Blood on the carpet: WorkSafe gets graphic in ad campaign

Date
    February 19, 2016
    The Age

Graphic safety warnings showing workers maimed and bloodied will be resurrected in Victoria this weekend as new data reveals 70 people are injured every day in the workplace.      

After dumping grisly images from advertisements in 2014 and taking a less-hostile approach to employers, WorkSafe has revived the powerful campaign tactic to reinforce the consequences of negligence, including criminal prosecution.

New statistics from the work safety regulator, obtained by Fairfax Media, reveal that in 2015 26,074 Victorians were injured on the job severely enough to receive compensation.   

Total workplace injury claims dropped 11 per cent since 2011. But some types of injuries remain rife or have risen in 2015. Job-related mental health problems accounted for 3087 claims; fractures made up 2450 claims; and skull injuries had 311. Twenty people were killed at work statewide.   


WorkSafe's new chief executive, Clare Amies, said it was time for a tougher attitude and a "hard-hitting" public awareness campaign aimed squarely at employers.

"Unfortunately, in some of the claims, it is the same things that keep happening... this is the problem for us," she said.

"We are getting better safety – claims are reducing – but 26,000 a year, and 20 fatalities. It is just not where we want to be... we have got to do better."   

Featured in the advertisements are scenes of a blue-collar worker whose hand has been severed, and a hospital employee lying unconscious on the floor.

Healthcare employees had almost 4000 WorkSafe injury claims last year, the second-highest of any Victorian workforce. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said workers in the industry were exposed to grave dangers on a daily basis, including manual handling injuries, mental stress, and violence.

"I have been to meetings with members where they have said they expect to be injured at some point every day," union workplace safety co-ordinator Kathy Chrisfield said.

"Employers need to be dealing with preventing occupational violence like they would for any other health and safety issue."

Ms Chrisfield said the state government and WorkSafe were committing to a greater focus on occupational violence and the need for better measures including consistent training, incident responses, security, and risk assessments of patients and family.

WorkSafe's ad campaign, costing $2.5 million, comes after a string of changes within the organisation.

Premier Daniel Andrews sacked WorkSafe's former chief executive, Denise Cosgrove, and chairman David Krasnostein soon after winning government, saying he had "lost confidence" in the pair over their handling of water contamination at the CFA's Fiskville training base.

A decision was also made last year to restore the watchdog's globally recognised brand name, WorkSafe, which had been changed to WorkCover under the former Coalition government. And press releases publicising prosecutions of employers for safety violations also resumed, after these public notifications vanished.

Sources told Fairfax Media that there previously had been a "noticeable" push to make the organisation less hostile to employers.

Ms Amies said the heat was now being put back on business, warning workplaces to be aware that "our inspectors are out there".

"We make no apology for delivering this blunt message to employers that they must do everything they can to protect the health and safety of their employees," Ms Amies said.

"It's not to say employers don't take this seriously... but we have had four [workplace deaths] already this year. Sometimes, we have to be a bit harsher."   

Finance Minister Robin Scott said the WorkSafe advertisements – to run on television, radio, online, in print and outdoors – showed an employer dealing with the consequences of a workplace accident, telling the victim's family, supporting traumatised colleagues, and dealing with an investigation that could lead to criminal charges being laid.

"While the rate of injuries in Victorian workplaces continues to decline, the simple fact is that it is never acceptable for anyone to be killed or injured at work," he said.

miketrees wrote on Feb 21^st, 2016 at 7:34am:




the consequences are never severe enough in some cases.

however I disagree its always the employers fault...

mike come to Canberra and just watch hoiw people use a pedestrian crossing.......almost to a one no one looks each way...the older they are the more they expect you to notice them.. its only a small thing.but at the end of the day...

we should always be taught to look after ourselves... dont expect someone else to do it for you..

I am amazed to think people now NEED PICTURES TO TELL THE STORY?....bloody amazing.

cods wrote on Feb 21^st, 2016 at 7:51am:


Yep, very true. Case in point - a bus driver recently died in Sydney after being crushed between his bus and another when he passed between them. He apparently either forgot or didn't bother to engage his brake, allowing the bus to roll backwards and crush him to death. That isn't the employer's fault in the least.

Its time wrote on Feb 21^st, 2016 at 8:52am:



the  unions will probably organise a strike until they do.

Bobby. wrote on Feb 21^st, 2016 at 8:59am:




thats the way they want it bobs.... its called RED TAPE..or obstruction...you need a degree to scratch your bum these days.

cods wrote on Feb 21^st, 2016 at 9:05am:



Only it takes about 2 days of paperwork & time to have a drill installed &
about 3 weeks before everyone has signed & approved the documents.

Its time wrote on Feb 21^st, 2016 at 9:24am:



Because basically if the operator is a fool then
no amount of regulations will prevent an injury.

Its time wrote on Feb 21^st, 2016 at 8:52am:


There is. It's the door interlock. When the door is open, it engages the brakes, stopping the bus from moving. This driver must have only put his bus in neutral, opened the door and got up from his seat before the interlock could fully engage and unfortunately the bus has rolled as a result. I drive buses part-time while I am studying at uni and on one occasion the bus door malfunctioned and opened while the bus was in motion doing 60km/h, bringing the bus to a screeching halt. Luckily I had no passengers onboard and no traffic around at the time. I closed the door once stopped and drove off again, only for the same thing to happen again after a few hundred metres. I managed to pull off to the side this time (last time I stopped in the middle of the lane on a two-way road) and called the depot for a tow because this problem couldn't be fixed on the side of the road.