Time to act on workplace deaths

Date: 28 April 2000

ACTU Secretary Greg Combet has called on employers to act immediately to halt the alarming number of deaths at work.

Mr Combet said Australian workers suffered from an unacceptable degree of risk at work and that employers needed to take more responsibility for ensuring that workplaces were safe.

The ACTU and unions are concerned about excessive levels of risk for young workers. The most recent workers compensation figures (1997-1998) show that 10 per cent of people who died at work were under the age of 24; one-third of those were under 20 years old.

"These are alarming figures. Australia cannot and should not be losing young workers in this way," said Mr Combet.

Employers can raise workplace safety levels by:

• Ensuring high standards of training and supervision for young people
• Educating young workers about their rights in the workplace
• Eliminating bullying, intimidation and other forms of harassment

"It is the basic right of every Australian employee to work in a safe and healthy environment," said Mr Combet. "Unions and employers must work together to create environments where the risks to workers, especially young workers, are minimised,. There are still far too many people dying or suffering serious injury in Australian workplaces."

Mr Combet was speaking on the 5th International Day of Mourning, which is marked around the world and highlights the impact of unsafe work practices on the health and safety of workers.

Unions and Trades and Labour Councils will host events in each state and territory at around 11am, when a minute's silence will be held to remember those people who have died at work.

Every week, nine Australian workers die under traumatic circumstances. Researchers estimate that at least 2500 workers die as a result of illness or injuries, and about 170,000 people suffer a work-related injury or illness.

"The figures are actually higher than this because these are only the deaths and injuries recorded by the workers' compensation authorities," said Mr Combet. "Many, many more Australian workers suffer injuries or illnesses that go unrecorded.

"Factor in to all of this the work-related diseases such as cancer, asbestosis and occupational asthma and the total number of work-related fatalities rises to around 2900 a year. Australia can do better than this."

For further information

Contact:	ACTU Media Office: Brenda Finlayson
Union:	ACTU
Phone:	(03) 9663 5655
Fax:	(03) 9663 4051
WWW:	http://www.actu.asn.au/

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