Unprecedented research on the link between near misses, serious work injuries and depressive symptoms has confirmed that carefully investigating near misses and implementing good reporting systems can reduce the rate and severity of serious workplace incidents.
A commission has stood behind its decision to stand over rather than extinguish a worker's stop-bullying application, after hearing he perceived being excluded from his workplace and otherwise bullied while working remotely for the coronavirus pandemic.
Employers that issue "worker permits" to employees capable of working from home, or without implementing a COVID Safe Plan, could be fined $100,000 under pandemic restrictions commencing in Victoria tonight. Meanwhile, NSW has established a permit system for workers entering the State from Victoria, and Queensland has closed its border to NSW, with exemptions for essential workers.
A worker who developed PTSD and other incapacitating psychological injuries from being attacked by a co-worker, and forced to encounter him at work for the next four years, has been granted permission to pursue damages from his employer.
Managers who fail to display confidence or are condescending toward staff when dealing with safety issues, are major barriers to encouraging safe behaviour at work, a joint Australian and Iranian study has found.
Employers have been warned they bear the onus of ensuring their sites comply with the new COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, which include stringent PPE requirements and workforce caps in many cases, while doctors have warned of the consequences of never "switching off" while working from home during the pandemic.
Business and union groups have joined forces to call for the urgent introduction of a paid pandemic leave scheme, saying the outbreaks of COVID-19 in Victoria - which entered a "state of disaster" last night - show workers are attending work while infectious and accelerating community transmission.
An injured worker's "total focus on surgery" and failure to pursue alternative and more "robust" pathways to recovery made further surgery unreasonable under injury laws, a tribunal has found.
> Daily inspections missed height risk; > Alternative safety plan overridden before electric shock; and > Three-year strategy focuses on safety of Vic healthcare workers.
Industry experts consulted for a major work safety project, which will inform an upcoming crane blitz, have called for a tiered licensing system, mandatory pre-deployment site visits and a more aggressive inspection and enforcement regime.
