06:33 pm, Friday 30 July, 2010

WorkSafe will be going to western Victoria next week to conduct field days for agricultural workers.

The safety watchdog will grace field days Sheepvention (2-3 August) and the Mallee Machinery field days (4-5 August) to inform the farming community of workplace safety in a neutral setting.

“We set up stands at major field days to help industry with some of the issues they face. Taking the opportunity and making a five or ten minute investment in the future,” WorkSafe’s Ross Pilkington said.

WorkSafe records about 500 work-related farm injuries yearly while while six of the 14 work-related deaths in 2010 have been on farms. Tractors were the most common contributing factor in deaths in farmers, followed by quad bikes.

“While WorkSafe’s statewide farm safety enforcement campaign is underway, farmers, farm workers and their families all have an important day-to-day role to play on the ground,” Mr Pilkington said.

He stressed that farms are a place of business and there are risks that must be addressed.

“Getting information, thinking about what can go wrong and how to prevent it and having a dinner-table conversation about what’s at stake will save lives, maintain quality of life for individuals & families and keep people working in regional communities.”

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01:27 pm, Tuesday 13 July, 2010

WorkSafe is letting the farming sector know that the safety watchdog is undertaking a year-long crackdown on workplace safety.

Seven fatalities have been recorded in farms across the state in 2010.

According to executive director Cath Bowtell, WorkSafe inspectors will check on Victorian farms starting this month.

Ms Bowtell said they will focus on the usual causes of fatalities and injuries.

“Making sure that you’ve got a roll-over bar on your maintaining their equipment, that they’re using their equipment properly,” she said.

“That’s the sort of work that our inspectors are going to go out and talk to farmers about.”

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08:00 pm, Saturday 10 July, 2010

WorkSafe says it is confounded by the workplace deaths reported in regional Victoria.

In the last financial year, 26 workers were killed in Victoria due to work-related incidents. Of that number, 22 worked in regional areas.

To combat the number of workplace fatalities, WorkSafe has launched a year-long campaign focusing on farms.

According to WorkSafe’s Trevor Martin, there are too many work-related deaths in regional Victoria.

“The toll in country Victoria perplexes us,” Mr Martin said.

“We have a large number of farmers again who died this year. We’re trying to get the bottom of how we can fix that”.

quad bike overturned on a steep hill northwest of Geelong.

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12:04 pm, Wednesday 2 June, 2010

Employees with limited English must be trained by their employers so the workers can do their work safely, WorkSafe said.

WorkSafe’s statement comes at the heels of the conviction of a Victorian potato farm to failing to ensure an employee with limited English received safety training before operating a telehandler.

The Mildura Magistrates’ Court fined the farm company $40,000, after pleading guilty to failing to provide instruction, information, training and supervision to its workers under section 21(1)&(2)(e) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.

WorkSafe Victoria’s Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety, Stan Krpan said it is important for all employees to receive information and training to understand the risks involved in their work and enable them to do their job safely.

“If a worker has limited English, employers may need to make an extra effort to ensure the worker is clear on the risks. This may simply involve taking a little extra time or involving a translator – which may be another worker,” Mr Krpan said.

“Employers and supervisors also need to be aware that the language barrier may lead to a power imbalance in the workplace – workers with limited English may be less likely to question health and safety practices or speak up if they’re unsure.”

In 2008, an Indian national employed at the farm lost control of the telehandler while trying to turn it, hitting a truck driver in the process.

The driver suffered several injuries, including broken bones in his right foot, and lacerations to his elbow and head. He was required to be confined for a week in the hospital.

The Court was told the worker was allowed to move the telehandler to another site after watching a five-minute demonstration on how to use it.

The worker had no previous experience on using the heavy machinery. The court also heard the demonstration was provided by another employee with no formal qualifications or training to operate a telehandler, or train others how to use it.

“No attempt was made to arrange for another employee to interpret the instructions on how to operate the telehandler,” Mr Krpan said.

“His only instruction on how to use this piece of machinery, which weighed over three tonnes, was from someone who wasn’t even licensed to use it.

“This is a reminder for employers about their legal duties to ensure workers are provided with information, instruction, training or supervision which enables them to perform their work in a way that is safe and without risks to health.”

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10:33 am, Wednesday 2 June, 2010

Over 3,000 farmers from across Queensland have received a notice from an electric provider, advising them be mindful of overhead powerlines.

John Fowler, an Ergon Energy spokesman, said there were 24 incidents involving overhead powerlines in the Burdekin, in north Queensland, last year.

Mr Fowler said with the start of cane harvesting in the region this week, workers should pay attention when working near overhead powerlines.

“We’re still very concerned about the number of electricity-related accidents that occur during the harvesting season. Now the numbers have actually dropped down by around 60 per cent in the last three years but, for us, they’re still too high,” he said.

“What the harvesters are telling us is that yes, they know the power poles are there, but they’re so concentrated on their work that they actually forget, so we’re trying to reinforce that message to them, ‘look up and live’ because it really could save a life.”

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