The new initiative of Worksafe Victoria, placing CEOs undercover in their own workplaces, is a major change of direction and should produce a considerable amount of attention. The online campaign, called The Skeleton Project, ostensibly applies the “Undercover Boss” concept to musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) and workplace safety more generally. Elsewhere SafetyAtWorkBlog has mentioned that the … Continue reading “CEOs go undercover over workplace safety”
Within the last week, Victoria’s State Premier, John Brumby, lost an election allowing the conservative parties in the Australian State to gain power, narrowly, after over a decade in isolation. Election pledges are now only of historic interest but let’s look at a couple. The crime of workplace bullying According to the Australian Financial Review … Continue reading “Election failure, missed opportunities on bullying”
Today was a big day for organisations and government authorities to restate their commitments to workplace safety. Queensland’s Industrial Relations Cameron Dick has stated that “workers and their families were paying too high a price for their jobs. “Every year more than 100 Queenslanders die and tens of thousands more suffer a work-related injury or illness, costing … Continue reading “Media statements are everywhere as Safe Work Australia Week begins”
Considerable discussion has resulted in the quad-bike safety fraternity following the blog article about Comcare’s safety alert on 22 January 2010. Below is an official comment on the article. “Comcare is aware that a number of organisations in the Federal jurisdiction use quad bikes and are concerned some may be using them inappropriately without necessarily … Continue reading “Comcare comments on quad bike advisory”
The mainstream press has dipped into some of the submissions to the Australian Government on its harmonisation of OHS laws. Kirsty Needham reports on the submissions in the Sydney Morning Herald. Needham reports on basically the submissions of the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Australian Council of Trade Unions – the ideological … Continue reading “Where is the evidence of OHS misuse for IR purposes?”
The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI) has released a statement that discusses the economic and personal costs of presenteeism in relation to Australia’s new National Employment Standards. In the statement the ACCI mentions: “…the colossal national stockpile of annual leave and its toxic impact on the wellbeing of business and employees.” “It doesn’t take … Continue reading “The retention of leave indicates a broken business”
A story on the front cover the Australian Financial Review on 8 September 2009 lists the “wins” of the union movement in its negotiations on new national OHS law. But it is the last couple 0f paragraphs on page 8 that are most surprising. The article says “The coalition dropped its previous opposition to the … Continue reading “Business drops opposition to Australia’s new OHS laws”