Issue 144 - SafetyNet Journal 144
Welcome to SafetyNet Journal 144, your source for the latest OHS news from Australia and the world.Union News
Research
WorkSafe News
Worksafe Prosecutions
International News
Events
Union News
Activities and news for reps
Take one minute to stand with our ambos!
Take a few seconds out of your day to send a message of support to our ambos. Ambos are campaigning for a first class service for Victorians in their enterprise negotiations. In the process they’re shining a light on the long delays in emergencies, dangerous paramedic fatigue and an intensive care MICA service in meltdown.
Support the ambos by sending a message to the State Government.
WorkCover Needs Fixing
The VTHC is launching a campaign to highlight the problems with the WorkCover compensation scheme, particularly the poor deal for Victorian workers who get injured. To be injured at work is bad enough, but to be injured in Victoria is even worse. WorkCover in Victoria holds the record for rejecting new claims by injured workers. Victoria rejects 14.1% of WorkCover claims The official campaign launch will be at Trades Hall on Sunday 27 July at 11am.
VTHC site
ACTU releases communiqué on OHS harmonisation
The ACTU has released a communiqué outlining the key points the national union body will be seeking in any agreement. These key points include:
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Absolute duty of care – where the burden of proof for any defence rests with the employer, providing the ability to prove that ‘reasonably practicable’ steps were taken
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Right of entry for union representatives, including all the powers of an OHS Representative
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Union right to prosecute, particularly where the government regulator doesn’t initiate a prosecution
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All occupational health and safety law must be developed in a truly tripartite manner. Grave concerns are held for this democratic, tried and true process, if the underfunded and under-representative body announced by the IGA, 3 July is not amended.
Read more on the OHS harmonisation pages on OHS Reps
Sexual harassment still prevalent in Australian workplaces
The Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, has spoken out on the prevalence of sexual harassment and discrimination in Australian workplaces following a nation-wide Listening Tour. The tour met women in different parts of the country, gathering feedback on a range of issues of gender equality. A report proposes a plan of action focussed on five key areas, including the prevalence of sexual harassment in workplaces.
The Commissioner heard about sexual harassment in every state, industry and workplace that she visited. It appears to be present across all levels of the workplace, although many employers she met seemed reluctant to talk about it. Sexual harassment is also a health and safety issue – the employer has a duty under the OHS Act to ensure the workplace is safe and without risks to health and free from discrimination and harassment.
See more information on the
website
Listening Tour Community Report
Speech on ABC
Ask Renata –
Is workload an OHS issue?
It certainly can be, particularly if either the current workloads, or an increase in workloads lead to other problems such as stress, increases in musculosketal injuries, and so on. Last week WorkSafe upheld a PIN issued by a rep in the Department of Human Services issued due to high stress levels caused by ‘extreme’ workloads. As a result, the DHS has been told to improve staff numbers at its Preston office to reduce stress levels for child-protection workers and to deal with a list of cases that have not been allocated a worker.
See article:
Child Protection Office In Crisis
And in Japan work-related suicide or 'karojisatsu' is an officially recognised and compensated condition in Japan linked to stress and overwork, with incidents being reported regularly (see story in the previous edition of SafetyNet)
Do you have an OHS-related query? If so,
Ask Renata
Maintain The Rage - National Young Workers Conference
Registration is now open for the Young Workers Conference, which will be held at the Victorian Trades Hall on 12 &13 September. The Young Unionist Network is hosting the 2008 conference and is inviting young workers, activists, students, organisers and those interested in issues for young people to join in discussions, actions, workshops and celebrations under the theme ‘Maintain the Rage’.
Registration for the event is free.
YUN website
Beaconsfield inquest hears from trapped miners as company withdraws
The inquest into the Beaconsfield mine disaster in which one worker died and two men were trapped under ground for 14 days has heard from the survivors about their experience. The inquest into the death of Larry Knight has also heard that the company had ceased blasting in the mine in the days before the incident, potentially increasing the pressure in the mine. Survivor Brant Webb said, “managers had continually demanded greater output at the mine and had regularly lectured the workforce about the company's financial problems”.
The company withdrew from the inquest after saying that its managers were the “heroes of the rescue” but that some evidence would blame them for the accident.
Read more on the inquest on the
Safety At Work blog
SMH
Asbestos news
Brazil and Canadian asbestos ban to hit firms in India
India’s asbestos-cement industry may face significant shortage in supplies of a key raw material, asbestos, after a recent partial ban in Brazil and the prospect of one in Canada, countries that are India’s second and third largest suppliers after Russia. Asbestos continues to be used in India where it is often mixed with cement to create asbestos-cement for use as roofing for low-cost houses. The industry is estimated to be worth over $700 million ($Au). Most of the white asbestos used in the industry is imported. Canada and Brazil together supply nearly 35% of India’s asbestos requirements. The coming bans are expected to have a significant impact on the Indian asbestos industry, which is notoriously under-regulated and lacking real health and safety standards.
Brazil’s highest court allowed individual states to ban asbestos in June, overturning a previous legal precedent which found such bans to be unconstitutional. Individual states are now moving to ban the deadly carcinogen. This follows moves in Canada to halt the export industry there as well. Most industrialised countries have banned the use and importation of asbestos, leaving developing nations as the only market for the exploitative industry.
WSJ - Livemint article
Asbestos industry resorts to threats
A top asbestos campaigner in France is facing libel action from an industry lobby group. Unions have vowed to support François Desriaux, a driving force behind the French asbestos victim support group Andeva. He is scheduled to appear in court to answer libel charges brought by Canada’s Chrysotile Institute, a lobbying group funded by the asbestos industry. Another union activist critical of the institute has also received a letter warning of libel action against him. It is not the first time the Chrysotile Institute has attempted to silence discussion of asbestos, with Canadian authorities rejecting a 2005 complaint about a television report on the deadly substance.
Risks 364
ETUI-HESA news release
Nanotech developments
Minister releases Regulatory review
The Innovation Minister, Kim Carr, has released a review on the possible impacts of nanotechnology on Australia’s regulatory framework. The review claims our regulatory system is ‘well-placed’ to cope with the challenges of nanotechnology and that there is ‘no immediate need for major changes’. However, the report actually identifies six key areas of ‘potential concern’. In our view, it is absolutely crucial that changes are made to our system as soon as possible, as the way things stand, employers, manufacturers and suppliers do not even have to inform workers or the community of the presence of nanoparticles, except if the chemical in its normal state is hazardous. The inadequacy of this is demonstrated by the recent research, which indicated that carbon nanotubes cause mesothelioma in mice. In its normal state, carbon is not hazardous.
Read more: New report finds truck-sized holes in Australia's nanotechnology regulation - FOE Media Release
OHS Rep –
Hazards: Nanotech
Leading Canadian scientists warn nanomaterials pose major health risks
The Council of Canadian Academies has released a new report which warns that the health and environmental risks posed by nanomaterials are both serious and poorly understood. The CCA report also warns that "current [Canadian] regulatory triggers are not sufficient to identify all nanomaterials entering the market that may require regulatory oversight".
Concerns over the potential dangers posed by the rapidly expanding number of products containing nanomaterials are outlined in the report. The CCA cautions that the tiny substances might be able to penetrate cells and interfere with biological processes. It also warns "there is inadequate data to inform quantitative risk assessments on current and emerging nanomaterials." However, their small size may allow them "to usurp traditional biological protective mechanisms" with the potential to have "enhanced toxicological effects."
Council of Canadian Academies report
News release [pdf]
OHS Reps section on Nanotechnology
Risks 365
Other news
CPEU releases Safety Alert on HDPE Electrofusion
The CPEU has released a hazard alert raising concerns in relation to the process of electrofusing High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe and fittings.
The major concern relates to pipework of 150 mm diameter and greater, where the loss of control during the application of heat to the fittings results in excessive heat being applied over a short time frame, resulting in destruction of the fitting, or at worst, a fire.
Test results of the fittings and pipe have been unable to resolve whether the fitting had failed, or the equipment applying the voltage had oversupplied the required electrical current to the fitting.
Read the safety alert
Call to reduce workplace discrimination against people with disabilities
The ACTU has welcomed the announcement that the government will assist people with disabilities seeking jobs, but has warned that more action is needed to address discrimination against workers with a disability.
In a speech to the National Disability Employment Services Employment Forum in Brisbane, ACTU President Sharan Burrow said there was still an unacceptably low level of workforce participation among the two million Australians who have a disability. “People with disabilities continue to face serious obstacles in finding and retaining jobs. There is still significant discrimination from employers against workers with a disability.”
The announcement from the government removes rules introduced under the Howard Government that stopped people on a Disability Support Pension from working more than 15 hours per week without a reduction in payments. The Rudd Government has also ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, making Australia one of the first Western countries to do so.
ACTU media release
Govt news release -
Australia ratifies UN disabilities convention
More support needed to help carers balance their work and family commitments
Unions say action is needed to help workers who care for elderly or disabled relatives or
The ACTU is calling for more flexible working hours and improved carers leave to be introduced to reduce the pressure for workers to choose between their job and their family. Workers who look after relatives who are elderly, chronically ill, disabled, or even school-aged children will face the same pressure to choose between their job and family as parents of pre-schoolers.
An ACTU submission to the
Better Care for our Carers Parliamentary inquiry says that if carers are unable to participate in the paid workforce,
Army bans use of blanks after training injury at Pt Cook
The Australian Army has banned the use of all blank ammunition, following a training injury to an army reservist from
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) says the reserve soldier received gunshot wounds to both forearms during a training activity at the RAAF Williams Point Cook base. He is now in hospital in a satisfactory condition.
Police and the ADF are investigating, and the ban on blank ammunition will be in place until further notice.
ITF calls for measures to improve seafarers’ lives
The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) has called for the prompt ratification of vital international conventions to tackle poor working conditions and the grim reality of life at sea. Participating in a panel on seafarers at the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on the Law of the Sea (UNICPOLOS) in New York, US, on 23-27 June, ITF Seafarers Secretary Jon Whitlow highlighted the importance of improving quality of life at sea and argued that seafaring was becoming increasingly difficult. The forum adopted proposals that the General Assembly emphasise the need to promote a culture of safety in the shipping industry.
ITF news release
ETUC wants paint stripper outlawed
Europe's trade union confederation ETUC is calling for a blanket ban on paint strippers that contain dichloromethane. Dichloromethane is a member of the chlorinated solvent group of chemicals that are held responsible for a large number of deaths and accidents between 1989 and 2007. The union made its position clear as the European Parliament's (EP) Environment Committee prepares to publish its opinion on a Commission proposal to restrict the sale and use of products containing the chemical.
ETUC news release
European Commission proposal [
pdf
] Risks 364
IMF calls for mobilisation against precarious work
The international Metalworkers Federation has launched a global campaign against precarious work.
Precarious work affects us all is a global union campaign to stop the rise in precarious employment and regain power and justice for working people. Precarious work is bad for all workers. It creates cut-price labour that drives down wages for all. It increases the gap between the rich and poor and amplifies the unfair practices that already disadvantage women, young and migrant workers and promotes an unsafe work culture.
IMF –
Spotlight on precarious work
Research
Australian workers experience high rates of distress
A new study has revealed Australian workers have high rates of psychological distress, with long working hours, sales staff positions and non-traditional gender roles identified as occupational risk factors. Based on a survey of more than 60,500 full-time employees of 58 Australian companies, the workers completed the ‘Kessler 6’ questionnaire, which asked how often they felt sad, nervous, hopeless, etc. Scores of 13 or higher (on a 24-point scale) indicated high psychological distress, with a high likelihood of a mental disorder. Results show that 4.5% of workers have high psychological distress of which only 22% were in current treatment.
The Prevalence of Psychological Distress in Employees and Associated Occupational Risk Factors, Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. 50(7):746-757, July 2008.
Hilton, Michael F. PhD; Whiteford, Harvey A. MBBS, MPH; Sheridan, Judith S. M Clin Psych; Cleary, Catherine M. Grad Dip App Sc; Chant, David C. PhD; Wang, Philip S. MD, DrPH; Kessler, Ronald C. PhD
Common herbicide disrupts human hormone activity
U.S researchers have found that atrazine, a commonly used herbicide, affects the endocrine systems of zebra?sh at levels lower than previously thought. In addition, the researchers have observed an impact to human cells in tissue cultures. Atrazine is the second most widely used herbicide in the United States and the new study found that it could lead to serious problems for both humans and ?sh. It is also widely used in Australia. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California San Francisco, examined the endocrine-disrupting effects of the herbicide in zebra?sh, a commonly used laboratory animal. A parallel study investigated the effects on cultured human cells.
The researchers have urged further studies to investigate the effects on human reproduction.
Source: ChemWatch Bulletin
WorkSafe News
ASCC – comparison of worker’s comp arrangements in Australia and New Zealand
The Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC) has published the latest edition of the
Comparison of Workers’ Compensation Arrangements in Australia and New Zealand, providing a comprehensive description of the operation of workers’ compensation systems across Australia and New Zealand.
The Comparison provides a background to the evolution of workers’ compensation arrangements in Australia and New Zealand detailing the schemes, coverage, benefits, return to work provisions, self insurance, common law, dispute resolution and cross-boarder arrangements.
ASCC media release
Resources and materials
Fatalities rise again in ASCC figuresSafe operation of cold storage facilities - A handbook for workplaces
The purpose of this handbook is to help employers and people working in the cold storage industry to identify health and safety hazards and implement appropriate risk controls. This handbook also provides advice for cold storage facility employers on how to ensure they comply with their duties and obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.New return to work publications, including:
Returning to work – a guide for injured workers
Suitable Employment for Injured Workers: A step by step guide
OHS, Return to Work and Premium in your workplace presentation
This presentation was delivered at a series of free information sessions across Victoria during May and June 2008, to help workplaces better manage health and safety, understand WorkSafe injury insurance and assist injured workers.
The latest ASCC statistics reveal the number of compensated fatalities in Australia has risen, but the official incidence rates for injury and diseases across all industries have dropped since 1997–98. The Compendium of Workers’ Compensation Statistics Australia 2005–06 indicates there were 231 compensated fatalities (up from 214 in 2004–05), 93% of which were men. The transport and storage industry accounted for the largest number of fatalities (41), followed by construction (33) and manufacturing (28).
The most common cause for compensated fatalities, responsible for 83 fatalities (36% of all compensated fatalities), was vehicle accidents, followed by being hit by moving objects (25 fatalities, 11%), being hit by falling objects (18 fatalities, 8%), while 16 fatalities (7%) were caused by falls from height.
The VTHC warns that these statistics, based as they are on compensation claims, significantly underestimate the true level of injury, illness and death due to work.
ASCC compendium
WorkSafe announces 2008 –2009 Safety Program
WorkSafe has announced a comprehensive program of intervention activities to take place over the next 12 months. Targeted industries include: Agriculture; Moulded & fabricated metals; Emergency services and prisons; Food and beverage; Road freight transport; Chemical storage; Vehicle & parts manufacture; Welfare services; and, Wood products manufacturing
VWA Media Release
First Compliance Code recommended to minister
The first Compliance Code under the 2004 Act,
Communicating Occupational Health and Safety Across Languages, outlines the duties and responsibilities of employers to ensure that all employees, including those whose first language is not English, receive information and training to understand the risks involved in their work and to enable them to do the job safely. The Code, as provided to the minister, can be downloaded from this WorkSafe webpage.
Worksafe Prosecutions
Foster's facing $2m fine for worker death
Brewing giant Foster's faces fines of up to almost $2 million after admitting that failure to provide a safe workplace at their Abbotsford brewery caused the death of a 58-year-old father of three in 2006. The man was crushed while using a depalletiser, a machine used to clean bottles. The company pleaded guilty in the County Court to one count of failure to provide a safe workplace and one count of failure to provide adequate training and supervision. The maximum penalty for each charge is a fine of $943,290.
Source: The Age
Engineering company fined for safety breaches
An engineering company has paid the price for the non-compliance with WorkSafe improvement notices and has been convicted and fined an aggregate of $55,000. The improvement notices, relating to handling of dangerous goods, inadequate guarding, unsafe systems of work, had not been acted upon when WorkSafe inspectors returned to Thornton Engineering Australia Pty Ltd, a structural steel fabrication business in Corio.
In December 2005 and January 2006 a WorkSafe inspector attended the company’s premises as a result of allegations of safety breaches issued and 11 improvement notices.
None of the improvement notices were complied with and charges were issued in respect of 5 improvement notices only.
VWA media release
A Northern Victorian farming business, S. Ford & Sons Proprietary Limited, has been found guilty and fined $15,000 after an incident in a silo that resulted in a 19 year old employee losing three toes. The Bendigo Magistrates’ Court heard that the incident occurred in July 2006 after an employee was instructed to assist in cleaning out a silo.
The court was told that the employee climbed inside using an access ladder and straddled either side of the silo chute that opened onto an auger screw. The auger screw was inadequately guarded with galvanised wire and metal bars, allowing his foot through.
VWA media release
NSW Education Dept fined $105k over teacher assault
The NSW Education Department has been found guilty for the second time in two years of breaching OHS laws over an assault on a teacher. The NSW Teachers Federation brought the charges under the NSW OHS Act, which gives unions the right to prosecute.
The charges relate to an assault on a school principal by a special needs student. The NSW Chief Industrial Magistrate found the risk to workers’ safety was ‘severely aggravated’ by the failure of DET to ensure that an appropriate risk assessment was undertaken.
Source: Workplace OHS,
NSW Teachers Association
Fortescue Metals on 18 charges over cyclone work deaths
Fortescue Metals is facing 18 charges over safety standards after the deaths of two workers during a cyclone in Western Australia last year. The two workers were at a remote camp maintained by the company in the Pilbara region when the category five cyclone struck in March 2007. Seven other workers at the site were injured.
The WA Government last week confirmed an inquest into the deaths will begin next month.
ABC news
International News
Rescuers race to reach trapped Chinese miners
Chinese rescuers are still struggling to reach 36 coal miners after they were trapped underground by floodwaters, but only 12 were known to be alive, Xinhua state media has reported. The disaster is the most recent in a grim series of accidents in China's notorious coal mining industry, the deadliest in the world. Mine owners are pushing production beyond safety limits in the face of huge demand and soaring profits amid promises of a crackdown on the industry.The flooding occurred at a mine in Tiandong county in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday where 56 miners were working underground, Xinhua quoted local work safety officials as saying. Seven escaped on their own and 13 were rescued, it said. Rescuers were trying to send water and porridge to 12 miners, but had yet to make contact with the other 24, Xinhua said.
ABC Xinhua
Events
Training at VTHC
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.
Initial 5-Day Metropolitan (for Elected OHS Reps under the Victorian OHS Act - this course is approved by the VWA under Section 67)
August 4 – 8 Initial Ringwood
August 18 – 22 Initial Carlton
Course hours: 9am - 5pm. Course fee $620.00
Initial 5-Day Country
August 25 – 29 Initial Morwell
September 1 – 5 Initial Geelong
Course hours: 9am - 5pm. Course fee $650.00
Comcare 5-Day OHS Reps Course (for Elected OHS Reps under the Comcare Act)
July 28 – August 21 Carlton
September 8 – 12 Carlton
Course hours: 9am - 5pm. Course fee $650.00
2-Day Metropolitan
This 2-day course is an overview designed for managers, supervisors and committee members. It is NOT a replacement for the VWA approved 5-day training for elected reps.
September 25 – 26 Carlton
Course hours: 9.30am - 4.30pm. Course fee $350.00
1-Day Refresher
The Refresher course is approved by the VWA under Section 67 of the Victorian OHS Act 2004 for elected reps and deputies.
August 25 Psychological Hazards Carlton
August 26 Legislative Update Carlton
August 28 Legislative Update Werribee
August 29 Legislative Update Frankston
Course hours: 9am - 4.30pm. Course fee $180.00
Go to the 2008 Training program page to download an application form.
Return to Work Unit Training
The VTHC Return to Work Unit provides free training to workers and their representatives and includes practical tools, information and advice about injured workers’ rights to return to work.
For more information on training at the RTW Unit go to the website.