Fate of draft WHS Codes unclear; Workers killed in crashes, falls and explosions in June; and Queensland issues fatality, mobile plant and sign alerts.
An employer might have prevented a worker's death if it ensured its maintenance regime covered vehicle modifications, and cracked down on alcohol consumption at work, an ATSB investigation has found.
The Fair Work Commission's first substantive stop-bullying order has been amended to remove some of the less practical conditions required of the respondent.
The winners of the 2014 Comcare Awards have been announced, with four of the victors and runners-up being the subject of recent OHS Alert case studies. Also in this article, Safe Work Australia is urging workers to become safety ambassadors.
The Fair Work Commission will allow an employer to be represented by a lawyer in an anti-bullying case to speed up the process, but has rejected its alternative claim that its managers and the alleged bullies are incapable of representing the company or themselves.
The Australian Industry Group has applauded the recall of an unsafe brand of electrical cable, but warns that "non-conforming products" are widely used in the building and construction sector, exposing workers and other end-users to serious safety risks.
A safety regulator has been accused, on the two-year anniversary of a double work fatality, of being "too close" to employers, while Safe Work Australia has been accused of siding with big business on the future of a model WHS Code of Practice.
Employers have little to fear from the Fair Work Commission's new anti-bullying jurisdiction, with a "high number" of the applications received so far being resolved quickly and helping companies improve their HR practices, a conference has heard.
Workers running the drug-testing gauntlet, survey reveals; Being crushed a leading cause of work deaths; Comcare tops RTW scorecard; and Presumptive cancer compensation promised for NT firefighters.
