Middle managers must be encouraged to appear approachable and take an interest in workers' non-work-related difficulties, to foster supportive environments and reduce psychosocial risks, a new EU-OSHA campaign brief says.
A law firm is urging employers to ensure their treatment of alleged bullies is "consistent throughout the workplace", after BHP Coal was fined $60,000 for taking adverse action against two union delegates.
A Western Australian employer has lost its indemnity claim against a vehicle manufacturer and been ordered to pay an injured worker $800,000 in damages, after the District Court found a broken service door on a truck was its responsibility.
Workers exposed to mica dust - which is used in a number of industries and as an asbestos substitute - can develop the deadly lung disease pneumoconiosis without being co-exposed to other industrial substances, a French study has found.
A Victorian worker who claimed his employer took adverse action against him, in blocking his bid for promotion because of his stress injury, has had his case dismissed in the Federal Court.
Electrical advice offered in wake of electrocutions and shocks; Hospitality employers fined for safety and notification breaches; and Mine alerts issued after death, serious injury and dust incidents.
Endeavour Energy's renewed push to replace oral swabbing with urine tests - as part of its drug and alcohol policy - has been rejected by the Fair Work Commission, despite a national association's recent decision to suspend accreditation of workplace saliva tests.
The number of infringement notices issued by OHS regulators dropped by 37 per cent in the 12 months to June 2012, while the number of prohibition and improvement notices also decreased, a new Safe Work Australia statistics report has shown.
The NSW roads authority has been fined $175,000 for failing to ensure a team leader and appropriate signage were in place for maintenance work on a freeway, after a worker was fatally struck by a vehicle.
