Written by Joy Barrett Wednesday, 04 August 2010 10:31
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), the Australian Congress of Trade (ACTU) and the Cancer Council held a conference in Sydney in June to consider how we might best deal with the dangers presented to thousands of Australian lives by the ongoing presence of dangerous asbestos contaminating materials in buildings, structures and the general environment. Written by Joy Barrett Wednesday, 04 August 2010 10:22
WorkSafe has taken a prosecution against the Department of Education as a result of an injury to a female student at Morawa Agricultural College in 2007. The girl suffered extensive fractures and lost four toes.
This is the first time WorkSafe has prosecuted a Government Agency for breaches of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
The Department is charged with failing to provide and maintain instruction, training and protective clothing and failure to ensure the safety of persons who were not employees.
The Department has indicated that it will plead guilty to two of the charges. The case was postponed from the 16th July so that the Department can make further submissions.
Written by Joy Barrett Wednesday, 04 August 2010 10:16
In October 2005, a five year child was crushed to death by the entrance gates of Trinity Catholic College, Lismore NSW. The child was not a student at the school but visiting the site with his mother to pick up his father who was working at the school.
The large, sliding metal gates, each leaf weighing approximately 100 kg were operated by a roller system sitting on a metal track. The stopper plate system failed and this allowed one leaf of the gate to slide out of the metal track and fall on the child causing fatal head injuries. The fault with the gate had been reported in January that year.
Written by John Salapak Wednesday, 28 July 2010 05:00
During Term 2, directors schools and principals underwent training on managing Occupational Safety and Health in Schools and a new Accident Incident and Investigation Report (AIIR) form was introduced.
Under Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) legislation all accidents, incidents and reported hazards must be investigated.
The main outcome of an OSH investigation is to identify and implement controls to minimise the risk of further injury.
For ease of use, the AIIR form is divided into six sections:
Written by Deb Olds Thursday, 29 April 2010 11:36
International Commemoration Day 2010
On the 28th April, Organisers from the SSTUWA joined other union members and leaders, widows, mothers, daughters, fathers and other family members, in mutual support at Solidarity Park, to remember and honour those workers who have been killed or injured during the course of doing their job.
In the past 20 years, in excess of 390 individuals have lost their lives while working within the Australian Mining Industry. This equates to an average of almost 20 fatalities per year.
UnionsWA Secretary, Simone McGurk, spoke to the crowd about the WA government’s senseless refusal to sign up to the nationally harmonised safety laws:
“Since January 2009, 21 people went to work and never came home- for a boom state this is not good enough. Barnett’s WA State Government ‘s decision to not join the rest of the nation in signing up for the safety laws leaves WA workers with the weakest safety laws in Australia.” (See: full speech below.)
Written by Joy Barrett & CFMEU Wednesday, 16 December 2009 07:00
Harmonisation of OHS for all Australian states announced today – except for Western Australia. WA will remain the only state without all the new harmonised laws.
Jurisdictional problems for business operating across state boarders were cited as one of the main reasons to harmonise. It is why so many businesses’s tried to get into the Comcare scheme – too remove red tape and allow cross border business and workers to have the same law in each state. This problem will now remain for WA.
Participating in the entire process (except Right of Entry) and then not adopting the legislation is embarrassing for WA. WA pretty much has about 80 % or similar of the new model laws as they stand now. Any improvements to WA OHS would have come from the very provisions the Libs now want to keep out.
No surprises as to which laws Buswell will not adopt. He has left HSR’s and workers out in the cold. Safety has been compromised in WA.
Written by WorkSafe Friday, 13 November 2009 08:20
WA’s cyclone season has officially begun, and businesses throughout the North-West of the State have been reminded to ensure contingency plans are established and in operation.Written by Geoff Fary Sunday, 04 October 2009 12:53
On Friday, 25 September 2009 the Workplace Relations Ministers Council (WRMC) agreed to release for public comment an exposure draft of the Model OHS Laws (attached - click read more). The public comment period is now open for a period of six weeks and closes at 5pm on Monday, 9 November 2009.
The ACTU Model OHS Law Working Group will coordinate the union response and prepare a submission. Affiliates will be regularly updated on these matters and a detailed discussion will take place at the next ACTU OHS and Workers' Compensation Committee meeting on 30 October 2009.
The WRMC also agreed to release a number of supporting documents to go with the exposure draft (also attached):
Written by ACTU Sunday, 04 October 2009 12:09
On Friday, 25 September 2009, the Deputy Prime Minister released the Report on the Review of Comcare (attached - click read more). You will recall that the Comcare Review took place in the first half of 2008. The Deputy Prime Minister announced that as a result of the Reports the Federal Government would:A detailed discussion on the Report and the Governments response will take place at the next ACTU OHS and Workers' Compensation Committee meeting on 30 October 2009.
Written by Mark Philips Friday, 18 September 2009 06:58
Family members of people who have died at work have joined with unions to lobby the Federal Government over new health and safety laws.
In a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister, leaders of victim support groups in Victoria, NSW and South Australia have urged stronger health and safety protections to prevent more families suffering the heartbreak of workplace deaths and injuries.
The letter says that proposed changes to workplace health and safety laws fall well short of providing world’s best practice.
Signatories to the letter include Deanne May, from Industrial Death Support and Advocacy Inc (Victoria), Cheryl Romer, convenor, the Workplace Tragedy Family Support Group (NSW) and Andrea Madeley, President of Voice of Industrial Death (South Australia).
ACTU Secretary Jeff Lawrence said: “Thousands of Australians die, are injured or become ill as a result of their job each year. The failure to protect the health and safety of employees has huge social and economic consequences."
Read more: Workplace victims join with unions in call for stronger OSH laws
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Troy Buswell and the State Government have appointed a former Howard Government industrial relations advocate to review Western Australian workplace laws and will soon announce changes that could affect up to 300,000 Western Australian workers.
Public schools are a foundation stone of our society. They are places of learning, of inspiration and opportunity where every Australian child can get the education they deserve. It's the key to a strong economy, a skilled workforce and a socially cohesive society.
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Public education should be free and open to all to ensure non-selective and non-discriminatory access to education. Every child has a right to be educated, to develop as a human being. This capability should not be denied to anyone, either by design or neglect.
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