Comments on: Poor worker safety through gov’t disinterest and high unemployment

By: TaraSafe

TaraSafe — Thu, 23 Feb 2017 07:56:23 +0000

Safety at workplace should be the priority,but sadly it is not practiced. Providing Safe working environment is duty of every employer and right of every employee.

By: Barry Naismith

Barry Naismith — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 05:57:40 +0000

There was a feature last weekend on ABC Landline about China’s massive wool processing factory in a government economic zone near Shanghai. While this is not directly related to this issue, a comment was made by one of the factory executives about cost pressures due to rising wages for the army of Chinese process workers. They were looking to set up in other countries to process wool from Australia and other countries. Bangladesh was one location mentioned; Ethiopia was another. The amount of investment sounded astronomical but obviously was not just for economic reasons. In the discussions that will be held with those governments, one wonders what priority would be given to safe work or does the massive investment simply trump all?

By: Bernard Corden

Bernard Corden — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 11:30:38 +0000

There is also an interesting book entitled ” Black Lung – Anatomy of a public health disaster” by Alan Derickson. It is well worth reading along with the report into the Upper Big Branch 2010 mining disaster:

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Lung-Anatomy-Public-Disaster/dp/0801431867

https://www.scribd.com/document/55812536/McAteer-Report-Says-Upper-Big-Branch-Mine-Explosion-Preventable

By: Bernard Corden

Bernard Corden — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 11:19:15 +0000

The Queensland parliamentary inquiry into black lung is drawing to a close and the select committee presents its report to the legislative assembly on 12/04/2017. The committee has held almost 30 public hearings throughout Queensland and approximately 40 submissions have been provided:

https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-committees/committees/CWPSC/inquiries/current-inquiries/CWPSC

It is a significant public health issue with 18 confirmed cases in Queensland and one in NSW. Since 1975, the US Department of Labor has paid out over US$45 billion in compensation payments. It’s a lot of hospitals and infrastructure. The following links provide access to some disturbing investigative journalism, which reveal how the issue has been handled in the US:

https://www.publicintegrity.org/environment/breathless-and-burdened

http://www.ecology.com/2016/01/06/black-lung-appalachia-scourge-returns/

The photo in the above link is redolent of our current reactive blame the victim approach and use of lower order controls. It was taken in 1974 and there are more signs on the cage than you would see along Brunswick Road in Coburg. Little has changed.

The transcripts from regional hearings in Queensland are alarming and reveal a culture of intimidation, blame, fear and circumvention of accountability via use of contract labour hire. It is Dickensian:

https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-committees/committees/CWPSC/inquiries/current-inquiries/CWPSC

The standard of risk control must be proportional to the likely worst consequence and a fragile production and protection dichotomy will obviously arise when mercenary rednecks receive substantial performance bonuses to achieve extreme production targets.

This reflects the comments of W. Edwards Deming……”people with targets and jobs dependent upon meeting them will probably meet the targets – even if they have to destroy the enterprise to do it”

Corporations are an anthropomorphic fallacy, they have no memory, soul to save or body to incarcerate.

By: Timothy McKinnon

Timothy McKinnon — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 08:55:03 +0000

It’s extremely complex . To be expected for a country the size of Tasmania with 150 million people, although not acceptable. Shopfloor change is valuable, no doubt and the poor always get screwed. The difference for us though in Australia is that when we finish for the day with our workplace OHS laws we leave the work place and go into a community with laws and community expectations that assist us being safe outside work. Its not always the case in places like Bangladesh. There are enormous social pressures that require taking risks that go against all the safety logic that may have been expected inside the workplace. I remember trying to cross a road in Kolkata 18 months ago and thinking as an OHS person should I be contemplating “risk” or is “karma” more logical. While I’m slightly off topic, its often easy to use video clips from the sub-continent and Asia as examples in our training sessions of extreme risk taking or how not to do something . While they may represent poor workplace practice, its worth appreciating they may also represent a situation of poverty and risk taking to keep a family fed. Which goes to the point about the governments needing to change but the pressure may have to be external as it is may be impossible for it to come from below, there are too many other priorities about surviving.