June 2002 Volume 83 Number 6 "serving the protectors"

Health and Safety

The editor,

Health and safety representatives throughout SAPOL might recall participating in the 2001 ACTU national survey of health and safety representatives, the aim of which was to gather information to identify the major health and safety issues currently of concern in Australian workplaces. The information gathered in the survey forms the basis of a report to the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC), and will be used by unions to develop responses and seek improvements in working conditions, particularly in the area of occupational health and safety.

The issues of most concern to the health and safety representatives in the survey were:
• Stress.
• Work overload.
• Occupational violence.
• Manual handling/heavy lifting.
• Poor workstation design (ergonomics).
• Inadequate staffing.

Other issues listed by health and safety reps included shortcomings in the rehabilitation process, poor consultation, and lack of commitment to health and safety by employers.

Conclusions drawn by the ACTU in the analysis of the survey results reinforce the benefits of an inclusive workplace. The report observes that:

It is widely accepted that workplaces where there are good consultative mechanisms and where workers are involved in decisions about work in general and health & safety in particular, there will be less health & safety problems.

Health and safety reps reported bullying and intimidation by management, and this is another area that the survey concluded needs serious addressing by governments. Other areas worthy of investigation include:
• Lack of time and resources for health and safety reps in the workplace.
• The apparently ambivalent view of the effectiveness of government OHS inspectors.
• Pressure on sick and injured workers to return to work before they are ready.
• Low levels of consultation regarding health and safety issues in the workplace.
• Adverse impacts on health and safety of presence of contract and/or labour hire employees.

In a letter to the Police Journal in April 2002, I reported aspects of the WorkCover Corp 2000-2001 Statistical Review of interest to police managers and health and safety reps. Clearly, many of the issues raised by other health and safety reps in the ACTU survey are mirrored in the recording of injury and disease claims in the WorkCover document.

I commend the 17-page survey report, and recommend it as essential reading for police managers, health and safety reps, and those interested in health and safety in the workplace. The survey and results can be found as published on the ACTU website:
www.actu.asn.au (links from www.pasa.asn.au).
Peter Schulze
Workplace Health & Safety Representative
South Coast LSA
Vice-President, PASA Metro South Branch

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