Recently, SafetyAtWorkBlog received a long anonymous email concerning the death of David Colson, Tasmanian abalone diver who drowned in October 2007. The Coroner completed his inquest into the death and released his investigation findings in early January 2010. An earlier blog article on the findings can be found here The correspondent pointed out that Allen … Continue reading “Something fishy in Tasmania’s abalone industry”
Adam Sage has been following the suicides that have occurred in France Telecome for some time. On 23 September 2009 in the TimesOnline (a week later in The Australian newspaper??), Sage provides a useful summary and cogitation on the “cluster”. But although this number of suicides in one company should be alarming, it is not … Continue reading “23rd suicide at France Telecome in 18 months”
In early July 2009, the Chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Judith Hackitt spoke in favour of an accreditation system for OHS professionals. This has particular relevance for those countries and professionals associations which follow some of the UK initiatives. Hackitt is quoted in the HSE media release said: “We do believe that there … Continue reading “UK’s HSE wants OHS professionals to be accredited”
Last week the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, spoke at the ACTU Congress for 2009. Industrial relations was clearly the principal agenda issue but Gillard did mention OHS. The relevant OHS text of her speech is below. For those wishing more information about her rowdy reception, coverage is available at several Australian news sites. The … Continue reading “Australian Minister’s latest comments on OHS law reform”
According to an AAP report on 3 June 2009, the ACTU is forecasting action on the matter of workplace deaths. Although the issues is heartfelt and important, the Australian union movement mostly discusses OHS in relation to its opposition to the Australian Building and Construction Commission. The AAP report is a good reflection of this. … Continue reading “Union movement misdirects on OHS”
Most workers meet OHS training through short courses, perhaps even inductions. Few have the time, the desire of the finances to pursue a tertiary qualification. Australia has recently achieved a uniformity in its “card system” of OHS training for construction workers. The card concept originated from the Safety Passport used in some European industries and … Continue reading “Blue Card training needs a review”
Workplace safety and industrial relations are undeniably tied together in terms of policy development, legislation and implementation. This week the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) used the occupational safety record of the Australian construction industry to criticise the Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC). It should be stated here that SafetyAtWorkBlog does … Continue reading “The misuse of OHS in industrial relations campaigns”