Industry News
Stay safe around trenches, reminds WorkSafe Victoria
WorkSafe Victoria is reminding the construction industry of the dangers associated with trenches after one collapsed on a worker at a domestic housing site at Pakenham at the weekend. [ + ]
Report outlines global PPE trends
As health and safety professionals feel increased pressure to manage company costs without compromising worker safety, a new report from 3M outlines best practices to achieve these goals. [ + ]
Skilled migrants in low-paid jobs risk depression
Skilled migrants who can’t find jobs that use their education and qualifications are more likely to suffer mental health problems after three and a half years of arriving in Australia, according to a new study led by a researcher from the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR). [ + ]
Research shows workplace bullying involves us all
New research from Murdoch University and Edith Cowan University has shed light on the roles bystanders play in workplace bullying. [ + ]
Employee allegedly sacked for taking leave to be with dying mother
A retail caravan business dismissed an employee because he took leave to care for his dying mother, the Fair Work Ombudsman alleges. [ + ]
One complaint triggers $350,000 back pay for almost 400 workers
A single complaint from a service technician in South Australia has resulted in the discovery that almost 400 of the woman’s co-workers had been underpaid more than $354,000. [ + ]
Shift workers face higher heart attack risk
Shift workers are significantly more likely to have a heart attack or stroke, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. [ + ]
Catering company breaches discrimination laws
Victoria-based catering company Holtham Family, trading as The Soup Box, discriminated against a female employee because of her pregnancy, the Fair Work Ombudsman has found. [ + ]
Gadens Lawyers hires new work health and safety law expert
Gadens Lawyers has welcomed Katherine Morris, a work health and safety law specialist, to complete its full service offering in workplace-related law. [ + ]
New medical certificate released to include health benefits of work
WorkCover Queensland’s regulatory authority, Q-COMP, has released a revised version of the workers compensation medical certificate for medical providers. [ + ]
Higher injury rates for casual workers
A report released by Safe Work Australia has found that casual workers recorded a work-related injury rate 50% higher than non-casual workers in 2009-10, with females reporting a significantly higher rate of injuries per hour worked than males. [ + ]
Company fined $200,000 after workplace fatality
Kakos Trolley Services, a trolley collection company, has been convicted and fined $200,000 after the death of an elderly man who was run over by a reversing vehicle at a shopping centre loading dock. [ + ]
Rockwell Automation to host Safety Automation Symposium in Adelaide
Rockwell Automation will host a safety symposium, highlighting the latest developments in safety technology and automation, in Adelaide on 8 August 2012. [ + ]
When it comes to dismissal, let the punishment fit the crime, says NZ professor
New Zealand’s employment legislation still needs work in the areas of remedies and punishments involving dismissal law, according to an expert in employment and industrial relations. [ + ]
Study explores apprenticeship, homeless link
Andreas Cebulla, a senior research fellow at the Flinders-based National Institute of Labour Studies, has begun a year-long study to determine whether low apprenticeship wages are forcing Australian tradies into homelessness and housing instability. [ + ]