Cost is the last consideration in occupational health and safety (OHS) but is usually the first consideration in all other decisions. “Can we afford to improve something? No. So let’s do something else”. There is something fundamentally skewed in determining the cost-benefit analysis when it comes to workplace safety. For several years Safe Work Australia (SWA) …
The public comment phase of the Victorian Government’s Independent OHS Review into WorkSafe Victoria has concluded and most of the submissions are appearing on the review’s website. Some submissions are extensive, others are simply a whinge. One topic did not get much of a mention in the 40 submissions currently available – on-the-spot fines. The …
Barry Naismith‘s third report into the operations and performance of WorkSafe Victoria was released on July 22, 2014. Naismith produces these reports through a combination of publicly available information in the press, a dive into the resources of the WorkSafe Library (visit before it moves to Geelong) and requests to WorkSafe. This level of analysis … Continue reading “Independent analysis of WorkSafe Victoria”
Australia’s Federal election campaign has reached the halfway point but the political parties have yet to officially launch their campaigns so the policies that may relate to occupational health and safety (OHS) are unclear. Even the Australian Greens have yet to launch their campaign but some of their long-held policy positions are clear. The Safety … Continue reading “OHS policies of two of Australia’s political parties”
Andrew Hopkins has described organisational culture as “the way we as an organisation do things around here”. The sociology of this statement is sound and the occupational health and safety (OHS) context seems to be an accepted element of safety management. But for OHS professionals to continue to advocate the importance of a safety culture …
The Australian Treasurer, Scott Morrison, released his 2016 Budget in early May 2016. The principal aim of the Budget and Liberal Party election campaign announced on 8 May 2016 is to create “jobs and growth”. Every one of those jobs should be a safe job for many reasons other than saving lives, but none of …
Some of Australia’s mainstream media reported on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull‘s admonishment of the banking sector on April 6 2016. He accused them of having an unhealthy culture, reflecting a general and growing public dissatisfaction with large financial institutions, insurance companies and other corporations. Given that the dominant perspective on occupational health and safety (OHS), … Continue reading “What does the Prime Minister’s criticism of banking culture mean for OHS?”