For many years OHS regulators have been concerned about the quality of advice that OHS experts have been providing to businesses in Australia. Some States have a regulated profession, others do not. Certainly there is no regime in Australia that compares to the “closed-shop” of Singapore. I have seen no evidence of bad OHS advice … Continue reading ““Suitably qualified” OHS professionals – who benefits?”
The growth of attention to psychosocial hazards in Australia received a considerable boost from a stress survey undertaken by the ACTU some years ago. During the survey of union-members, it became clear that bullying was a major generator and perpetrator of workplace stress. The unions went to town on this data and set the agenda for some time in OHS. … Continue reading “Bullying, duty of care and compensation”
Senator Rachel Siewert spoke on Australia’s review of OHS law on 13 October 2008.The Senator summarised the statistical reason for OHS legislation (included here as statistics is a popular issue at SafetyAtWorkBlog), as well as the societal context. “The importance of occupational health and safety is obvious from looking at even just a few key … Continue reading “Australian Greens Senator speaks on OHS legislation”
There are still some OHS professionals who are uncomfortable with approaching workplace hazards that do not involve nip-points and energy-transfer. In fact there are some who can’t cope with the industrial relations interplay with occupational health and safety. A major industrial relations problem ran for some time at Tristar Steering and Suspension. The absurdity of this …
If I have a cold that could spread to my work colleagues, I take the day off. I use my entitlement of sick leave to achieve two aims – to get myself well and to avoid infecting my workmates. Both these aims are within the context of occupational health, safety and wellness. The Australian newspaper … Continue reading “The safety context of sick leave entitlements”
SafeWork SA recently released details about the successful prosecution of MCK Pacific P/L (trading as Plexicor) over two injuries in a carpet manufacturing plant in South Australia that occurred in January 2006 and July 2007. The company was fined a total of over $40,000. The new management has been congratulated on its new OHS management program … Continue reading ““Negligence” and salvation”
Further to other SafetyAtWorkBlog posts concerning Ms Paula Wriedt’s sacking, Ms Wriedt has issued a statement expressing her disappointment at Premier David Bartlett’s decision. One comment from a newspaper columnist struck me as odd but worthy of note. The columnist said that Paula Wriedt’s public statements have followed the line pushed by beyondblue, a depression … Continue reading “Workplace depression approaches are too narrow”