Several submissions to Australia’s OHS harmonisation process were very critical of the lack of attention provided to the occupational diving industry. It seems that the Queensland Government has been listening as it has introduced into Parliament a Safety in Recreational Water Activities Bill 2011 alongside its State-version of the model Work Health and Safety Bill … Continue reading “Queensland’s Work Health Safety Bill in Parliament”
A major Australian rural newspaper, The Weekly Times, has devoted its front page to an article on rollover protective devices on quad bikes. It has taken as the base new information released by the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety (ACAHS) through a media release. The new policy paper and the supporting Practical Management Guide … Continue reading “New quad bike research and practical safety guidance”
The debate on OHS laws will be passionate in the pre-election frenzy of New South Wales but the OHS law reform is a national strategy and the safety debate is not asleep in the other States. On 11 February 2011, AAP ran an article about the long-lasting familial and social effects a horrible workplace incident in South Australia … Continue reading “Important OHS and legal issues in findings of South Australian Coroner into young man’s death”
Workplace safety hardly ever gets a mention in the daily newspapers unless there is a big corporate name involved or a record fine. Local newspapers often provide more coverage of workplace incidents because the local angle allows for the reporting of the social and familial impact of an incident within days of it occurring. … Continue reading “Local safety article reflects bigger issues”
The Sunday Age of 30 January 2011 ran an article about the status of workplace safety in some of Victoria’s abattoirs. The article has some similarities to the landmark investigations by Eric Schlosser into work practices and compensation issues related to meatworks in the United States. The Sunday Age says that “(Last financial year [2009/2010], there were 355 workers’ … Continue reading “Only animals should die in abattoirs”
There are several issues in the United Kingdom at the moment that could affect workplace safety, not including Lord Young’s OHS review. Great Britain is to undergo enormous funding cuts to most of the civil service. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) is to have its budget cut by 35% according to the Trades Union Congress … Continue reading “Do budget cuts equal cuts in safety enforcement?”
The union campaign on the eradication of asbestos from the island of Tasmania has entered the national political arena in Australia. On 29 October 2010, the Australian Minister for Workplace Relations, Chris Evans, announced that Geoff Fary, Assistant Secretary of the Australian Council for Trade Unions, will chair the newly established “Asbestos Management Review” (AMR). … Continue reading “The asbestos Triffid goes national”