Early in 2008, the Victorian Government sprung a surprise on the OHS and health promotion industries by announcing a world-first initiative – WorkHealth. This program was to be funded by interest generated from the WorkCover scheme to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five years. WorkHealth loses stakeholder support Two … Continue reading “WorkHealth – end is nigh after less than one year”
The growth of attention to psychosocial hazards in Australia received a considerable boost from a stress survey undertaken by the ACTU some years ago. During the survey of union-members, it became clear that bullying was a major generator and perpetrator of workplace stress. The unions went to town on this data and set the agenda for some time in OHS. … Continue reading “Bullying, duty of care and compensation”
Workplace bullying is a possibility in all workplaces but more so in the blue collar construction industry than elsewhere, it seems. The front page report in The Australian confirms the blue-collar bully stereotype that the former conservative government tried to gain political mileage from, most noticeably in political advertising, but also in political rhetoric over … Continue reading “Construction industry bullies”
Western Australian Premier, Alan Carpenter, is to be applauded for stating that the Parliament is a workplace. This sounds like stating the bleeding obvious but Parliament has often turned a blind eye to this fact. Certainly, the Premier is in election mode so there is an additional context in this period to everything he says. … Continue reading “Politicians’ workplaces”
As a publisher my mailbox is constantly bombarded by media releases. Some are irrelevant but most relate to safety in some way. Over the years the amount of attention given to workplace bullying has grown phenomenally. In my opinion the attention it garners is way beyond the level it deserves. That is not to say … Continue reading “Media reporting of workplace bullying”
Australian OHS authorities have been struggling for many years to address issues of fatigue in the workplace. Partly this has been because the issue of stress and bullying came to dominate the psycho-social agenda. The transport industry has pushed fatigue into the unavoidable hazard basket. New South Wales’ experience with this issue has been particularly … Continue reading “New Guidance on Preventing Fatigue”
Overnight English MP John Prescott “came out” as a bulimia sufferer. Or so the story goes in the British press. But the real story for the occupational health and safety profession is that Prescott’s doctors suggest the contributory factor – stress. The Telegraph is a little more precise and says that it is unclear why … Continue reading “Politicians, Stress and Bulimia”