The dismissal of a worker, for using his mobile phone to play music while driving, was harsh because his employer's safety policy for phones was unclear on the use of "broadcasting devices", the Fair Work Commission has found.
Nearly every worker in three of Safe Work Australia's priority industries is exposed to at least one carcinogen, while the majority of workers in one sector are exposed to four or more, new research reports show.
A mining product advertised as a safe alternative to cyanide actually contains high levels of the toxic substance, and workers could be handling it without taking the proper precautions, a regulator has warned. Meanwhile, another worker has been diagnosed with black lung in Queensland.
A Federal inquiry into the re-emergence of work disease black lung has called for company doctors and safety inspectors to be trained to avoid "regulatory capture", after finding regulator and industry failures have exposed workers to the fatal illness.
A study replicating the effects of occupational vibration on rats has found vibrations can activate or inhibit biological pathways associated with cell division and the development of cancer.
Regulators should "join the criminal law dots" to ensure accommodation workplaces don't get away with WHS breaches, while legislators should develop guidance for these workplaces and amend the definition of "notifiable incident", according to a former WorkSafe Victoria prosecuting solicitor.
