OHS REPS @ WORK

Jack and Deanne May are president and secretary of IDSA respectively – the Industrial Deaths Support and Advocacy Inc. Prior to International Workers Memorial Day, SafetyNet spoke to them about the work of this wonderful organisation and the tragic reason why they are so involved.

‘When someone dies at work, it’s never their fault. Every death can be prevented.’ Deanne May.

Jack and Deanne’s son Gary died three weeks after an explosion at Simsmetal in 1986. Three other workers were killed and seven seriously injured.

They say that in the period Gary was injured and in hospital, everyone rallied around: lawyers, doctors, and so on. But when he died – everything stopped. Nothing happened. They waited for the inquest and for the company to be taken to court, expecting that they would finally get justice. In fact, WorkSafe did prosecute the company: they were found guilty of three charges under the OHS Act, but they received a fine of only $45,000.

The day that changed so many lives, Deanne’s very moving account of the death of their son and their experiences at the time, is at the bottom of this page.

When their son died, they tried to do something. They were not able, nor willing to just ‘move on’ – but with two other sons, 18 and 15, they went back to work. Then, in 1999, over ten years after losing their son, they came to a rally at the Trades Hall Council and there met Liz Horvath Mobayad who had lost her father in a workplace accident and was then president of IDSA. So they became involved. Deanne got involved first; Jack at first said, ‘Well, our son has died, and what can we do?’ They were both still grieving, but Deanne wanted things to change. When a new committee was formed in 2001, they became more active. Sadly, Liz has since passed away. Their aim now is to keep the organisation’s funding and base to ensure on-going support to new families come to IDSA.

IDSA has no joining fee. When a family comes for assistance because they have lost a loved one, they become members, and get help and support from others. IDSA wants people to know they can provide support:

• There is family support
• Advice on where to go and what to do
• Advice on what to expect with regard to the legal process
• Understanding that they want to know WHY this has happened

Having been through a similar tragedy themselves, those at IDSA understand that families want answers, but that this often means waiting a long time. Helping families to participate in the process helps to give them some understanding of what’s happening.

Some people have good family support, but others don’t and so feel isolated, particularly in country areas. There needs to be more help and support for families in the rural areas.

The strongest recommendation Jack and Deanne have to people who come to IDSA is to get a good lawyer who understands the system, knows what to do with regard to lodging a compensation claim. Sometimes people come in having seen their family lawyer who, while wanting to help, does not have the required knowledge of this field.

Deanne says that WorkSafe is now working more closely with families: after approximately four years of lobbying from IDSA, they have two social workers. ‘We have found Chief Executive Greg Tweedly, Executive Director, WorkSafe John Merritt and Heather Baker-Goldsmith, who recently left the organisation, to be very supportive,’ she said.