“Union safety”?

Reading an article about CFMEU organiser, Joe McDonald, today illustrates an important differentiation to be kept in mind.  A unionist’s benchmark for safety compliance may differ from that of the employer, regardless of the fact that the employer has the major legislative obligation to establish a “safe and healthy work environment”. Joe McDonald pledges to … Continue reading ““Union safety”?”

Statistics traps and a soft “warning”

In the Sydney Morning Herald on 17 July 2009, Kirsty Needham reported “Total injuries rose by 2339 (2 per cent) to 142,542” The media release from the Minister, Joe Tripodi  on 15 July pointed out that the injury rate actually fell by 2%.  An important point for the article and an error that has already … Continue reading “Statistics traps and a soft “warning””

Maintain instead of repair

Every country has its share of high-fliers who “burn out”.  Many fade away from the public eye with their careers over.  Frequently this path to wealth and prominence is not perceived as a workplace health or safety matter.  Some people decide that the health trade-off of multi-million dollar salaries is worth it. Sadly the psychological … Continue reading “Maintain instead of repair”

Occupational violence in fast food restaurants and petrol stations

The Australian media has been abuzz over the last couple of days on several issues concerning violence.  Attention increases whenever there is video involved and the latest film of a bashing in Melbourne in a Hungry Jack’s store in the early hours of 13 July 2009 is getting a considerable run. Most commentators are taking … Continue reading “Occupational violence in fast food restaurants and petrol stations”

What the next generation of graduates wants

A survey of graduates by GradConnection released on 15 July 2009 has important information for Australian companies and provides some optimism for the OHS profession and regulators. A dominant element of modern employment is work/life balance. In some disciplines this is taken as workplace flexibility. In terms of workplace safety, work/life balance is a euphemism … Continue reading “What the next generation of graduates wants”

New Worker Memorial

On 13 July 2009, Tasmania’s Minister for Workplace Relation Lisa Singh braved the elements to launch the Tasmanian Workers Commemorative Park in Launceston.  The park is a work in progress and the local council is looking for support in the memorial’s completion. According to the Minister’s media release, the Park was created to honour those … Continue reading “New Worker Memorial”

Latest Code of Practice on Scaffolding

Australia has had some awful scaffolding collapses and swing-stage incidents over recent times.  (At least four articles on the issue can be found in SafetyAtWorkBlog by using the search function on the right).  Sometimes, some would say often, Australian OHS regulators can respond quickly to a workplace situation. The Queensland Government commissioned a review of … Continue reading “Latest Code of Practice on Scaffolding”