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The details of health and safety laws vary between the states and territories, but there are certain basic requirements which employers must fulfil. These include:
- consultation with workers and elected representatives on working conditions
and health and safety at work
- appropriate and timely action to eliminate or 'control' health and safety
hazards
- provision of appropriate information, training, instruction and
supervision
- monitoring of working conditions and the health of workers
- provision of appropriate welfare facilities for all workers
- maintaining information and records about working conditions and any
dangerous occurrences at work
The law says that employers must make the workplace healthy and safe for all persons at the workplace. Employers have an equal obligation whether workers are full time, part time and/or casual, and have an obligation to direct employees, and to employees of labour hire companies, to outside contractors and their employees and to visitors and bystanders.
Many employers continue to have a poor track record when it comes to genuinely involving workers in health and safety issues at work. This is despite mountains of evidence that the participation of workers in workplace decisions results in less health and safety problems, and better working environments.
Rights and responsibilities of employees
State and territory OHS laws give basic rights and protections to all workers and to health and safety representatives and/or committee members, but they do vary in the extent of legal powers they provide for elected health and safety representatives and/or employee members of health and safety committees.
Workers cannot be expected to change themselves to fit hazardous work. The employer must remove the hazards from the work. However, to make sure this happens, workers need to take the initiative, and get active in the workplace:
- elect and support your health and safety reps
- help to make health and safety committees effective
- work together and keep everyone informed
- check out the workplace regularly
- if it is unhealthy or unsafe , report it
- follow up and make sure it gets fixed
Provisional Improvement, or written / default Notices
In Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, ACT and in Commonwealth workplaces, elected health and safety representatives have the legal right to issue a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) or written / default notice to order an employer to fix health and safety problems. Through issuing a notice, the health and safety representative gives the employer time to fix problems.
Cease work orders
If work is an immediate risk to health and safety, every
worker has the common law right to stop doing the unsafe / unhealthy work. In
addition, Commonwealth and some state laws allow health and safety
representatives to order that the work stop immediately.
Government health and safety inspector
You have the right to request assistance from a government health and safety inspector. This can include a request for a workplace inspection. Again, the law varies between states and territories, so check with your union or state trades and labour council. All government inspectors have the power to stop work that is a risk to health and safety.
Duties of employees
Under state health and safety laws workers are required, to the extent that they are able, to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others at the workplace and to co-operate with their employer with respect to any action taken by the employer to comply with health and safety requirements.
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