Issue 158 - SafetyNet Journal 158
This edition of SafetyNet is dedicated to all those who have been caught up in the tragic events of the past week.Union News
Research
WorkSafe News
Worksafe Prosecutions
International News
Union News
Activities for reps
Unions and community respond to bushfire tragedy
With the scale of the bushfire disaster in Victoria, unions are offering support and emergency relief to survivors and their destroyed communities. A number of initiatives are currently under way and more assistance and advice will become available over coming weeks and months. It is important to note that the bushfire season in South Eastern Australia is a long way from finished and with warmer weather and winds predicted in the coming weeks there remains a significant fire risk.
People living and working in bushfire prone areas must have their fire safety strategies in place. The Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) has a range of resources on its website detailing as well as information for residents on preparedness and survival in case of emergency. The CFA website is also the primary information point for latest safety alerts and advice on fire threats. ABC Local Radio is the emergency broadcaster and will offer regular updates and advice.
The Victorian union movement has offered its full support for the bush fire survivors across Victoria in all practical ways possible. The VTHC is coordinating a union response to the disaster and will announce a range of initiatives soon. Check the VTHC website for updates. The ACTU pledged its support to the cause and offered an immediate donation of $250,000.
Many unions are organising special relief for members caught up in the disaster. The Australian Education Union is organising support for members and schools; Australian Nursing Federation is supporting its members;
the Australian Workers Union has many members in bushfire affected areas has an appeal underway the CFMEU is offering both support to members affected and calling for Skilled Trades Volunteers to offer their assistance; the CPSU – SPSF has 8,000 members across the state involved in emergency response and recovery efforts and is offering a range of support initiatives; the LHMU has a fund for members who have lost their homes; the MUA has a special support fund underway; and the United Firefighters Union (UFU) has advice, guidance and support for its members who are at the forefront of fighting the blazes.
The Red Cross Bushfire Appeal remains the most effective way for the general public to support those in need. If you wish to volunteer to help please register via the Victorian Government’s GoVolunteer website. A good resource to learn more about various initiatives underway in the community is via the OurComumunity site
Safety urged for survivors and workers in bushfire areas
WorkSafe and the Department of Health Services are urging caution in any bushfire cleanup activities. As the massive task of cleaning up and rebuilding communities devastated by fire concerns have been raised about potential hazards including the risk of exposure to contaminants such as asbestos. To reduce the risk to residents inspecting their properties, the Department of Human Services has provided nearly 2000 asbestos kits to people affected by fires at Relief Centres in Yea, Alexandra, Whittlesea, Nillumbik Shire and Horsham.
VWA media release
DHS – Cleaning up your property after a bushfire
Health Care workers believe violence in hospitals due to overcrowding
Health Care workers and unions are concerned at spiralling rates of violence in Victorian hospitals. Documents revealed to The Age newspaper under Freedom of Information reveal that security guards and police were called out to over 6500 violent incidents in Victorian hospitals in the past financial year, with approximately 100 involved weapons or serious threats to people's safety. Staff, including nurses, doctors and security guards, were most likely to be the target of these incidents, though other patients and relatives were also at risk.
Australian Nursing Federation acting Victorian secretary Yvonne Chaperon said violence towards nurses had increased in line with soaring demand for hospital services and called for more security guards to protect nurses. Emergency physician Stephen Parnis, the Australian Medical Association's Victorian vice-president, said a lack of beds was disrupting the flow of patients out of emergency departments. He said overcrowding increased the likelihood of incidents occurring in the first place, but also reduces ability of health workers to deal with them because they are under more pressure.
Source:
The Age
OHS Rep – Hazards, Violence at Work
ETU Newsletter online
The latest ETU Newsletter is online. It features stories on the union’s submission to the Senate inquiry into the Fair Work Bill; efforts of power workers to keep Victoria switched on during recent heatwaves; and, the ETU’s new website.
ETU Newsletter - February 5 2009 Volume 10, Issue 2
Nanotechnology News
ACTU Nanotech Seminars online
The ACTU has a number of representatives on various government nanotechnology committees and recently held a seminar examining nanotechnology and Occupational Health and Safety. The seminar gave representatives from unions and labour councils around Australia the opportunity to hear about some of the issues regarding nanotechnology, including OHS implications and how Australian law is, or rather is not, adequately regulating its development.
Speakers included Georgia Miller from Friends of the Earth, Assoc. Prof. Tom Faunce from the Australian National University (ANU), a lawyer and medical doctor, Dr. Maxine McCall from the CSIRO, Dr. Diana Bowman from Monash University and Steve Mullins, the ACTU’s OHS Officer.
The presentations and associated papers from the seminar are available to
download on the ACTU website
.
Government releases Inaugural Annual Report on Nanotechnology
Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research released the annual report for the Australian National Nanotechnology Strategy on January 30. The Minister expressed his enthusiasm for the emerging technology: ‘Nanotechnology may be too small to see but it has huge potential to improve our lives and provide solutions to major challenges the world is facing today. It is already being used in applications such as water filtration, drug delivery for cancer treatment and catalysts for diesel engine fuels to reduce fuel consumption.’
Unions and many other groups, however, are concerned that the hazards of nanotechnology to workers, the general public and the environment are poorly understood and that Australia’s laws are lacking in this new area.
More information on
concerns with Nanotechnology
Media Release
Australian Office of Nanotechnology
Annual Report [
pdf
]
Canada plan world-first nanotech law
Canada is reportedly planning in February to become the first nation in the world to require companies to detail their use of engineered nanomaterials. The information gathered under the requirement will be used to evaluate the risks of engineered nanomaterials and will help to develop appropriate safety measures to protect human health and the environment. As use of nanomaterials grows people and the environment are being increasingly exposed. Yet governments lack information on the type, quantity and possible risks of nanoscale materials being manufactured and used in products today. This is information is considered vital to ensuring the safe use of nanotechnology. Canada's action comes after a series of international reports highlighted major deficiencies in the health and safety oversight and control of nanotechnologies. Unions in the UK, US, Australia and Holland have called for the precautionary principle to be applied to nanotech use while uncertainty remains on the potential health effects.
NEP news report
Source: Risks 391
International Union news
Goodbye Paraquat
A new report by the IUF and Swiss-based NGO, Berne Declaration, shows that production without Paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide, is entirely feasible and is already happening in important crops. "
Goodbye Paraquat" is based on responses to a questionnaire by more then 40 major food producers in bananas, tea and palm oil, crops which traditionally have been big users of paraquat. The report shows that producers of bananas and tea have moved away from reliance on Paraquat. On palm oil it found that producers were equally divided into Paraquat users and non-users but that there was also a clear preference amongst palm oil buyers for palm oil produced without Paraquat. IUF and BD are urging governments to come forward now and ban Paraquat use across the board. In Switzerland, Paraquat has been banned for twenty years and in Europe it lost approval in 2007. In many developing countries the product is still sold in great quantities despite the lack of sufficient protection for users.
IUF media release
Sign the ACTU Paid Maternity Leave petition
Australia is one of only two OECD countries without statutory paid maternity leave. Consequently, Australia has one of the lowest rates of labour force participation by mothers in the 24 to 45 age group in the developed world. Australian women have campaigned for many years to have this important right recognised and there has never been a better opportunity to do so. The ACTU has launched an online petition to urge the government to include provisions for paid maternity leave in the 2009 Budget.
Sign the
Paid Maternity Leave petition here
.
VTHC OHS Training Program now online
The Training Program to the end of September has just been released – check the courses being offered, locations and dates on the website.
VTHC OHS Training Program 2009
Second OHS review report at WRMC
The second part of the national OHS review has been completed and the Panel’s recommendations will be tabled at Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council (WRMC) on Friday 13 February. It is expected that the second and final report will be released to the public soon. The
Australian Financial Review obtained a copy of the report. According to the
AFR one of the most significant recommendations is that unions will not be allowed to prosecute for OHS offences. New South Wales unions have had this entitlement for some time and unions around the country had pushed for similar provisions. However the panel did suggest that anyone can request OHS regulators to undertake a prosecution or they can appeal a regulator’s decision not to prosecute. Employers across Australia would also be obliged to provide paid leave for employees to attend health and safety representative training courses, possibly up to five days. The proposed legislation also allows for common law rights to stop work if it is deemed unsafe. A model OHS Act will be provided to the WRMC in September 2009. The ACTU has called for the WRMC to ensure the national, harmonised health and safety laws are based on the highest possible standards.
ACTU media release
Unions must up the ante on safety says Professor
One of the authors of a five year research program into Australia's occupational health and safety inspectorates says greater union influence is essential to workplace safety. The University of NSW's Professor Michael Quinlan spoke out ahead of his April 2 address to the Safety In Action Conference in Melbourne about the findings of his study with Richard Johnstone. In a Safety Institute of Australia podcast, Professor Quinlan urged unions to take a strong stand on OHS matters.
" I think we should be very careful to remember from history, that in fact it is unions that played a very significant part in campaigns which brought about health and safety legislation in the first place, workers’ compensation legislation in the first place and the reforms of health and safety legislation."
Responding to suggestions that unions might use OHS-related powers to deal with an industrial relations agenda, Professor Quinlan said "…there's been an ongoing argument for a long time that health and safety should be quarantined from industrial relations. That is never going to be possible because you can have an issue like staffing levels in a workplace, you can have an issue about work organisation, about the use of contractors. Those sorts of issues are going to…have health and safety aspects, they're going to have job security aspects to that issue, they're going to have other industrial relations issues, so the idea that you can run health and safety as an entirely separate agenda to industrial relations, I think is intellectually and factually flawed."
Professor Quinlan will present his keynote address to the Safety In Action Conference, which runs from March 31 to April 2 in 2009 at the Melbourne Convention Centre and also marks the 60th anniversary of host, the Safety Institute of Australia.
Safety at Work blog
Conferences and Seminars:
HazMat 2009 29 & 30 April
According to the organisers, HazMat is Australia’s leading conference on chemical management, hazardous substances and dangerous goods. Presentations cover current issues and future topics, such as Risk Assessment & Management; Major Hazards; Dangerous Goods; Security & Training and Chemical Management. Special registration arrangements can be made for unions and elected health and safety reps. More information.Making rights real
Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 (Vic) has been in operation for over a year. The Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission is running seminars on how to use human rights and equal opportunity laws in the community and at work. Find out more and register.Safety In Action 31 March – 2 April
As usual, there is a FREE Trade Show held in conjunction with the conference, which this year is at the Melbourne Exhibition Centres. Find out more and register for the Trade Show.
Research
Construction workers at increased risk of carpal tunnel
Workers in the construction industry or in any job requiring "forceful upper extremity work" are more likely than others to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a study has found, with computer work being one of the lowest risk occupations for developing the condition. The cross-sectional study examined the prevalence of CTS and median neuropathy (a nerve condition that often leads to CTS) in more than 1100 US workers, including carpenters, sheetmetal workers, engineers, hospital support staff and computer workers.
Respondents underwent a physical examination and a nerve conduction study, and completed a questionnaire on neck and arm symptoms, their medical history and work experience. The researchers found that 131 (12.2 per cent) of the respondents showed signs of median neuropathy, with 18 meeting the "case definition" of CTS. The majority of these were employed in occupations requiring: the use of vibrating hand tools; a regular twisting motion of the forearm; the use of the fingers or thumb as a pressing tool; the use of fingers in a pinch grip; and forceful gripping. Researchers said the finding was consistent with prior evidence indicating that occupations with high-force, high-repetition physical demands have an increased risk of CTS.
WorkSafe News
Useful Materials
From WorkSafe Victoria:
- Pallets - Handling items above shoulder height
- All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) - Attachments, loads and towing
From the Australian Bureau of Statistics:
-
A Picture of the Nation: the Statistician's Report on the 2006 Census, 2006
The report has information on a wide range of topics, from Cultural diversity and Housing to Work (participation rates, types of employment, hours of work, skills, etc)
From WorkCover NSW:
- New Guide to improve safety in housing construction industry
The guide provides practical advice for employers regarding consultation and communication with workers about occupational health and safety issues as well as hazard identification and risk assessment and control. Housing Industry Site Safety Pack – Residential Construction [pdf]
From Workplace Health and Safety Queensland:
WorkSafe urges caution on working in heat
WorkSafe has urged employers to plan ahead for extreme heat conditions such as those experienced during Victoria’s recent heatwave. The WorkSafe Advisory Service fielded many inquiries about working in heat last week. Employers need to remember they have a legal responsibility to provide and maintain a safe workplace, consult with workers on safety-related matters and to monitor their health. Preparing for the prevention of fatigue, heat stroke and heat stress are real issues for the employers of people working in hot conditions.
A heat management plan developed in consultation with the workforce and which aims to reduce the worst effects of the high temperatures will limit the opportunity for injury arising from the heat or people taking shortcuts just to get the job done.
WorkSafe begins construction crackdown
WorkSafe has begun a crackdown on “housekeeping” at Victorian construction sites. The Director of WorkSafe’s Construction and Utilities Division, Chris Webb said good housekeeping did not just happen, but required ongoing effort by everyone on site.
“Simply cleaning-up work areas as you go and keeping walkways and access points clear prevents injured backs and necks, ligament sprains, broken bones and cuts that typically leave people off the job for 10 weeks.”
The visits are part of a three-month, state-wide, ‘Back to basics’ campaign. Mr Webb said where inspectors find that sites – including amenities like toilets and lunch rooms - are dangerous, untidy or unclean or where supervision is missing or inadequate, improvement action will be taken.
VWA media release
Inspectors announce target areas
WorkSafe has released details of the first of 2009’s targeted workplace safety campaigns. WorkSafe inspectors will visit workplaces and checking on the management of common safety issues, in Ararat, Footscray, Frankston/Cranbourne, Maryborough, Scoresby and Morwell between February and June.
VWA media release
WorkSafe & VECCI offer rebate on lifting equipment
A new rebate program WorkSafe and the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) offers small businesses in the food and beverage, wood products manufacturing, and road transport industries, a rebate of up to $500 on a range of best practice lifting equipment, including pallet trucks and hand trolleys. The new rebate program will be delivered by VECCI and funded by WorkSafe.
VWA media release
ASCC announces public comment period for plant regulation
The ASCC has announced a 3 month public comment period open until 15 May 2009 for a discussion paper on
Safety Requirements for the Design, Manufacture and Conformity Assessment of Plant. The discussion paper proposes strategies to address current issues associated with the design and manufacture of plant.
ASCC media release
Discussion papers
Comcare
Seminars around Australia
Comcare’s next series of Seminars commences in March 2009. This year, the seminar program comprises two half-day sessions. Session 1 has a health and safety focus and is particularly beneficial for HR managers, OHS managers, line managers and OHS practitioners. Session 2 has a OHS, rehabilitation and return to work theme and will be especially relevant for health and safety representatives and case managers. The Melbourne seminars are scheduled for March 12 & 13. Registrations are now open.
Worksafe Prosecutions
Comcare to prosecute John Holland - again
Comcare has initiated Federal Court proceedings against construction company John Holland over the death of an employee at the Dalrymple Bay coal terminal in Queensland last year. The worker was killed when he was run over by the wheels of a jinker, pushed by a front end loader, when his foot became trapped under wooden scaffolding planks while moving precast concrete decks. This is the fourth work safety indictment on the company and its subsidiaries over the last six months. Comcare is seeking a declaration that John Holland breached s16(1) of the OHS Act; and that the company pay a pecuniary penalty.Source: Workplace Express
International News
Keep in touch with your comrades on UnionBook
LabourStart has announced the launch today of UnionBook - the social networking website for trade unionists. Unlike other social networking sites, UnionBook is advertising-free, respects your privacy, and is specifically designed to serve trade unionists. UnionBook offers many features that you and your union will find useful.Blogs are free to build, with no ads. You can create a group to support your union and your campaigns through open discussion forums and shared documents. They can be public or closed. They're a very powerful tool for spreading messages and campaigns.
UnionBook AFL-CIO media release