Then current coronavirus pandemic has disrupted workplaces around the world with those most effected being low socioeconomic sectors, including those working on a casual basis or in precarious, gig occupations. Last week the Victorian Government received the final report from its Inquiry into the Victorian On-Demand Workforce. This report is likely to be crucial in …
Yesterday, I was critical of an Industrial Relations paper written by the Australian Industry Group for not integrating occupational health and safety (OHS) into the submission to Government. This omission is indicative of the conceptual silos of OHS, Industrial Relations, Human Resources, and general business decision-making, and is certainly not limited to business organisations like …
In 2017 the Victorian Government reviewed and revised its Sex Work Regulations moving the responsibility for oversight of the safety and health elements of these regulations to WorkSafe Victoria. Oversight had previously been looked after by Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV). But WorkSafe Victoria seems uncomfortable with this change and has told representatives of the Victorian …
This article is part two of an edited version of a keynote presentation I made at the a special WHS Inspectors Forum organised by WorkSafe Tasmania. The audience comprised inspectors from around Australia and New Zealand. I was asked to be provocative and challenging so posed some questions to the audience about how occupational health …
Every man is aware of his penis and scrotum from a very early age. Male genitals do not feature often in discussions about occupational health and safety (OHS) but there was a workplace incident in the United States around 1970 that gained considerable attention but not really from the OHS perspective. I have always thought … Continue reading “Could your company manage an embarrassing workplace injury?”
For many years the brothel industry in Victoria has struggled with its occupational health and safety obligations, not because it does not understand them but that it denies OHS laws are relevant as many in the industry continue to believe that sex workers are not employees. Some use a Tax Office ruling on employee status … Continue reading “Brothels continue to misunderstand the employee/contractor difference”
Some companies and industry sectors are struggling to cope with a major change to Australia’s occupational health and safety laws – the removal of the employer/employee relationship. One example of an industry struggling with the change is the sex industry, more specifically, the licensed brothels. In many industries, and in the safety profession itself, people … Continue reading “One industry sector continues to struggle with new OHS obligations”