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WA miners must fight “backward” eastern safety scheme push
The safety of Western Australia’s miners may be compromised if the NSW model of workplace
safety is adopted Australia-wide, an OHS expert has warned.
The WA government has agreed to work together with the federal government and other states to
adopt a common approach to workplace safety. Unions are pressing for more employers to be
prosecuted after an injury, a move which the director of safety and health for the Mining and
Resource Contractors Safety Training Association, Patrick Gilroy, says would hurt Western
Australian workers.
Pointing to workers compensation statistics ahead of his 13 August address to the WA Safety
Conference, Patrick Gilroy says the NSW system of aggressive prosecutions has failed.
"In 2005/06, 459 NSW employers were prosecuted for safety breaches compared to just 39 in
WA," he said, "but NSW's injury rates are 27 per cent higher than Western Australia's. Simply
throwing the book at employers isn't enough."
"Victoria and Western Australia, which have the lowest rate of prosecutions also have the lowest
rates of injury and disease and, importantly, enjoyed the greatest reduction in average workers’
compensation premium rates over the three years to June 2006 by a wide margin."
Specifically, Gilroy said, WA's mining sector had achieved remarkable safety gains compared to
other industries.
"Mining's workers compensation premiums are less than half of those in construction and a little
more than a third of those in agriculture," he said. "That's not because mining is intrinsically safe
either – you're dealing with 200 tonne trucks and working underground in the dark with heavy
machinery, after all – the mining industry has lifted safety by empowering the workforce."
Mr Gilroy said the industry's record of training of safety and health representatives underscored
mining's consultative approach. While there were 5.15 representatives per thousand construction
employees, mining boasted 27.88 per thousand.
"Why is the importance of electing and educating safety and health representatives not
recognised by major industry sectors?" Gilroy asked.
"The Victorian Government are now demonstrating that consultation, participation and the
collective involvement of employers, workers and their representatives can have significant
workplace safety and health benefits, something that has been evident in the mining industry here
in Western Australia for 20 years.
"Proposing to increase prosecutions to improve occupational safety and health is misguided and
foolhardy. It would be crazy for WA to take safety backwards 20 years to NSW's standards."
Patrick Gilroy will address the WA Safety Conference, which runs from Tuesday August 12 to
Thursday August 14 at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre. The conference is presented by
the Safety Institute of Australia in WA and sponsored by the Department of Consumer and
Employment Protection, Government of Western Australia. For more information, visit
Conferences on 03 9654 7773.
#ENDS#
Media release prepared by Firefly Marketing. Phone: (03) 9736 4334, mobile: (0421) 530 944 or email:
marianm@fireflymarketing.com.au
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