OHS REPS @ WORK

Issue 131 - SafetyNet Journal 131

Welcome to SafetyNet Journal for 2008. We hope you have had a happy and safe summer.

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Union News
Research
WorkSafe News
Worksafe Prosecutions
International News
Events

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Union News

Activities for reps

OHS Act Review – Final Report released
According to the Minister for WorkCover, Mr Tim Holding, the independent review of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 found overwhelming agreement from employers and unions that the new legislation, introduced in 2005, was ‘sound’ and ‘working as intended’.

The Minister said the review, completed after extensive consultation with trade unions, employer associations and other Victorian organisations, was a strong endorsement of the new laws.

The report’s recommendations include that WorkSafe increase its resources in the areas of enforcement, training of inspectors and to the prosecution and investigation branch and also that it actively addresses stress in both the public and private sector.

Minister’s Media Release
‘A report on the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 - Administrative Review'

Workplace Relations ministers to discuss OHS harmonisation
State and Federal Workplace Relations Ministers will discuss a national OHS harmonisation strategy at the first such meeting under the Rudd Government. The first meeting of the Workplace Relations Ministers Council in more than a year will take place on February 1 in Melbourne.

Also on the agenda will be the review of the Comcare federal self-insurance scheme and the replacement body for the ASCC. Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Workplace Relations Minister, Julia Gillard, will chair the meeting.

Fed Govt announces terms of reference for Comcare Review
The Federal Government has announced the terms of reference for the review of Comcare and invited written submissions from interested parties.
The review will assess the suitability of Comcare as an OHS and worker’s compensation system for self- insurers and their employees.

The government says it is particularly concerned that workers covered under the scheme are protected by “rigorous OHS safeguards and appropriate workers’ compensation benefits”.
The terms of reference are available to read online.

Asbestos News

Canadian asbestos killing Indian workers
Canada has come under renewed attack for its asbestos exports to India. Over 120 workers in Gujarat in India have filed for compensation for asbestos-related illness. Gujarat is a key import point for Canadian asbestos where it is unloaded by workers with no protection before being shipped across India for use in an enormous range of industries.

Canadian chrysotile asbestos accounts for one-third of all asbestos in India where it doctors estimate that at least 100,000 workers inhale chrysotile fibres every day. Indian workers are largely unaware of the dangers posed by the deadly substance and protective masks and clothing are rare.

Whilst other countries export to India, notably Russia and Kazakhstan, Canada’s slick marketing of asbestos and assurances that chrysotile asbestos can be used safely have seen its exports grow. Canada now exports asbestos to 70 countries in an industry worth over $100 million.
Tell Canada to stop exporting asbestos

ETU January OHS newsletter

The ETU January OHS newsletter is now online [pdf]. The first edition for 2008 features articles on Dial Before You Dig, a free national advisory service linking most of Australia’s gas, electricity, water and communication providers, and a guide to the safe use of lasers.

AWU praises report on shiftwork and cancer
Further to our item on shiftwork and cancer (IARC classification) in SafetyNet 129, the AWU has praised the UN report, saying it will have a significant impact on Australian workplaces demanding continuous production.

"Our union has for many years strongly and publicly warned our members that there are calculated risks in 12 hour shifts - we believe that 12 hour shifts involving night work especially may burden our members' health," said AWU National Secretary, Paul Howes. AWU media release

FSU launches new survey
The Finance Sector Union has launched a survey for workers at CBA following concerns about the removal of seating forcing workers to remain on their feet all day. The union wants to hear from workers who are affected.
Download the survey online . Read more about the hazards of Standing up .

WA rail workers fined $10,000 each over OHS sacking protest
The Federal Court has fined 91 workers on the Perth to Mandurah rail project who walked off the job to protest the sacking of a union delegate who had raised health and safety concerns. The ABCC launched individual action against 107 of the workers following the protest in March 2007.

The workers argued that the action was protected as it related to a health and safety matter. However, they were fined up to $10,000 each for taking illegal stopwork action after the judge found that there was no ‘reasonable concern’ of an imminent OHS risk to the workers.

Unions have condemned the decision saying it demonstrates the unfairness of the former Howard Government’s industrial relations laws.
ACTU media release; Federal Court judgment

Fatalities mar start to year

There have already been three workplace fatalities in Victoria in 2008, marking a tragic start to the year. On January 2nd a man died in East Gippsland when his bulldozer rolled while clearing a firebreak in steep country. The man, in his forties, was a contractor for the Department of Sustainability and environment.

An elderly female farmer died near Echuca 6 January when she was crushed by a tractor.

On January 18th a 35-year-old woman was crushed by falling timber at a mill in the Latrobe Valley. According to WorkSafe the woman was removing a blockage from a jammed lifting device when a bundle of timber weighing about two tonnes fell on her.

January remains one of the worst months for workplace fatalities. On average over the past decade there have been about four deaths each January, significantly higher than other months.
WorkSafe media releases - East Gippsland , Gippsland timber mill

Position available at VTHC
The VTHC has a position available for a WorkCover / Compensation and Rehabilitation Liaison Officer with an approximate salary of $75,000 per annum plus generous superannuation and leave conditions as per the VTHC Staff EBA.

Enquiries can be directed to Brian Boyd, VTHC Secretary on 9662 3511 and/ or applications emailed to hatkinson@vthc.org.au by close of business, Wednesday 20th February 2008. Check the VTHC website for more information

UFU seeks Health and Safety Representative Support Officer
The United Firefighters Union (Victorian Branch) is looking to appoint a Health and Safety Representative Support Officer on a part time 3 day per week basis for a fixed term. To be successful in this position, the Support Officer will be required to have knowledge of occupational health and safety, experience providing information and advice to Health and Safety Representatives, preparing written reports and undertaking industry research.

The Support Officer will be responsible for, amongst other things, maintaining the OHS section of the UFU website, liaising with and providing support, information and advice to HSRs, undertaking research into current and emerging health and safety issues in the firefighting industry and other administrative duties as required.

More information on this position.

Probe called for on 457-visa deaths

Unions are awaiting a response from the Federal Government on calls for a judicial inquiry into the exploitation of workers on 457-visas after it was revealed late last year that the previous government had scaled back monitoring of the program in the previous year.

This came despite revelations that 21 workers on skilled visas had died since the scheme was launched. CFMEU National Secretary, John Sutton, has called on the Rudd Government to hold an inquiry into the matter.
CFMEU media release

AWAs compromise safety in WA mines
The mining union, the AWU, is calling for the elimination of artificial restrictions on OHS entry rights in AWAs following a death of a man at a Pilbara mine site in WA. The union has called on Fortescue Metals boss to relax restrictions imposed on union OHS people to allow a proper dialogue on safety issues.

Workers at the mine where the incident occurred had raised 82 safety issues only months beforehand but union OHS people are unable to inspect the site because of provisions within the AWAs.
AWU media release; AWU letter to Fortescue Metals boss [ pdf ]; Report in West Australian

Union News: International

EU rejects changes to law on silica and nanotech
Some progress was made recently on EU OHS standards with a report calling for new measures to protect workers, however unions and Socialist Euro MPs were shocked when Conservative MPs voted against action on crystalline silica, nanotechnology and third-party violence in the EU Parliament.

A call for a revision of EU law on carcinogens was adopted yet MPs voted not to include crystalline silica in such a revision. The substance has been classified by the World Health Organisation as a Class 1 carcinogen, meaning it is carcinogenic to humans. They also voted against a call to monitor nanotechnology and assess its potential healthy risks.

French govt backs safety reps
Health and safety representatives have a clear benefit to workplaces where they are present, according to an official French government report. The report from Dares, the French labour ministry research institute, concluded that reps help build worker awareness of issues and improve identification of or workplace risks.

The report also concludes that a combination of OHS knowledge and the power to require changes are key to delivering improvements when safety reps and health and safety committees are present in workplaces.
ETUI-REHS media release
Source: Risks 339

Research

Diacetyl risk to restaurant workers

A new study commissioned by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer shows restaurant workers face serious risk from diacetyl exposure, leading to the international food union, the IUF, calling for action. Diacetyl is a flavouring chemical in artificial butter and a common ingredient in margarines and cooking oils and sprays used in commercial kitchens. It has been linked to the potentially fatal lung disease bronchiolitis obliterans.

When heated for cooking, the oils release vapours which expose workers to diacetyl and its harmful effects. The study detected high diacetyl levels in a variety of products. It is estimated that diacetyl is used in some 6,000 commercial products in the US.
IUF media release

Female shiftworkers retire early
Shiftwork has again been linked to adverse health impacts with European research suggesting that female shiftworkers are more likely to take early, enforced retirement.

A Danish Work Environment Cohort Study, begun in 1990, found that women were more likely than men to require a disability pension and 34% more likely if they had been a shiftworker. It is not clear why women should be more vulnerable, say the authors.
Finn Tüchsen, Karl Bang Christensen, Thomas Lund, and Helene Feveile, A 15 year prospective study of shift work and disability pension, Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Published Online First: 15 January 2008. doi:10.1136/oem.2007.036525 [ Abstract ]
Risks 339

Job stress linked to heart-attack risk

A British study provides the strongest evidence yet linking job stress to increased risk of heart attack. The study, part of the long-running Whitehall II study, which has been following 10,308 London-based civil servants since 1985. suggests workers who are chronically stressed are 68% more likely to develop heart disease. The link is strongest in people under 50.

Work stress and coronary heart disease: what are the mechanisms? Tarani Chandola, Annie Britton, Eric Brunner, Harry Hemingway, Marek Malik, Meena Kumari, Ellena Badrick, Mika Kivimaki and Michael Marmot, European Heart Journal Advance Access, January 23, 2008 [Abstract] Source: The Age online

NZ case study finds occupations at higher risk of bladder cancer
A New Zealand study has found hairdressers and sewing machinists have an elevated risk of developing bladder cancer. The nationwide study looked at bladder cancer rates among adults and suggests more research is necessary to determine any links. Source: News About the Environment and Cancer, Quarter 4 2007 (October - December), Dryson E, et al., Int J Cancer. 2007 November 20

US study links chemical exposure to nurse health
A study of US nurses has found those cumulatively exposed to chemicals, pharmaceuticals and radiation on the job face an increased risk of cancer, asthma and miscarriages.

The study, conducted at the University of Maryland School of Nursing and published by the Environmental Working Group, suggests that long-term, low-level exposure poses a significant health risk to nurses. The report suggests that the cumulative risks of such exposure have never been studied.
Environmental Working Group

WorkSafe News

Commercial centres to be Safer Suburbs in 08

The Northland and Southland shopping centres will be the focus of WorkSafe Victoria’s first Safer Suburbs campaign for 2008. Inspectors began visiting the centres on 14 January to help employers resolve safety issues.

The Safer Suburbs initiative has traditionally looked at industrial areas but was extended to major retail centres last year. Unguarded equipment, inadequate fire suppression, dangerous storage racking, poor housekeeping and sub-standard staff amenities were often found during Safer Suburbs visits. VWA Media Release

Countries join forces in Trans-Tasman Falls campaign
During February and March inspectors will visit more than 900 mainly small and medium-sized construction sites around NZ and Australia in a program announced by Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities chair John Watson.

Falls prevention is a priority focus area for Australia’s workplace safety authorities as they are the single-biggest cause of workplace deaths in the construction industry. VWA media release

The Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities also has a new website.

NSW inquiry into the potential risks and benefits of nanotech

The NSW Government will conduct an inquiry into nanotechnology. The aim of the inquiry is to reassure the community as well as make sure the government’s regulatory arrangements are both adequate and appropriate, according to NSW Science & Medical Research Minister Verity Firth. The standing committee’s terms of reference include examining the health, safety and environmental risks and benefits of the new technology.

The committee has called for public submissions, which will close on March 28 and will report its findings by October 31. The Nanotechnology in New South Wales (Inquiry) terms of reference.

Rudd halves nanotech budget
The Rudd Government ahs announced halving nanotech budget as part of government wide cuts from $21.5 million to $12 million. The previous government had set aside very little of this to consider occupational and public health and safety and environmental implications of the emerging technology.

Unions had serious concerns that the Howard Government’s strategy pushed development without adequate OHS and environmental concerns being met.

SA introduces reckless endangerment laws
South Australia has introduced reckless endangerment laws, similar to those under the Victorian Act. The maximum penalties for reckless endangerment will be up $1.2 million for corporations and public sector agencies, while individuals face a $400,000 and up to five-years jail. SA Govt media release

Worksafe Prosecutions

Company to face court over customer's death

A South Gippsland company has been committed to stand trial in the County Court on workplace health and safety charges following a death in January 2007. A hoist holding a tandem trailer collapsed on a customer, who had taken the trailer in for repairs the day before.

We Fix M Pty Ltd (trading as Inverloch Motor Body Works) will appear at the Latrobe Valley County Court, Morwell on May 26. VWA Media release

International News

China: Toxic toys export focus on consumers, not workers there

A series of recalls of toxic toys manufactured in China has focussed attention on risks to consumers but media reports have largely ignored the plight of workers. Anita Chan and Jonathan Unger of the Australian National University's Contemporary China Centre argue that the companies exporting the toys are mostly based in Hong Kong and use cheap labour in China.

The factories in China for companies like Mattel and Disney are based on designs that the Americans corporations make yet it is the Chinese workers who are exposed to the risks.
Blood, Tears, Toys and NGOs , Multinational firms with brand-name products can’t afford a lawless work environment in China, Anita Chan and Jonathan Unger, YaleGlobal, 13 December 2007 The Age article

Journalist killings maintain record levels in 2007
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the continued violence against journalists in 2007. For the third year in succession there have been record numbers of journalists killed while on the job with 172 confirmed deaths last year, just below the record set in 2006.

IFJ President Jim Boumelha, said the attacks on journalists mark “a continuing crisis filled with unlimited human tragedy and relentless attacks on press freedom.”
IFJ media release IFJ Report: Deadly Stories 2007

South Korea: Fire kills 40 workers

Forty people are believed to have been killed in a warehouse inferno on 7 January at Icheon, 80km south of Seoul. The warehouse was a newly built cold storage facility and the intense fire destroyed firefighting equipment in the basement where the fire began.
Risks 338

UK from the HSE: Flour dust in bakeries - Guidance, background and advice on controlling exposure to flour dust.

US: Inadequate work cancer protection could lead to changes
An official US report provides a damning assessment of chemicals in workplaces and could lead to new restrictions. The report from the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), called for tighter controls on chemicals including workplace carcinogens.

The report found 109 chemicals recognised in California as cancer-causing are not regulated as occupational carcinogens, 44 of them not even having a permissible exposure limit for the workplace. The report had become a political football, having gathered dust for over two years before being released just before Christmas, drawing demands for swift action to make up for time lost.
Complete report [pdf ]
Source: Risks 339

Events

Training at Trades Hall

The OHS Training Unit has a range of courses coming up in 2008. Check out the training page of the website for all the latest news and sign up for courses.

Contact Judith Rodda on 03 9663 5460 for more information on scheduled courses or what we can do for your workplace, and to enrol.
2008 Training program

Safety in Action Conference - April 29 to May
The Safety in Action Conference with over 70 Australian & international speakers covering the latest issues in OHS will be held ffrom April 29 to May 1 this year.
The Conference is featuring a line-up featuring Jerry Ellis (ANZ Chair and former Monash Uni Chancellor and BHP Director) and Ziggy Switkowski.
Safety In Action