Name and shame unsafe employers; $250K fine for ATV death; and more

Name and shame initiative should be considered in Australia: Tooma; Farmer fined $250K over ATV crash death; Victorian hospital gets safety funding boost to tackle violence; and WorkCover Tasmania offers free asbestos information sessions.

Name and shame initiative should be considered in Australia: Tooma

The name and shame initiative used by the US's Occupational Safety and Health Administration should be considered in Australia, prominent OHS lawyer Michael Tooma said.

More than 13,500 US employers that had injury and illness rates considerably higher than the national average were named on the OSHA website and sent a letter to encourage them to take action to reduce incidence rates and improve OHS conditions.

Tooma told OHS Alert that the initiative had a lot of merit and may be worth replicating in Australia because it proactively identifies underperforming employers and targets them for assistance.

"It focuses regulatory attention and resources where it is needed the most. By naming the employers, it also applies pressure on the companies concerned to lift their game," he says.

"Obviously it should be used with other compliance and enforcement strategies since workplace accident injury statistics alone are not an effective measure of safety performance. But in combination with other initiatives, it may be effective in shifting 'rusted on' attitudes on 'acceptable performance' in some industries."

Farmer fined $250K over ATV crash death

Victorian dairy farmer and horse trainer Wootanga Park Pty Ltd was fined in the Victorian County Court over the death of worker in an ATV incident.

The worker was riding the vehicle across a lane that ran through the property while carrying a pillion passenger. The ATV collided with a truck that was travelling along the lane, killing the rider and seriously injuring the passenger.

Judge Joe Gullaci heard that ATVs were regularly used on the property, and that there was a cattle underpass underneath the lane that could be used by all ATVs.

He found the employer had failed to:

eliminate risks to workers crossing the lane while riding ATVs;

provide appropriate PPE;

have policies regarding safe operations of ATVs; and

ensure that workers were competent to operate ATVs.

Judge Gullaci fined the employer $250,000 for breaching ss21(1), (2)(a) and (2)(e) of the OHS Act.

Victorian hospital gets safety funding boost to tackle violence

Maldon Hospital in Victoria received a $10,000 funding boost from the State government as part of round two of the Occupational Violence Prevention Fund 2008-2011.

"This funding boost will enable Maldon hospital to update its security system to ensure the safety of the patients, staff and visitors who attend the health service," Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews said.

He said the State Government was committed to implementing all 29 recommendations from the Victorian Taskforce on Violence in Nursing.

"We have provided $4 million over four years to establish the Occupational Violence Prevention Fund to assist public health services to address the highest priority occupational violence risks in their organisations," Andrews said.

WorkCover Tasmania offers free asbestos information sessions

WorkCover Tasmania will host free information sessions to help employers understand their responsibilities regarding asbestos.

The sessions will feature expert speakers who will cover:

legislative requirements;

identifying and managing asbestos at work;

asbestos removal; and

medical issues.

There will also be a panel discussion from industry and government officials. Reasons why professional legal advice should be sorted

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