A UK parliamentary inquiry has been launched to better assess the impact silicosis is having on the health and wellbeing of construction workers, following a number of deaths. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (AAPG) on Respiratory Health has joined forces with not-for-profit organisation B&CE to more accurately understand why construction workers are continuing to die fromRead more
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Electronic logging devices (ELDs) will soon replace all paper-based logbooks within Canada’s federally regulated commercial trucks and buses, in a move designed to target driver fatigue concerns. Transport Canada estimates that the move will reduce the risk of fatigue-related collisions by approximately 10 percent. Minister of Transport Marc Garneau announced that the new requirement, whichRead more
A UK non-profit is threatening to take the British government to court over its post-Brexit plans, accusing it of substantially weakening protections against pesticides, and reducing oversight of its process for regulating industrial chemicals. CHEM Trust says this “dilution of vital regulatory standards” contradicts government assurances that environmental standards would be maintained, if not strengthened, post-Brexit. TheRead more
Nathan Winter, Chair of the Finance, Risk, Audit and Compliance Committee of the Board of the Safety Institute of Australia, has dug in to the Portfolio Budget Statements for each of the safety related Federal Government Agencies. He has done so again this year to provide a baseline funding overview of the Federal Budget fromRead more
Importers who knowingly or recklessly import goods containing asbestos can now be imprisoned for up to 5 years, under increased penalties announced by the Federal Government. The Customs Legislation Amendment (Asbestos) Regulations 2019 makes it a “tier 1” offence to transport asbestos across Australia’s border. Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton, said amendment “strengthened and streamlined”Read more
NSW Labor has committed to a range of health-and-safety-related policies should it win this weekend’s state election, including introducing industrial manslaughter laws, doubling SafeWork’s compliance functions, and cracking down on unlawful surveillance of injured workers. It has also committed to returning safety prosecutions to a re-established Industrial Court, enacting anti bullying laws, and ensuring allRead more
Safe Work Australia has released Marie Boland’s final report into the effectiveness of the model WHS laws, which includes 34 recommendations designed to enhance the WHS framework. The review found that while the laws are largely operating as intended, there are some changes needed to provide clarity and to drive greater consistency in the application andRead more
A group of over 100 organisations has made a joint submission to the national inquiry into workplace sexual harassment, demanding “urgent and coordinated” action on the growing issue. The group, which includes unions, researchers, peak bodies, health professionals and lawyers, want state and federal governments to take stronger action on workplace sexual harassment, including establishingRead more
A number of employer groups have expressed concerns about the Victorian Government’s proposed industrial manslaughter laws, claiming they will give rise to unintended consequences which impair, rather than enhance, health and safety outcomes at Australian workplaces. Tania Constable, CEO of the Minerals Council of Australia, said the laws will not contribute to general or specificRead more
Democratic lawmakers in Washington are once again making a push to pass the Protecting America’s Workers Act – legislation that has been introduced to Congress several times without being passed. Among other things, the Act gives OSHA tools to ensure that employers promptly correct hazardous working conditions, protect workers from retaliation when they blow theRead more
