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Health and Safety Advisor Report - Winter 2010 Workplace Health and Safety Queensland have identified three priorities for the construction industry in 2010-2011. The largest increase in serious non-fatal workers compensation injuries have been injuries from falls from heights. This is an increase of a staggering 50% in the last five years. They now represent 15% of all serious injuries Builders who continue to show scant regard for the welfare of workers will continue to have their site safety managed by our organisation; as it appears the workers can only rely on the BLF to have day to day safety abuses rectified to the highest OH&S standards (not the bandaid fixes that many workers have to endure). BLF members tell us their number one concern with the building industry is the safety. I can assure all our members and even those workers who bludge off the solidarity of our members that the BLF will continue to be in the face of industry delivering the very best standards of OH&S.
Almost three months latter WHSQ delivered a presentation to the union outlining no solution to our concerns other than a commitment to a greater emphasis on ongoing communication with the unions. Take away the illuminating statistics provided by Paul Goldsbrough’s team in identifying the areas to be targeted this year and we’re left with nothing.
There are not too many times I have been lost for words but the reluctance of WHSQ to work with the unions to remedy glaring OH&S abuses only sends a bad message to the building industry. That message also includes their own inspectors who confide in me that their role as an enforcer of the states Act and Regs in many cases are futile with some builders. Big dollars are spent on preventative safety management and those builders who are spending the time and resources to achieve higher standards on their sites will always be disadvantaged commercially against those who continually disregard OH&S compliance.
The above priorities have only been identified from the ‘meetingathons’ the BLF and CFMEU have been having with WHSQ over the past 18 months. I believe the priorities outlined above are justified but still fall short of the unions expectations of the overall management of safety in the Queensland construction industry.
The most common mechanism for work-related fatalities in the construction industry was being hit by objects. The most common agent of fatality was mobile plant and transport which accounted for nearly half of the fatalities (45%).A meeting held on the 30th of March with WHSQ’s Simon Blackwood (Executive Director WHSQ), Paul Goldsbrough, Letitia Robertson, Tim Campbell, Craig Hutton, Julie Nielsen, Pat Stien and Andrew Ramsay and myself hoped to address areas of systemic failure of builders compliance with the minimum requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety Act, Regulations and WHSQ’s enforcement model. We hoped to formulate a strategy to address the continuous day to day failures of builders to manage the welfare of workers on the job.
Musculoskeletal injury continues to be the most significant injury type affecting Queensland construction workers. Approximately 33% of serious injuries were caused by muscular stress. 19% being due to Muscular Stress while lifting, carrying or putting down objects. 14% were due to Muscular Stress while handling objects other than lifting, carrying or putting down.
President/Health and Safety Advisor
Royce Kupsch
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