Managing workplace absenteeism often ignores the OHS issues that are integral to the issue. On 20 July 2009 the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development released its findings on the issue in its annual Absence Management Survey. The media statement identifies the reasons for short- and long-term absences. “The main causes of short-term absence are … Continue reading “Absence management data misses the OHS mark”
In the Sydney Morning Herald on 17 July 2009, Kirsty Needham reported “Total injuries rose by 2339 (2 per cent) to 142,542” The media release from the Minister, Joe Tripodi on 15 July pointed out that the injury rate actually fell by 2%. An important point for the article and an error that has already … Continue reading “Statistics traps and a soft “warning””
The Australian media has been abuzz over the last couple of days on several issues concerning violence. Attention increases whenever there is video involved and the latest film of a bashing in Melbourne in a Hungry Jack’s store in the early hours of 13 July 2009 is getting a considerable run. Most commentators are taking … Continue reading “Occupational violence in fast food restaurants and petrol stations”
A survey of graduates by GradConnection released on 15 July 2009 has important information for Australian companies and provides some optimism for the OHS profession and regulators. A dominant element of modern employment is work/life balance. In some disciplines this is taken as workplace flexibility. In terms of workplace safety, work/life balance is a euphemism … Continue reading “What the next generation of graduates wants”
On 1 July 2009, the Australian industrial relations (IR) climate changed with the introduction of the Fair Work Act. Regardless of the politics of the new Act’s origin, this legislation changes the way that working conditions for Australians are negotiated and set. The Fair Work Act has no relevance to occupational health and safety, so … Continue reading “Fair Work Act and OHS”
A new Australian report estimates the total costs of heart attack and chest pain (Acute Coronary Syndrome or ACS) to the Australian economy – “total economic cost of $17.9 billion.” This Access Economics report, released in June 2009, has broad application for public policy but has some relevant information for safety and health management in the … Continue reading “The economic costs of a heart attack”
On 3 June 2009, the Victorian Auditor-General released the audit report, CLAIMS MANAGEMENT BY THE VICTORIAN WORKCOVER AUTHORITY. The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of VWA’s claims management. The report found that the current claims management model “has not substantially improved RTW [return-to-work] outcomes, or the effectiveness of agents’ case management practices” Although … Continue reading “Audit report says “could do better””