Australian Statistics – Part 1 – Employment Conditions

Safe Work Australia was released four statistical reports into worker health in Australia.  These are important and useful reports that will assist many companies and safety professionals to better address workplace hazards. SafetyAtWorkBlog is going to present some of the data in four blog articles, without commentary or interpretation, which is the usual approach.  Each … Continue reading “Australian Statistics – Part 1 – Employment Conditions”

Working Hours and Political Scandal

Over the last month or so, Australian politics has been scandalised by a senior Treasury official admitting to faking an email that implied political favouritism by the Australian Treasurer, Wayne Swan, and the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. Godwin Grech is the public servant who has admitted faking the email and there are many reasons he … Continue reading “Working Hours and Political Scandal”

OHS context of leave entitlements

Family-friendly work initiatives always get increased attention around International Women’s Day.  This is a shame as work/life balance is not gender specific, however the dominant Western family structures make the application of the concept relative to gender.  As long as the matter is perceived as a “women’s issue”, it will struggle for attention in a … Continue reading “OHS context of leave entitlements”

Times when work/life balance should be sacrificed

Further to my post on public service workloads, the Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner, author of the 2003 book on work/life balance, has stated on television (if you get through the fuel price discussion) that  “There’s always going to be some disgruntled people in a large organisation,” he said. “Whether there’s truth in what they say, who … Continue reading “Times when work/life balance should be sacrificed”

OHS and Climate Change

Many of my OHS colleagues have responsibility for environmental safety, some to the extent of being rebadged HSE or OHSE. I have been an ardent advocate of managing business safety and risk issues in a coordinated and integrated manner. Historically, I would have applied the risk management standard as the umbrella framework, others do not.