Academic clarifies objections to sex work

Caroline Norma of RMIT University responded to some questions about sex work and brothel safety put to her by SafetyAtWorkBlog in response to her recently published opinion piece.  This article is a companion piece to an earlier SafetyAtWorkBlog article on sex work and safety. SAWB: What action do you recommend that brothel owners should take, beyond the current … Continue reading “Academic clarifies objections to sex work”

Controlling Christmas party risks is a year-round activity

Every year, around this time, law firms and OHS regulators release statements and good OHS advice about the risks of Christmas and end-of-year work parties.  But companies who wait until now to introduce control measures and policies for the risks of occupational violence, sexual harassment and reputational damage have, largely, missed the opportunity to effectively … Continue reading “Controlling Christmas party risks is a year-round activity”

Confusion over bullying and sexual discrimination on display in air traffic controller media reports

The Australian media is providing considerable coverage to the legal claim by two female workers against Airservices Australia over bullying and sexual discrimination.  Airservices Australia is a government organisation that control aircraft movement over Australian airspace. The details of the harassment mentioned in the media are quite offensive and have no place in the modern … Continue reading “Confusion over bullying and sexual discrimination on display in air traffic controller media reports”

Harmonising bullying terminology extends well beyond OHS

In May 2010, Workplace Health & Safety Queensland uploaded a Workplace Harassment Assessment Tool.  The curious element to the information is that Queensland does not mention the word “bullying” even though the assessment criteria cover this hazard. As Australia moves to harmonised legislation on workplace safety issues, the harmonisation of terminology is going to be important and probably subject to lively … Continue reading “Harmonising bullying terminology extends well beyond OHS”

Workplace bullying needs harmony and good managers

The Australian Financial Review on 24 March 2010 includes an article (only available through subscription or hard copy purchase) that states that the “tangle of state laws hampers compliance” by business on the issue of workplace bullying.  Harvard Business Review reports on how to cut through the distractions and attend to a root cause of … Continue reading “Workplace bullying needs harmony and good managers”

Australian MP mentions workplace bullying but is short on practical controls

On 18 March 2010, the last sitting day of that session of Australia’s Parliament, Labor Member of Parliament , Bill Shorten, spoke about workplace bullying and the OHS prosecutions that stemmed from the bullying and suicide of Brodie Panlock.  Some of his short speech rehashed details of the workplace bullying prosecutions but, according to the draft … Continue reading “Australian MP mentions workplace bullying but is short on practical controls”

A discussion on ethics and OHS decision making

In 2004, I was asked to make an OHS-themed presentation to a group of paramedic students on ethics and from a small business perspective.  Some of the information may have dated slightly but I post this to stimulate discussion.  Below is an edited version of that 2004 oral presentation: Quite often, when we have an … Continue reading “A discussion on ethics and OHS decision making”