Community Services Workers and OH&S

rights in Victoria: A Union Perspective

Graham Wilson – OH&S Officer

Australian Services Union

Workers OH&S Rights in Victoria

• Why discuss OH&S rights?

• Basic principles and rights of OH&S.

• The issues for workers in the community sector.

• What other workers have done.

Why discuss OH&S rights?

“The importance of health and safety requires that employees, other persons at work and members of the public are given the highest level of protection against risks to their health and safety that is reasonably practicable in the circumstances.”

Section 4 (1)

Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004

Why discuss OH&S rights?

• Benefits for the employers

• Benefits for the clients

• Protection of the most important resource

Why discuss OH&S rights?

Four OH&S case studies• Large organisation, service maintained

• Large organisation, service denied

• Small service, poor facilities

• Small service, $50,000 in funding

Case 1: Large organisation, service maintained

• Occupational Violence

• “Part of the job”

• Fix the worker not the workplace

• Mismatch of client and service

• Department of Human Services placing pressure on employer to maintain service

• Client stays, worker leaves on WorkCover

“An employer must, so far as reasonably practicable, provide and maintain for employees of the employer a working environment that is safe and without risks to

health.” Section 21 (1)

Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004

Case 2: Large organisation, service denied

• Occupational Violence• Mismatch of a client and a service• Health and safety representative issuing a

P.I.N• Clients’ families• DHS wanting the client to have access to

the service• Potential of WorkSafe’s involvement

Case 3: Small service, poor facilities

• Common across most smaller services

• Pigeons, mice and possums

• Small or no kitchen

• No first aid facilities

• No windows

• No heating or cooling

• Dodgy toilets

An employer must…“maintain, so far is reasonably practicable, each workplace under the employer’s management and control in a condition that is safe and without risks to health” & “provide, so far as is reasonably practicable adequate facilities for the welfare of employees at any workplace under the management and control

of the employer” Section 21 (2) c & d

Occupational Health and Safety Act 2007

Case 4: Small service, $50,000 funding

• ASU and members working together

• Previous fire at service

• Possibility of closing part of the service

So why discuss OH&S rights?

• Low compliance with the Act

• Fight to have or maintain basic rights

• Fix the worker not the workplace

• “Part of the Job”

Basic principles of OH&S

• Section 4 of the OH&S Act

• Fix the workplace not the worker.

• NOT “Part of the job”

• Identify, Asses, Control, Review

Section 4

1. The importance of health and safety requires the highest level of protection for all.

2. Managers must eliminate or reduce those risks.3. Employers should take all measures to ensure

health and safety in their conduct4. Employers and employees should exchange

information about health and safety.5. Employees are entitled to be represented on

health and safety issues.

Fix the workplace / NOT “part of the job”

Identify, Assess, Control, Review

• Identify the hazards.

• Assess the risk.

• Control that risk.

• Review to ensure it works.

What issues have been identified?

• Muscular Skeletal Disorders

• Stress

• Bullying

• Occupational violence

• The lack/state of facilities

What other workers have done?

• Australian Nursing Federation – ‘No Lifting’

• Victorian Taskforce on Violence in Nursing

• ‘Zero Tolerance’ - Ambulance Employee Association

• Department of Education Prosecution (WSV)

Summary

• OH&S must be discussed in our sector

• Basic rights for workers are often not met

• More than identify hazards

• Control the hazards that are prevalent

• Move sector attitude