25 February 2019
The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) has urged the Morrison Government to introduce Federal industrial manslaughter laws after the Industrial Relations Ministers’ own inquiry recommended it.
The outcomes of the Boland Review into the Health and Safety Act will be made public today and include a raft of recommendations aimed at improving workplace safety. One of the key recommendations coming out of the review is the introduction of industrial manslaughter laws that could see individual company directors punished for failing to take action to prevent workplace deaths. The recommendations also include reforms to strengthen dispute resolution and a prohibition on insurance against penalties.
In October last year, it was revealed that a first-year Victorian apprentice, Dillion Wu, died of asphyxiation in his second week on the job. There has also been shocking resurgence of aggressive silicosis in young men working on artificial stone bench tops with ABC reporting that 98 workers receiving the diagnosis, 15 of them terminal.
Ms Boland noted that many of the submissions, including those from businesses, addressed the difficulties around psychological injuries. This would bring Australia into line with many other countries.
As noted by Andrew Dettmer, AMWU ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ President:
“Every second day someone goes to work and doesn’t come home. For every fatality at a worksite we are seeing 6 others die of work-related illness and diseases. Every worker deserves to come home safe. Our current laws are failing. The Government must say yes to these recommendations if they take the safety of workers seriously.”
“The AMWU strongly urges all Governments to take strong note of the Boland Review recommendations and those of the 2018 Senate Inquiry into Industrial Deaths. Better regulation, better rights for workers and bigger penalties are essential if we as a community are to protect the health and safety of our workers.”
