For several years Australia has been designing and constructing a National Workers Memorial. This weekend, on the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, Australia holds its first national remembrance day at the new memorial on the banks Lake Burley Griffin in Australia’s capital city, Canberra. The memorial has been coordinated by the National Capital Authority who … Continue reading “Australia set to open its National Workers Memorial”
Every year, around this time, the mainstream media reports on the findings of employee surveys of the Victorian public service. Each year the statistics on workplace bullying are featured. (The Age newspaper reported on the latest survey on 31 March 2013.) But the approach to an understanding of workplace bullying has changed over the last … Continue reading “OHS would benefit from a historical perspective on workplace bullying”
The leadership squabbles in the Australian Labor Party (ALP) have diminished for the moment, and the next Federal election is set for September 2013. Most everyone is tipping the ALP to lose the election. The verb “lose” is specifically chosen, for the opposition Liberal/National coalition will probably win “by default”. Whatever the electoral outcomes, the major political parties … Continue reading “An OHS look at the Australian Labor Party’s National Platform”
It is common to use a self-commissioned survey to market one’s services but sometimes the evidence does not support some of the marketing statements. The latest survey by St John Ambulance is a good example of this. According to St John Ambulance’s media release on 13 March 2013: “Only 13 per cent of Australian workplaces … Continue reading “First aid marketing exercise requires analysis”
Recently a safety professional told me he was investigating an incident on a work site and asked his first question “What do you think caused the incident?” The response was “safety culture”. Of course the next question will always be “what do you mean by safety culture?” and in most cases at this point the … Continue reading “Where are the Codes for establishing a safety culture?”
Writing recent articles on workplace bullying and harmonisation reminded me of an interview I conducted in 2003 with the then head of the National OHS Commission, Robin Stewart-Compton. NOHSC was a predecessor to Safe Work Australia. The extract below reminds us that National Uniformity, a cousin to harmonisation, started over twenty years ago. SAW: In the early 1990s there was a strong push for National … Continue reading “Stargazing on harmonisation from 2003”
Politicians are sufficiently media-savvy to release policies and information to gain the maximum exposure in the media cycle. For some reason, Australia’s Workplace Relations Minister, Bill Shorten, missed the opportunity to have his changes on workplace bullying in the newspapers for 12 February 2013. The news cycle is also being dominated by the resignation of Pope Benedict. … Continue reading “Australian Government shifts workplace bullying into the industrial relations system”