what’s news in occupational, health & safety?

CFMEU OHS rep called before ABCC 

3 March 2008 Over 100 construction workers rallied outside the offices of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) in protest at the treatment of OHS Rep, Joe Mannucci, who was forced to attend an interrogation or go to jail. The CFMEU Construction Division national secretary, Dave Noonan, said Joe, who is the OHS representative at a construction site in St Kilda, was forced to attend the interrogation after he complained about safety on the site. Noonan said Mannucci organised for inspectors from WorkSafe Victoria and Energy Safe Victoria and a CFMEU organiser to attend the site after significant safety breaches were discovered.   more...

Company stumped by court for near miss

28 February 2008 A Melbourne restumping business has been convicted and fined $15,000 in the County Court after the collapse of a Mitcham house in 2005. The case was significant because a conviction was found even though no injuries had been sustained.  While in the final stage of being levelled, the house collapsed to the ground.  3 persons, including the 2 home owners, were inside at this time. The house was significantly and structurally damaged necessitating demolishing.   more...

Safety still a concern in coal mining: union

8 March 2008 Australia's coal mining industry must not become complacent about work dangers simply because there have been no major accidents reported for several years, the mining union warned today. Mr Vicars said “he was concerned over the completion of an audit by the Queensland government which showed mining companies had not accurately reported accidents in the workplace”.   more...

Qld: Industries launch bid to cut workplace deaths, injuries

6 March 2008 Queensland industries have pledged to do more to prevent thousands of workplace injuries and deaths each year. State Industrial Relations Minister, John Mickel, has launched 7 industry action plans to improve workplace health and safety over the next 3 years. Mr Mickel said the plans, negotiated with companies, unions and industry groups, would help meet a target of cutting the incidence of work-related injuries by 40% and fatalities by 20%. more...

Queensland OH&S provider plans 6 new franchises

5 March 2008 SafetyQuip, Australia’s only franchised full scope OH&S provider, is planning to add a further 6 franchisees to its national network of 13 in the next 12 months to meet rapidly growing demand for safety supplies and services in the small to medium enterprise sector.  Shearer says “the SafetyQuip business was born out of his own frustrations in trying to source OH&S products, working as a project manager for a construction company”.   more...

Tilt-up National Code Declaration

6 March 2008 The recently declared National Code of Practice for Precast, Tilt-up and Concrete Elements in Building Construction is a step towards nationally consistent OHS legislation and states and territories are expected to adopt the Code. The ASCC agreed that the National Code would be implemented by jurisdictions within 2 years of declaration.   more...

Big pay out for burnt miner

7 March 2008 An incident at a central Queensland mine 18 months ago has lead to the biggest-ever penalty under the Mining Safety Act. Moranbah-based company CQE Hire, an employee, and BMA Coal, were fined a total of $83,000 after a worker received burns to 65% of his body in a work accident. The Mines Inspectorate carried out several investigations into the incident and found faults and poor maintenance of the truck's brakes contributed to the accident.   more...

P&O guilty plea over failure to prevent serious injury to worker

6 March 2008 Stevedoring and cargo handling company P&O Ports Limited has been fined heavily after admitting it failed to provide a safe workplace after an incident that left a worker's legs seriously and permanently injured.   more...