Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

Trades Hall set to recruit 10,000 health and safety reps by 2007

The Victorian Trades Hall Council today launched its campaign to recruit 10,000 new occupational health and safety reps by International Workers' Memorial Day 2007 in its ongoing campaign to make Victorian workplaces safer.

The VTHC launched its campaign on International Workers' Memorial Day because this is the day workers throughout the world mourn the dead, but vow to fight for the living.

'No one should have to go through the pain and suffering of losing a loved one in a preventable incident, or having their lives ruined by a workplace injury. Occupational health and safety reps are the front line in the battle against these deaths and injuries in the workplace and today we announce the start of a major campaign to recruit more frontline defenders,' Michele O'Neil, President of the Victorian Trades Hall Council said today.

'We know that union workplaces are safer workplaces because all the studies point to that. Unions facilitate the election of health and safety reps and regular meetings of health and safety committees, mechanisms which ensure safer workplaces,' Ms O'Neil added.

'The new Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act allows workplaces to elect deputy OHS reps and additional reps where they are needed, which is a recognition of the valuable role they perform. Every worker has the right to a safe workplace, and the election of more OHS reps will help us prevent injuries and tragic deaths,' Ms O'Neil continued.

In Victoria, 29 workers died from traumatic deaths last year. The toll so far this year is 11. In addition, there are 32,000 Workcover claims lodged each year.

In Australia, unionised workplaces are three times as likely to have a health and safety committee, and twice as likely to have undergone a management occupational health and safety audit according to a Workplace Industrial Relations Survey undertaken by the Department of Workplace Relations and Small Business. Even the World Bank reports that there is a 95% probability of a government health and safety inspection if the union is present in the workplace, versus 16% if there is no union.

The VTHC launched its campaign during a commemoration service at the Workers' Memorial, which included an internationally observed minute of silence. Families of workers who died on the job participated in the commemoration.

The commemoration was one of many events held throughout Australia. It is estimated that around 10,000 separate events are to be held in 100 countries throughout the world today.


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