The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 will come into effect in the Commonwealth, New South Wales, Queensland, ACT and Northern Territory on January 1st 2012.

See a summary of these laws by clicking on the Work Health & Safety Laws heading.

There is no change, at this time, in Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia.

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Health and Safety is Union Business

One of the great benefits of joining a union is finding out about your health and safety rights -- rights you have under the law and rights that can be used to protect and improve health and safety at work. 

Manufacturing workers face many hazards ---  if we work together with our fellow workers many of these can eliminated or reduced.

Every work site where there are AMWU members should have an elected Health & Safety Representative (HSR).  Workers have a legal right to elect a HSR. HSR have the right to training and to choose their training course: the AMWU recommends union approved courses. HSRs work with and represent workers' health and safety interests.   

So get active --- make sure your worksite has at least one elected H&S Representative; set up a Union H&S Committee. You can find useful proformas on this web site: see the TIPS heading.

Talk with your delegates and AMWU organiser on how to organise the negotiation of work groups and the election of HSRs.

On the first of January, the ACTU launched a new health and safety web site:   www.safeatwork.org.au

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