18 June 2002
Renowned UK health and safety activist, Rory O’Neill, will address over one thousand Victorian health and safety representatives at a one day conference at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre tomorrow.
Mr O'Neill is editor of the UK health and safety journal Hazards and the Trade Union Congress' Risks e-magazine. His positions have included Health, Safety and Environmental Officer of the International Federation of Journalists.
Widely published in the UK, Mr O'Neill has written extensively on occupational health and safety and published books on stress, sprains and strains.
Mr O'Neill says trade unions are the single group in society most capable of making workplaces safer.
"Unions know the job and the hazards. They know what needs to be done to make workplaces safer."
According to a 1995 Workplace Relations Survey unionised workplaces are more likely to have health and safety committees and be subjected to safety audits than non-unionised workplaces.
Far from becoming safer, Mr O'Neill suggests workplaces are becoming more hazardous due to changes in the labour market.
Commenting on local health and safety laws and regulations Mr O'Neill said he was disappointed to hear recent Industrial Manslaughter legislation had been defeated in Victoria."While hazardous conditions in traditional jobs have been addressed to some extent we have more recent workplace hazards like stress, work overload and bullying which are endemic," he said.
"When employers behave responsibly they will benefit from increased productivity and morale. Where their behaviour leads to serious injury or death they should be punished appropriately."