Union News
Activities for Reps
VTHC greets historic OHS Prosecution
The union movement and health and safety representatives greeted the successful prosecution of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development for ignoring a Provisional Improvement Notice issued by an OHS Representative. It is historic as it is the first successful action of its kind launched in Victoria.
VTHC Secretary, Brian Boyd, hailed the decision as an important win for working people.
“This is an historic case. Never before in the history of Victoria’s OHS laws has an employer been prosecuted for this breach. Employers and OHS Reps everywhere should take note of this case. It is a message to everyone to take OHS duties seriously.”
VTHC media release
VTHC’s Annual OHS Representatives Conference
Early notice of the VTHC’s Annual Conference for OHS Representatives, the biggest event of Victoria's WorkSafe Week : When? Wednesday October 24, Where? Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre. More information in coming weeks on how to register.
ANF Conference – Stop the Silence
Nurses Say No To Violence - Wednesday 12th September 2007, 9.15am – 3.30pm. ANF Conference & Education Centre, 1st Floor, 540 Elizabeth Street Melbourne
This conference is open to both members and non-members.
Enquiries Yiota Paraskevopoulos: 9275 9333.
CFMEU OHS conference
The 2nd pulp and paper industry OHS conference, Workplace Culture - Leading the Way, is on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th of September, 2007 at the Crown Plaza Hotel, 1-5 Spencer St, Melbourne.
This year's program focuses on the importance that culture has in the workplace and the crucial role that leaders play in changing workplace culture.
For more details or brochure and registration form please contact Vasso at the OHS&E unit of the PPW branch at the CFMEU on 03 9274 9235 or
info@ppwsafety.org.
IMHA & ITF join to condemn HIV discrimination at sea
The ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) and IMHA (International Maritime Health Association) have teamed up to set out a position on HIV/Aids whose aim is to help protect the rights and dignity of seafarers and all those living with the virus: that HIV/Aids cannot be a cause for discrimination at sea.
They will present it at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) being held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 19-23 August.
This week’s OHS Question
From an OHS rep: I have been informed that if I consult with our DWG on safety matters that I have to have a management representative present. Is this correct?
No, this is not correct. There is nothing in the Act that requires this. Rather, it's the other way around. If management speaks to a worker about an OHS matter, then the OHS rep has the right to be present with the consent of the worker. This is under section 58(1)(d) of the Act.
While it may be the case for a management rep to sometimes be invited to such a meeting, this would be at the discretion of the rep and the DWG. The role of an elected representative is to represent members of the DWG and raise their issues with management. The rep is the DWG’s spokesperson and has certain powers under the Act to help ensure that issues can be resolved. Having a management rep present at consultations may discourage some workers from raising issues they would normally raise with their representative.
If you have any questions or need help with any OHS related issue, Ask Renata. You are guaranteed an answer, usually within a couple of working days.
New Website PollHave you voted in our website poll yet? Have you used the new WorkSafe Victoria ‘Your Guide to…’ yet?
To access the Guides go to the
Regulations page of the site.
Asbestos News
GARDS Newsletter outA new edition of Gippsland Asbestos and Related Diseases Support is out. Items include an article on the wreath laying ceremony GARDS organised for International Workers’ Memorial Day and GARDS work to provide quality information to the public about the dangers of asbestos. [
pdf]
USA: Boss used homeless to remove asbestos
A US contractor who hired homeless men to remove asbestos without proper protective gear has been sentenced to 21 months in prison. The contractor’s company, Environmental Construction, didn’t have a licence for the removal of asbestos and the contractor himself had no training in asbestos handling. Unfortunately, The court did not order the contractor to pay for ongoing medical monitoring and treatment for the three men as he had no money.
Risks 318
NSW: another union to prosecute employer
The Public Service Association has been given the go ahead to initiate a prosecution against the NSW Department of Community Services over an incident where staff at Community Services Centre were threatened by a client with a knife in May 2004. One staff member was allegedly stabbed in the incident and another allegedly suffered psychological harm.
The PSA is using s106 of the NSW OHS Act to launch proceedings against DOCS, highlighting the lack of proper risk assessment and emergency procedures as contributing to the incident. There have been a number of prosecutions under the NSW OHS Act, which gives unions the right to prosecute over health and safety breaches. Unions wanted to be given the same rights under Victorian legislation, but unfortunately Maxwell did not recommend this, stating that it was the role of government to prosecute.
SA firefighters to get annual lung testing
South Australian firefighters will be monitored for lung disease after the state's Metropolitan Fire Service introduces a new program of tests. The system of annual lung function tests will monitor the workers' health and assess the efficiency of protective equipment.
The program will be conducted by the University of Adelaide's Primary Care Respiratory Research Unit and is believed to be an Australian first. The testing regime will also provide data on the efficiency of protocols governing the use of breathing apparatus and equipment.
Source: OHS Alert
Ban deadly herbicide paraquat
The International Union of Food workers (IUF) is leading a coalition of unions, ngos and governments to ban the deadly herbicide paraquat. The calls for a global ban on the substance come after European courts overturned a 2003 decision allowing its use. Paraquat has been linked to a host of health problems including irreversible lung damage and Parkinsons disease. It is widely used in plantation farming in developing nations and is estimated to be responsible for a large number of deaths annually.
The original 2003 European decision was used by the pesticide’s manufacturer, Syngenta, to aggressively market paraquat particularly in Asia and South America.
IUF Media release ;
OHS Reps page on Chemicals
An international coalition of 44 national and international public health and policy, environmental and trade union organisations have launched a call for strong, comprehensive regulatory oversight at all levels of nanotechnology and its products. Nanotechnology manipulates synthetic and natural materials at the atomic and molecular scale and a wide range of products and manufacturing techniques use or contain nanoparticles.
Nanotech is being heavily invested in across many industries with many products set for commercial release despite well-documented risks to human health and the environment.There is no way of testing for nanoparticle exposure and the coalition is calling for strong, specifically-tailored regulation to ensure adequate protection for workers, the public and the environment.
Occupational cancers section added to HESA website
The ILO estimates that around 10 per cent of cancer deaths are work-related. For some, like bladder and lung cancer, the figure is even higher. It is safe to say that cancer is now the main cause of "death by working conditions" in Europe. This cancer "epidemic" puts trade unions up against a big challenge that is locked into general improvements in working conditions.
To help spread information about the risk factors and the tools - especially legislative - that workers can use to eliminate or reduce them, these pages now workers, health and safety reps and others access to many reference papers on the links between cancer and work, as well as details of union campaigns run against this killer disease.
World Health Organisation figures show that 38,000 people in Australia die from cancer each year. Given that up to 10% of these cases are likely work related it poses a serious question about the monitoring of causes of occupational cancers. Australia has high rates of exposure to carcinogens in the workplace. Mesothelioma rates are still rising and cases of ‘cancer clusters’ have received national media attention.
The Australian Cancer Council's Daffodil Day will be held on August 24 - while the Cancer Council runs it to raise money to fund research into the largest cause of death in the country, unions should use it to highlight cancer as a preventable workplace disease.
UK News
Workplace deaths increase dramatically in UK in past year
Workplace deaths jumped by 11 per cent in the UK in the past year. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) 241 people died at work in the UK during 2006/07. The Trade Union Council says the HSE is so short on resources that it is failing to investigate deaths adequately when they occur. The HSE has been targeted for budget cuts and plans to shed 350 jumps by April next year. According to the UK unions, the HSE has cited ‘inadequate resources’ in its failure to investigate hundreds of serious incidents in the past year due. Unions are concerned that HSE is being starved of resources
Risks 317
Bus drivers’ union action over lack of toilet facilities
London bus workers will stage a series of protests at key London transport and local government offices to protest at the lack of toilet facilities. The bus workers' leaders say some drivers have been so desperate for a toilet break they have had to relieve themselves in public places and have been arrested as a result. The union says lack of toilets equals lack of respect for drivers and their health, adding that serious health problems are linked to being unable to go for long periods, especially bladder, kidney and prostate conditions.
Risks 317
New edition of HazardsInteresting and informative resource for OHS reps everywhere. The new edition of Hazards has new evidence showing the 'union effect' on safety is even more pronounced that previously thought - making the case for wide-ranging new rights for union safety reps clearer still. The new issue has lots more on cancer, asbestos, work diseases, safety prosecutions and more…
Hazards, Number 99, July/September 2007. See covers of recent issues.
Subscribe online or contact the subscription hotline by email
Research
Asthma risk for nurses and cleaners
Nurses and cleaners are roughly twice as likely as people with other jobs to develop asthma, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The report indicates up to 25% of new adult asthma cases could be caused by the job.
Researchers from the Municipal Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona tested 6,837 subjects for asthma when they took part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey from 1990 to 1995. The study found that workplace conditions may cause up to one quarter of new asthma cases in the developed world. Of major occupation groups, nurses had 2.2 times the risk of asthma and cleaners had 1.7 times the risk.
The findings confirm that exposure to some cleaning chemicals, bioaerosols, mites, agricultural products, and latex in the workplace raise the risk of developing asthma. Workers exposed to 'an acute symptomatic inhalation event,' such as a chemical spill or fire, were 3.3 times more likely to develop asthma than non-exposed workers. The authors conclude: 'Occupational exposures account for a substantial proportion of adult asthma incidence. The increased risk of asthma after inhalation accidents suggests that workers who have such accidents should be monitored closely.'
ETUI-HESA news report.
Manolis Kogevinas and others. Exposure to substances in the workplace and new-onset asthma: an international prospective population-based study (ECRHS-II), The Lancet, volume 370, number 9584, pages 336-341, 28 July 2007 [
abstract - requires registration].
Risks 318
High pressure jobs double the risk of depression and anxiety in previously healthy young adults, UK researchers have warned. A study of 972 32-year-olds found 45 per cent of new cases of depression and anxiety were attributable to stressful work. The authors defined a highly demanding job as involving a lack of control, long hours, non-negotiable deadlines and a high volume of work. They say it is the first time a firm link has bee found between stressful working conditions and poor mental health among people who had no previous history of the disorders before their career began.
Risks 317Research report: Work stress precipitates depression and anxiety in young, working women and men; Melchior, et al.
Toxic dust increases heart disease risk
A Swedish study has found that any occupational particulate air pollution increases the risk of heart disease. The study was set up to examine whether exposure to particulates increases the risk for heart disease and cerebrovascular disease by comparing Swedish construction workers who had been occupationally exposed with those who had not.
The workers had been exposed to inorganic dust (asbestos, man-made mineral fibres, dust from cement, concrete and quartz), wood dust, fumes (metal fumes, asphalt fumes and diesel exhaust) and gases and irritants (organic solvents and reactive chemicals). The researchers concluded that any occupational particulate air pollution, to inorganic dust or to fumes, especially diesel exhaust was associated with an increased risk of heart disease, but there was no increased risk for cerebrovascular disease.
WorkSafe News
Aims for safer racing industry announced
Deputy Premier Rob Hulls has announced a $500,000 WorkSafe project, 'StableSafe’, which aims to improve safety in the racing industry. The projected seeks to achieve proactive risk management through behavioural and cultural change, improve the safety of employees operating machinery and equipment, reduce workplace injuries, and promote employer/employee dialogue on safety.
VWA Media release
Tractor safety in the spotlight in statewide campaign
Dangerous tractors will be the target of a statewide safety campaign beginning this month. Modelled on WorkSafe’s successful Safe Towns program, in which a designated area is targeted for visits by inspectors, the tractor safety campaign will run until April next year. Locations include South Gippsland, Corryong/Tallangatta, the Yarra Valley, Cobden/Timboon, Mornington Peninsula, the Ballarat and Mildura regions.
Tractors without rollover protection, unguarded power take-offs or those needing maintenance will be the focus of the project. The campaign follows seven deaths on Victorian farms and hobby farms between October 2006 and July this year.
For more information on tractor and farming safety visit the WorkSafe website Source: VWA Media release
Tasmanian inspectors given on-the-spot fine power
Workplace Standards Tasmania inspectors have been given the power to issue infringement notices and on-the-spot fines for safety breaches. On-the-spot fines apply only to clear-cut offences at the lower end of the scale of seriousness. Fines have been set to range from $50 to $2500 (five per cent of the maximum penalty that a court may apply).
Victorian inspectors do not have this option and can only issue Improvement and Prohibition Notices, and recommend that the Authority prosecute the employer for breaches of the Act. VTHC OHS Officer Cathy Butcher said although these notices can be introduced under the Victorian OHS Act, the VWA has told the VTHC that the introduction of such infringement notices is not in its current ‘work plan’
Tasmanian government’s Media release
WorkSafe is investigating the death of a 42-year-old Werribee man while working inside a steel tank at Altona North on Thursday 16 August. The tank was used for chemicals and was undergoing maintenance at a business in McArthurs Road, Altona North.
It is believed he was working alone before being found by workmates around 3pm. WorkSafe’s investigation is at an early stage, but Executive Director, John Merritt, said the death confirmed the extreme danger of work in confined spaces.
“Limited means of entry and exit, poor ventilation and the presence of toxic gases and vapours all pose serious risks to workers in confined spaces.
Tim Holding reappointed Minister for WorkCover
Tim Holding has been reappointed Minister for WorkCover by the new Premier, John Brumby. This follows a reshuffle of the Victorian Government cabinet as a result of the resignation of Steve Bracks as Premier last week.
Premier's media release [pdf]
Comcare news
Two more employers eligible to join Comcare
Border Express Pty Ltd and Medibank Private have each submitted an application for a self insurance licence to and both have been declared eligible to be granted a self insurance licence under the Commonwealth workers' compensation scheme. If they are successful, these companies will join the others also covered by the Comcare OHS Act.
Draft codes of practice released for commentComcare is seeking comment on two draft codes of practice on OHS and cash in transit. The
draft OHS code was developed as a result of a review by Comcare of all existing codes of practice within the Commonwealth jurisdiction.
The draft code consolidates codes into one document, separated into 24 chapters, to replace all current approved codes. Eighteen chapters consist of current approved codes redrafted (16 codes have been finalised and two are still under development). The six remaining chapters consist of new codes (four have been finalised and two are under development).
The second draft code on cash in transit [
pdf] is designed to be included as chapter 25 of the new consolidated draft OHS code of practice, 2007. Comment closes on both codes on 27 August.
National Code of Practice for Induction for Construction Work declaredThe Australian Safety and Compensation Council has declared a National Code of Practice for Induction for Construction Work. The code “will reduce the regulatory burden for employers by now having the one set of arrangements throughout Australia,” according to ASCC Chairman Bill Scales.
ASCC Media Release [pdf]
National statistics on workers comp online
The ASCC has launched the new National Online Statistics Interactive System (NOSI), providing the public to access workers’ compensation statistics from 1994 - 2005
Check out the NOSI on the ASCC website
Sedentary work caused buttock injury
A former Commonwealth employee has successfully sought compensation after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal found that prolonged sitting in a non-ergonomic chair had contributed to incapacity.
The woman worked for the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service as a rehabilitation consultant and was generally sedentary throughout the day. Comcare argued that the injury occurred at a gym course the woman was attending. Medical advice tendered said the injury was a result of sacroiliac joint dysfunction which would be exacerbated by prolonged sitting as opposed to the worker's gym attendance.
Useful new resources
From Worksafe:
New publication: Machinery and Equipment Safety - An Introduction
WorkSafe has released a guide in introductory guide to Machinery and Safety. The guide is an introduction to managing the risks associated with the use of machinery and equipment in the workplace. The guide will also be useful to anyone else who is interested in machinery and equipment safety, such as employees and Health and Safety Representatives.
Download
ESV issues safety advice on downlightsEnergy Safe Victoria has issued advice to contractors and property owners on the safe installation of downlights and what to do if they encounter a dangerous installation. Installation of downlights will be covered in sections of the proposed new Wiring Rules. The advice comes following media reports of increased fire risk due to improperly installed downlights.
Advice for contractors [pdf]; advice for property owners [pdf]
From the Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner Leaders in Safety [pdf] The guide provides practical guidance for senior managers to adopt, both in attitude and action, to introduce, promote and maintain safety behaviours. It covers case studies from Australian companies, with ‘key learning’ data as well as chapters on changing specific mind sets or behaviours (‘cultures’) which inhibit or exclude safety behaviours.
