else has done most of the reading for you and the spread of resources can be massive and/or global. But, there can also be missed opportunities from taking …

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