Emerging threats to workplace safety

An Australian Exhibitions and Conferences product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 12, 2007

WorkChoices poses the "biggest threat to the safety of Australian workers since asbestos", according to the body representing Victorian workplace safety professionals.

The Victorian vice-president of the Safety Institute of Australia, Kevin Jones, said it was now "undeniable" that the new federal industrial system had a negative effect on occupational health and safety.

The SIA's statement comes in the lead-up to the tenth anniversary Safety In Action conference in May, where the profession will consider emerging threats to workplace safety.

"WorkChoices is opening a Pandora's box of new health problems stemming from stress and high workloads," Mr Jones said.

"It's the greatest threat to workers' health since asbestos because it harms people from all walks of life in such an insidious way - millions of Australians will suffer its potentially devastating effects".

Stress-related injuries already make up a growing proportion of the 30,000 or so workers compensation claims filed in Victoria each year, amounting to almost $134 million according to the Victorian WorkCover Authority.

Stress-related claims are traditionally more complex to manage and, on average, cause the longest absences from work.

Roughly double the amount of compensation is paid to workers suffering from stress than those with physical injuries.

"The 'flexibility' WorkChoices boasts means many Australians often don't know from week to week which hours they'll be working and we think it will also translate to longer working weeks.

"That puts working parents under enormous pressure," Mr Jones said.

"The economic pressures on individuals and family members encourage people to 'cash in' annual leave, which will lead to huge numbers of exhausted, stressed working Australians.

"Research shows fatigue is a major contributor to workplace incidents and fatalities and that injury rates increase if employees don't get enough sleep and rest".

"Australia can no longer afford to ignore the impact of stress at work.

Stress-related problems are Europe's second most commonly reported cause of occupational illness, following musculoskeletal complaints - and recent research has shown that job stress is a major factor in musculoskeletal disease.

"We can't give you Australian figures because, as a nation, we've been sweeping the issue of workplace stress under the carpet rather than tackling it head-on as we should." Mr Jones said commenting on industrial relations policy was an unprecedented step for the Safety Institute of Australia's Victorian division, "As the voice of OHS professionals, SIA Victoria feels it has a duty to speak up and call attention to the threats that elements of the new industrial relations system pose.

"And it's not just the workers and their families who will suffer either - employers can expect productivity to fall as a result of rising absenteeism and presenteeism," he said.

The challenges facing workplace safety will be the feature of day one of the three-day Safety In Action Conference, which is hosted by the Safety Institute of Australia's Victorian division and sponsored by WorkSafe Victoria.

The conference runs from March 20 to 22 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.