AMWU - campaign OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY

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occupational health & safety
H&S Handbook | Newsletter | Model OHS Laws | Alerts and Issues | No Workplace Cancer

Unions save lives. Organised workplaces are safer workplaces.

The AMWU knows that workplace health and safety is the one of the biggest issue for all workers. We also know that prevention is the key.

A recent Federal government report found that workers and the community bear the main costs of work related injury and illness.

Employers bear only 3% of the costs (workers' compensation premiums, loss of productivity, absent workers, recruitment and retraining costs, and fines and penalties); whilst workers bear 49% with loss of current and future income and non-compensated medical expenses, and the community 43% through the cost of social welfare payments, medical and health scheme costs and loss of potential output and revenue.

The OH&S section of this website highlights our current campaigns to maintain and improve OH&S rights, and resources to help you stay safe at work.

Send An Email

First Name*	Your Message Dear Deputy Prime Minister Re: WRMC Framework Model OHS laws I am concerned to hear of your description of the recently agreed framework for OHS laws as �a massive advance for workplace safety� (ACTU Congress address, 3rd June 2009). Unfortunately, the points you raised are not major areas of improvement and in fact, our requests to strengthen and create good OHS laws have been overlooked. It is essential that the following are included in any Model law. � HSRs to have the power to issue Provisional Improvement notices and for immediate risks to direct cessation of work and the right to assistance from any person � Rights of HSRs to training of their own choice, paid for by the employer, on full paid leave � An obligation on employers to consult with workers and their HSRs on health and safety matters � Rights of trade union officials to enter a workplace to investigate suspected OHS risks � Trade union right, on behalf of their members, to prosecute employers and to enable this, reverse onus of proof � Genuine tripartism � Protection from discrimination in their employment of HSRs and workers as a result of raising Health and safety issues. Our rights to healthy and safe workplaces are dependant upon our rights to representation, consultation and support, through our elected health and safety representatives and the rights and powers for our elected trade unions. These rights must be enshrined in our Model OHS laws. Looking forward to your response
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sign the petition

On May 18th the Workplace Relations Ministers Council (WRMC) agreed to a frame work for National Model OHS laws. These laws will be decided by the end of the year. The WRMC framework is missing some of the very important health and safety rights we currently have in State laws. We want a Model OHS law that contains ALL of the rights we currently have in State laws. Please sign the petition demanding that the Workplace Relations Ministers Council improve the proposed framework.

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