A reader has advised that there has been an increase in calls to WorkCover NSW concerning workplace bullying, following the sentencing of four men earlier this week in Victoria. WorkSafe Victoria has confirmed that its advisory service is receiving 30 calls a day on the issue where the regular rate was 10. WorkSafe also says … Continue reading “Workplace bullying awareness increases in Australia”
On 8 February 2010, four workers at Café Vamp, a small restaurant in Melbourne Victoria, were fined a total of $A335,000 for repeatedly bullying, or allowing bullying to occur to, 19-year-old Brodie Panlock. Brodie jumped from a building in September 2006. Her family watched Brodie die from head injuries three days later. They were unaware …
On 26 January 2010, a fascinating document was released from England concerning workplace harassment and violence. This builds on earlier work in Europe and has led to the joint guidance on “Preventing Workplace Harassment and Violence“. The guidance has the demonstrated support of employer, employee and government representatives who have committed to “…ensuring that the risks of encountering harassment and violence … Continue reading “Dignity At Work, different UK and Australian approaches”
Australia’s Productivity Commission released its draft report into Performance Benchmarking of Australian Business Regulation: Occupational Health and Safety on 27 January 2010. The 432-page report will take some time to read and digest but below are the general key points of the report “This study compares inter-jurisdictional differences in occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation in … Continue reading “Business assessment of OHS”
Judith Hackett, Chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), reviews the performance of the agency in the December podcast produced by the agency. Transcript is available online The podcast provides a positive outlook for the HSE which one would expect. Hackett talks about the need for the HSE to dispel the myths that … Continue reading “HSE Chair’s review of 2009”
Australia has many safety awards programs. SafetyAtWorkBlog has reported on some of the practical solutions from the awards and lamented how the prominence of such solutions fades quickly as the mainstream media ignores them. The blog has also shown examples of a hard copy solutions database that existed in Victoria and Australia for a couple of decades. The … Continue reading “A good book of safety solutions case studies”
The Hierarchy of Controls has some questionable OHS applications to psychosocial hazards but it applies very well to “traditional” hazards, those involving plant. The Hierarchy also emphasizes that the first step in any hazard control is to consider whether the hazard can be eliminated. But what happens when the designers of equipment and plant know that a design can be made … Continue reading “ROPS and Quad Bikes – the failure of ATV manufacturers and OHS regulators”