Occupational Health And Safety Reps. Information, Advice, Support...Speaking Up Together

Issue 149 - SafetyNet Journal 149

Welcome to SafetyNet Journal, your source for the latest in local and international OHS news and campaigns. In this edition: Reps Conference – Don’t miss out!; Hanks Review report; Tell us about what you do; Longford – 10 years on; and World Day for Decent Work.

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Union News
Research
WorkSafe News
Worksafe Prosecutions
International News
Events

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Union News

Activities and news for reps

Have you registered for VTHC OHS Reps Conference?
The eighth annual OHS Representatives Conference, 'Time to deliver the highest OHS standards' is being held on Thursday October 30 at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre. Highlights this year include special guest members of the OHS Legislation Review panel; workshops and more. All elected Health and Safety Representatives are entitled to attend on paid time but you must give your employer 14 days notice. So register now to be part of this important annual event.
Learn more and register 

National Review update
Harmonisation of Australia’s nine different OHS systems is a priority for unions and employers and the key to lowering fatalities in Australian workplaces, says the ACTU. With the three-person panel review panel due to report to Workplace Minister Julia Gillard next month, unions are calling for tougher penalties and stronger safeguards to ensure employers are accountable. The ACTU has highlighted the stories of families of workers killed on the job to strengthen the point that while 8000-plus Australians die each year from work-related incidents or illnesses more needs to be done to make work safe.
ACTU news release     Time To Deliver kit on OHS Reps

Hanks Review Report now online
The Report on the Review of the Victorian workers' compensation systems is now available online. The VTHC has identified a number of concerns regarding the Hanks Review recommendations and the many premium cuts given to employers and of the poor benefits offered to injured workers. The VTHC wants to see action on: Increased Weekly Payments; Introduction of automatic payments; Coverage of all stress injuries; An improved dispute resolution process; Improved Return to Work Rights for workers; Greater protection from discrimination and Greater protection for outworkers.
You can read more on the VTHC campaign and offer your support at the WorkCover Needs Fixing site.
See also: Unions Demand Action on WorkCover

Tell us what difference you make

Here at SafetyNet we know that there is great work being done by OHS Reps every day. Now we want to hear your stories. We want to hear from you about things that you’ve done or been involved with which have made a difference. Whether it is negotiating safer processes at your workplace or improving consultative procedures with management, or representing the interests of your fellow workers in any meaningful way – we want to hear from you about any initiative you are proud of. It doesn’t have to be the world’s greatest either. We know the value of lots of small improvements. So tell us what has worked and what advice you might have for reps in similar positions.
Email us at ohsinfo@vthc.org.au and we’ll pass on your good stories.

Ask Renata –
Where can I get a copy of the compliance codes I need? 
At this point WorkSafe is not producing hard copies of the codes. VTHC is currently pursuing this matter with WorkSafe (as are the employers) but in the meantime the only way to access them is online  Go to the OHS Rep website for the links 
Do you have an OHS-related query? If so, Ask Renata 

World Day for Decent Work – Oct 7
The global union movement has designated October 7 2008 as World Day for Decent Work. The day is organised around three broad themes: Rights at work; Solidarity; and Ending Poverty. There will be over 350 events in more than 100 countries and the WDDW website will feature news and live feeds from many of them. The global union federation ITUC is also calling form people to sign the Call to Action for Decent Work Decent Life. The ACTU is conducting a media conference at 12 noon on the day followed by a Panel Presentation and Discussion (12.30 pm -1.30 pm). Decent work is a fundamental human right, the only sustainable way out of poverty and the best way to build democracy and social cohesion.

There is a World Day for Decent Work-themed channel on YouTube, with clips from the ITUC and other trade union organisations. Campaigns from around the world already featuring on the site include the Export Processing Zones in Haiti and in Honduras, repression of trade union and other human rights in Burma and Guinea and the plight of construction workers in Australia.
The ITUC has also launched a Youth Community Blog (YCB)  which gives a youth perspective on the ITUC's work and provides a space for young people's voices on trade union issues. 
ITUC news release    YouTube WDDW Channel 

18 weeks Paid Maternity Leave a huge step forward, but employers should give more

The ACTU says the Productivity Commission’s proposal for an 18-week, government-funded paid maternity leave scheme would bring relief and financial security to tens of thousands of working mothers and their families, but has urged that more be done, including relief for women who are not in the workforce.
“Eighteen weeks is a good start to help women recover from childbirth, bond with their baby and establish feeding,” says ACTU President Sharan Burrow.
“Two-thirds of women currently have no access to paid leave and many return to work too early because they can’t afford rent, mortgage and household bills. This scheme, combined with 2 weeks paid paternity leave, would begin to alleviate the financial and emotional pressure”
She also said the scheme should require employers to “top up” the government payment so women have their income fully replaced while on leave.
ACTU news release    The Age

Ten years on: Remembering the Longford disaster
Thursday 25 September marked the tenth anniversary of the Longford gas disaster. The explosion at the Esso gas plant at Longford in 1998 killed two workers and injured another eight. The accident shut down gas supplies to Victoria for two weeks, affecting 1.3 million households and more than 89,000 businesses, and costing hundreds of millions of dollars. WorkSafe Victoria prosecuted Esso Australia Pty Ltd, which was convicted and fined $2 million on 30 July 2001. This remains the biggest single OHS fine in Victorian history.

WorkSafe Victoria established a Major Hazards Unit in 1999, and introduced new Regulations for Hazard Facilities in 2000. These regulations required all Major Hazard Facility operators to provide a ‘Safety Case’ demonstrating how they would prevent a major incident from occurring at their facilities. Victoria’s safety case regime was the first in the world to require major hazard facilities to be licensed. A rigorous process applies to all applications for a licence, and the facilities are visited regularly by WorkSafe Inspectors. The standards comply with the ILO's 1993 convention for the prevention of major industrial accidents which Australia adopted in 1996.
OHS Reps – Major Hazard Facilities   WorkSafe list of Approved MHFs    WorkSafe media release

Government introduces overseas workers bill

New laws governing the employment of overseas workers have been introduced to the Federal Parliament. Employers face fines of up to $33,000 and the ATO will be able to share information with the Department of Immigration under the laws which are aimed at increasing protections for temporary overseas workers. However the new obligations for employers will not be determined for several months as the government seeks further feedback on the laws. The changes include: expanding powers to monitor and investigate possible non-compliance by sponsors; introducing penalties for employers found in breach of their obligations; improving information sharing across all levels of government; and better defining sponsorship obligations for employers and other sponsors. In Victoria there has been at least one prosecution under the Vic OHS Act of employers breaching duties to workers holding s457 visas and more cases are pending.
Source: Workplace Express

Former paint shop worker expected to get big payout
A former paint shop employee who has incurable lung cancer is expected to receive damages of hundreds of thousands of dollars in a case believed to be a Victorian first. The 43-year-old woman who has been a smoker since her 20s successfully argued in the County Court that her employment at two North Coburg paint shops exposed her to an increased risk of developing or aggravating the cancer from which she now suffers. Medical evidence called in the case said her exposure to the fumes, dust and related paint products provided a possible cause of the cancer or its development.
The Age    OHS Reps - Environmental Tobacco Smoke

Asbestos news

Case against James Hardie directors begins
Landmark legal action against former James Hardie board members has started in the New South Wales Supreme Court in the latest instalment of the long-running struggle to hold the company accountable. The civil case is being brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) against the company and 10 former directors and executives. Among the defendants are James Hardie's former chief executive Peter Macdonald and former chair Meredith Hellicar.
ASIC alleges that the executives mislead investors on the company’s exposure to asbestos-disease-related compensation payouts. Each of the defendants in the case faces maximum penalties of $200,000 if found guilty of braches of the Corporations Act. Karen Banton, the widow of asbestos victim and campaigner Bernie Banton, said the case was important for all victims of asbestos-related disease.
News article     Australian     OHS Reps – Vale Bernie Banton 

WA court upholds smoking payout to family of asbestos victim
A landmark ruling in WA has upheld a $600,000 payout to the family of a man whose death from lung cancer was related to both his smoking and exposure to asbestos in the workplace. The court found the family of Paul Cotton was entitled to compensation. The case is significant because the man did not have an asbestos related disease like mesothelioma or asbestosis. However, lawyers for the family successfully argued that his exposure to asbestos through his job drastically increased his chances of developing cancer of the lung.
Source: The West Australian     OHS Reps - Environmental Tobacco Smoke 

India facing 'Devastating' asbestos cancer epidemic
India is facing a looming epidemic of asbestos-related cancer deaths as the developing nation continues to increase its asbestos imports. An expert report predicts thousands of asbestos-related cancer deaths each year and says asbestos is already responsible for 'a hidden epidemic’. The authors say the report exposes the Indian government's collusion with asbestos stakeholders at home and abroad, and call for an immediate national ban on all asbestos use. 'India's asbestos time bomb,' published by a coalition of Asian campaign and research organisations, global union federations and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), calculates that total asbestos usage in India since 1980 exceeds 6 million tonnes, matching the amount used in the UK in its entire industrial history.
India is far and away the world's largest importer of asbestos. And whilst industrialised countries have banned asbestos in recent decades, the ongoing public health impacts have soared India has minimal asbestos regulation and an annual importation of half-a-million tonnes of the deadly substance. The public health impact will be devastating.
IBAS news release    India's asbestos time bomb, September 2008 [pdf]    Risks 375 

Nanotech news

Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) makes nano recommendations
The IFCS met in Dakar, Senegal, from 15 - 19 September 2008 and discussed the potential benefits, challenges, risks, hazards, and ethical and social issues raised by the manufacture of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies. According to campaigners who attended, a statement on nanotech and manufactured nanomaterials adopted by participants included significant wins on a range of issues. Among key recommendations were: that governments and industry apply the precautionary principle in risk management of nanomaterials; that workers and their representatives be involved in the development of OHS programs and risk assessment; that the rights of countries to accept or reject manufactured nanomaterials was recognised; and producers are to provide information about content of manufactured nanomaterials so as to inform consumers about potential risks, through product labelling, websites and databases.
Earth Negotiations Bulletin – Summary of IFCS    IFCS Plenary on nanomaterials

International Union News

South Africa: Unions mourn mineworkers’ deaths
The Congress of South African Trade Unions has expressed its outrage at the almost daily reports of fatal accidents in the country’s mines. The latest tragedies saw four mineworkers lose their lives in two separate accidents - three at East Rand Proprietary Mines (ERPM) in Boksburg, in a cage fall, and another at a mine in Carletonville. This brings the total number of fatalities in 2008 to 127, almost the total deaths for 2007. COSATU and the National Union of Mineworkers have condemned the fact that the Department of Minerals and Energy’s inspectors have refused to go and inspect the West shaft at ERPM, citing fears for their safety, thus admitting that the mine is not safe and that no one should be working in it. The NUM is seeking stricter penalties against employers for mining accidents under the proposed Mine Health and Safety Amendment Bill.
COSATU news release    ICEM news release 

SOS call from Colombian unions
Colombian unions are making an appeal for global solidarity to save the trade union movement in that country following more death threats against trade union leaders. Colombia has a shocking record of unionist murders, with 41 killings this year alone. A series of incidents involving leaders of the Colombian agricultural workers' trade union FENSUAGRO, as well as their children, indicate that assassination attempts against them are imminent. The union says it has been denied protection from Colombian authorities and is calling on international support to force action.
Justice for Colombia     UNI news release 

Workers silenced while we talk

A new report from makeITfair has revealed severe violations of workers’ rights in Asian mobile phone factories. The mobile phone industry is often presented as a clean, unproblematic industry, but makeITfair’s new report  ‘Silenced to Deliver'  shows that this is not the case. Young electronics workers handle chemicals without protective gear. They work inhumane overtime hours to cover basic needs and are punished if they make mistakes. In the export processing zones in Asia where the factories are located, protests are often brutally suppressed.
makeITfair has investigated labour conditions at six factories that produce components for Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, LG, Sony Ericsson and Apple’s iPhone in China and the Philippines. The research revealed that working conditions there violate national laws, conventions of the International Labour Organisation as well as the mobile phone companies’ own codes of conduct on issues such as working hours and use of hazardous chemicals.
Take action to support the workers in the mobile phone industry

UK: Guide for safety reps in warehouses 
UK retail union Usdaw has produced a guide for safety reps working in warehouses. 'Distributing safety' says 10,000 work-related accidents in storage, warehousing and road haulage were reported to health and safety watchdog HSE in 2005/6. The main causes of deaths are being run over by workplace vehicles and falls from height. The guide contains guidance on slips and trips, manual handling, vehicle movements, lift trucks, falls from height, work in chillers and freezers, storage systems and welfare.
Usdaw news release    Distributing safety guide

UK: Journos’ union launches major anti-stress campaign
The UK National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has launched a campaign to speak out on stress in the country’s news organisations. Journalists in the UK are facing similar pressures to those in Australia as news organisations force cutbacks and institute policies of “more with less”. The NUJ has called on employers to take responsibility for protecting the mental and physical wellbeing of their staff. All journalists understand how to work under pressure – it’s part of the job. But working under pressure is different from working under the constant stress that is fast becoming the norm in modern news rooms.
Risks 375     NUJ news release     Fair Go Fairfax 

Research

Insecure jobs lead to more health problems

People who work in insecure jobs develop more physical and mental health problems than those who work full time. Research contained on the recent WHO report on the Social Determinants of Health found that poor mental health outcomes are associated with precarious employment (e.g. temporary contracts or part-time work with low wages and no benefits). When compared with those with full-time work with benefits, workers who report employment insecurity experience significant adverse effects on their physical and mental health.
The report Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health, makes recommendations to achieve health equality, including improving employment and working conditions. The report contributors call for – and outline steps to achieve - global, national and local actions to improve employment and working conditions.
Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health   Risks 374

US experts warn on occupational cancer epidemic
US safety experts and researchers have warned the country faces an epidemic of occupational cancer due to lax regulatory standards and inaction by authorities. Adam Finkel, former chief regulatory official of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), told the President's Cancer Panel that US regulators have become 'bystanders to industrial manslaughter'. Current OSHA rules allow up to 1,000 times the level of exposure to carcinogens in the workplace than in the general environment, meaning some workers are exposed to the same exposure in 30 minutes in the workplace that are permissible in a ‘lifetime’ in the community.
NJ Record    Eureka Alert    Risks 374   Zero Occupational Cancer    Zero Occupational Cancer on OHS Reps 

WorkSafe News

Shocked electrician revived by defibrillator

A 20-year-old electrician whose heart stopped beating after he received an electric shock at a business in Melbourne's east was revived by a security guard using a defibrillator. The guard at the business at Ringwood grabbed the public access defibrillator and used it to deliver a small electrical charge that restarted the man's heart. When intensive care paramedics arrived five minutes later, they gave the man a combination of drugs to sedate him and inserted a tube to improve his breathing. WorkSafe is investigating.
The Age 

New national laws on fatigue
New national fatigue laws have commenced regulating heavy vehicle drivers. The heavy vehicle driver-fatigue laws set revised work and rest limits for drivers and make all parties in the supply chain legally responsible for preventing fatigue. The laws apply to vehicles over 12 tonnes and buses that seat 12 or more passengers but do not cover plant items or motorhomes. Western Australia and the Northern Territory will not implement the laws but drivers travelling interstate will be bound by them. The National Transport Commission has produced a website dealing with the changes.
Workplace OHS

Useful materials:

• Industry specific websites developed by industry and unions with support funding from WorkSafe:
  • The Service Station Safety website has been developed in cooperation between the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) and the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) to provide practical advice to the independent service station industry relating to Occupational Health and Safety matters. Resources on the site include checklist, products trialled and much more.
  • The Paintsafe website has been developed in cooperation between CFMEU and the Master Painters Association to provide practical advice to the painting industry relating to Occupation Health and Safety matters. Resources include FAQs, products tested and much more. 
• Asbestos Handbook for workplaces – released at the same time as the compliance codes – explains what asbestos is, where it can be found in workplaces and the health risks for people exposed to airborne asbestos. It also outlines who has legal duties in workplaces and what their main duties are.  
• E-bulletin: NICNAS Matters [pdf] – the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme – includes news of report into Triclosan, a chemical used in soaps, deodorants, toothpastes, shaving creams, mouth washes, and cleaning supplies and in an increasing number of consumer products and other chemical regulation related matters.

• From the UK HSE:  
  • A free web-based Toolkit on violence in retail and licensed premises 
  • Work at height guidance for schools - best practice guidance with practical solutions to common tasks.

Worksafe Prosecutions

Workers complained of forklift danger weeks before death

Workers at a Laverton North coldstore complained about overloaded forklifts just weeks before a worker was struck and killed by one, the County Court has heard. Workers at AB Oxford Cold Storage Pty Ltd told bosses of safety concerns as fork drivers could not see due to the overloading of pallets. Weeks later a 39-year-old man was struck and killed by a forklift driven by a supervisor. The court was told the driver was carrying two pallets instead of one when the man was struck. The driver braked hard, resulting in the top pallet falling and crushing the man. The court heard that drivers were double-loading pallets to boost productivity. AB Oxford has pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain safe plant systems.
Source: Herald Sun

Lakeside Packaging appeal thrown out
The Melbourne County Court has upheld an earlier decision to fine a printing company $75,000 over an incident in which a Chinese worker had his arm crushed by an unguarded machine. Lakeside Packaging appealed the recent Magistrate’s ruling (reported in SafetyNet 143), citing the possibility the fine may close the business down. The judge ruled that the fines was at the lower end of possible fines and should stand.
VWA news release on original ruling

International News

European campaigners target worst chemicals

European safety campaigners have published a lit of chemicals of high concern which should be substituted. ‘Substitute It Now’ aims to speed up the implementation of REACH, the new EU chemical regulation (reported previously in SafetyNet 142). The SIN List 1.0 includes nearly 300 chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene, asbestos and other industrial carcinogens and toxins.
SIN List 1.0     ETUI-REHS news release     Risks 375

Events

Bella Union Fringe Festival events

Congratulations to our lucky winners in the Bella Union Fringe Festival giveaway. Special thanks to Bella Union for their support. Remember the festival is on now. Go to the website for show details - Bella Union Fringe.  

Anna Stewart Memorial Project
Monday, 13 October 2008, to Friday, 24 October 2008
Host Union:  Australian Services Union
Registration closes on Friday, 3 October 2008
For further information about the Anna Steward Memorial Project  contact Jennifer O'Donnell-Pirisi, VTHC Women's Officer on 9659 3511 or jo'donnell-pirisi@vthc.org.au. 

International Indigenous Solidarity Gathering 23-26 October 2008
The Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET), Friends of the Earth - Australia (FoE) and other solidarity groups proudly announce The International Indigenous Solidarity Gathering Latin America, Asia and the Pacific on October 23-24-25-26, which brings together indigenous and non indigenous grassroots popular organisations struggling, resisting and supporting Indigenous/first peoples/ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders rights from Australia, Aotearoa (NZ), the Asia - Pacific Region, Turtle Island (North America), and the Latin American continent.
LASNET, Friends of the Earth & the Organising Collective
Phone: 61-0413 597 315 or 61-3-9419 8700

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)
October 13 - 17 Initial Carlton
October 23, 24, November 5,6, 7  Health Services Carlton
Course hours: 9am - 5pm.  Course fee $670.00
Initial 5-Day Country
November 10 -14 Initial Shepparton
Course hours: 9am - 5pm.  Course fee  $690.00
Comcare 5-Day OHS Reps Course (for Elected OHS Reps under the Comcare Act)
December 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.
October 27 - 28 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.
October 20   Legislative Update   Carlton
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 go to the RTW Unit website

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