In October 2009 a workshop was held on worker safety by the Worker Education and Training Program (WETP), a part of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Many of the topics raised in the workshop – REACH, Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals, and nanotechnology would be issues or … Continue reading “EHS workshop report and Australian nanoparticles reports”
Dr Geoff Dell of Protocol Safety Management and a prominent member of the Safety Institute of Australia (SIA), believes that the most crucial issue facing the safety profession in Australia is the lack of the requirement to use a “suitably qualified” safety adviser. The Australian Government was recommended to include such a requirement in its draft OHS model … Continue reading “Safe Work Bill, suitably qualified and professional plans”
Ken Phillips, executive director of Independent Contractors of Australia, wrote an opinion piece in The Australian on 6 October 2009 that demands attention. Phillips supports the Federal Government’s program of harmonisation of OHS laws in that it will remove what he sees as the injustices of the OHS legislation in New South Wales. “The situation is different … Continue reading “NSW contractor representative talks bluntly about the politics of OHS laws”
Respected business commentator, Robert Gottliebsen, has commented on the political and ideological challenge that Julia Gillard, Australia’s Minister for Workplace Relations, faces over the introduction of OHS model legislation. Gottliebsen says there is a risk that the combative OHS structures in New South Wales could spread to the national context and that resisting this movement, funded and promoted by the … Continue reading “Business commentator is concerned over OHS and IR overlap”
There are few motivations that are more effective for improving workplace safety than facing a grieving relative. On 17 September 2009, the impact of the OHS law harmonisation on workers and their families came to the fore in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) entitled “Deaths at work put sharper focus on liability”. The workplace support advocates … Continue reading “The harmonisation challenge in Australia gets more difficult”
On 14 September 2009, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) released a series of radio advertisements that call on the government to not reduce the occupational health and safety conditions of Australian workers. An article about the ads with interviews with the major political players is available on ABC Radio for a short time. … Continue reading “Union opposition to Australia’s OHS laws – new radio campaign”
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”