Following the successful prosecution of four people for bullying 19-year-old Brodie Panlock, SafetyAtWorkBlog, with the assistance of a lawyer put several questions to WorkSafe Victoria about the case. Most of the questions and their responses are below: “SAWB: Could you please advise the reasons for the decision to prosecute the recent workplace bullying case in the Magistrates … Continue reading “Workplace bullying questions to WorkSafe”
On 16 February 2010, I was interviewed by Channel 7 television in Melbourne over 20 minutes of footage they had received that showed unacceptable work practices at a domestic site in Cranbourne. Emails from friends told me that my words and face were used in promotional ads by the TV program. At the time of writing this, … Continue reading “Television exposé of children at risk on roof insulation worksite”
Less than two days ago, someone established a Facebook page in order to seek justice for Brodie Panlock. At the time of writing the page has over 2,800 supporters, mostly young. The page is being moderated very closely so that any inflammatory comments are jumped on very quickly. The site has a maturity that is … Continue reading “Social networking and OHS”
On 8 February 2010, four workers at Café Vamp, a small restaurant in Melbourne Victoria, were fined a total of $A335,000 for repeatedly bullying, or allowing bullying to occur to, 19-year-old Brodie Panlock. Brodie jumped from a building in September 2006. Her family watched Brodie die from head injuries three days later. They were unaware …
Recently the Victorian Premier, John Brumby reshuffled his Cabinet and created a new portfolio the “Respect Agenda”. The Minister with responsibility for the portfolio is ex-footballer Justin Madden. Very little has been revealed about the agenda, which has been launched after a major international kerfuffle over serious racist attacks against Indian students. It is likely … Continue reading ““Respect Agenda” – seriously?”
On 24 January 2010, the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, encouraged all Australians to increase their “productivity growth“. But what if increased productivity could result in developing a mental disorder? The February 2010 edition of the Harvard Mental Health Letter includes a report that lists the following key points: “Symptoms of mental health disorders may be different … Continue reading “Work harder? You must be mad”
The managerial turmoil at France Telecome over a spate of work-related suicides is likely to become a case study in failed change management, firstly, and public relations, secondly. A report in The Guardian on 6 October 2009, points to a (French) video of the company’s chairman and CEO, Didier Lombard, speaking to Telecome’s managers in January 2009. … Continue reading “France Telecome becoming a case study”