Browsing: Workplace safety | Page 552

A sacked injured worker, who claims he lodged his unfair dismissal application 53 days late because he needed to pursue his workers' comp entitlements first, has been denied an extension of time.

A South Australian employer has been fined $78,000 for failing to train a young worker to isolate plant, after his arm was de-gloved while cleaning a valve. Also in this article, an unsafe employer and a workers' comp fraudster have been fined in Victoria.

The final quarter of 2014 was a busy three months for workplace health and safety and workers' compensation, with major legislative changes and other developments in all jurisdictions. What did you miss?

• VWA name scrapped, WorkSafe Victoria returns;
  
• NSW releases new draft mirror WHS Mines Code;
  
• Worker pleads guilty to 15 counts of injury fraud; and
  
• NSW and WA issue alerts and investigate incidents.

The Productivity Commission is calling for comments on any unintended consequences of Australia's new anti-bullying laws, and other safety-related provisions, as part of its broad inquiry into the workplace relations system.

A South Australian Supreme Court full bench has confirmed that employers should have known by the early 1960s that even "light" exposure to asbestos could be fatal.

• Queensland Labor promises to reverse WHS amendments;
  
• Abetz renews attack on Victoria's decision to dump Code; and
  
• Victoria launches inquiry into "cancer cluster".

Employers that want to "infect" their organisation with the "safety virus" should turn to storytelling as their tool of choice, communication specialist Yamini Naidu says.

Sedentary workers who experience pain from exposure to vibrations and other risk factors are more likely than others to suffer from stress - and they're less likely to take sick leave, creating further issues, Australian researchers have found.

A worker's claim that she failed a drug test because her drink was spiked during her roster break was scientifically implausible, a commissioner has found, but he commended her employer for properly investigating the issue before sacking her.