01:09 pm, Tuesday 20 July, 2010

Work at 27 wharves has resumed on Wednesday after workers staged 24-hour stop work action the day before.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) has called a 24-hour walk-off at wharves across the country after the death of a wharf worker on July 13.

The 41-year-old Merlbourne man was killed during pick-up and delivery operations at a dock in West Melbourne.

According to authorities, the worker was crushed to death by a 2.7-tonne steel beam as it was being lifted by a crane.

The walk-off was brought about by concern on worker safety as the July 13 incident was the third dock worker fatality in five months.

MUA said the shutdown also aimed to underscore the need for improved government regulation and enforcement and worker training.

MUA’s Paddy Crumlin said conditions need to change.

“We need to start getting some commitments off people that they’re going to fix this,” he said.

“That we’re going to have a single safety standard in this country, we’re going to have a single point of enforcement. That there is going to be training, that there’s not going to be casualisation and short cuts on labour at the expense of people’s lives.”

A spokesman for the West Melbourne dock operator said the company was investigating the cause of the incident and that counseling is being offered to its workers.

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06:34 pm, Tuesday 16 March, 2010

WorkSafe has launched an inspection program addressing the OHS standards of bridge and gantry crane use.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said the program, which kicked off last week, aims to bring the safety risks to light and to ensure that employers has the necessary knowledge to comply with the laws.

“This inspection program is part of an ongoing program of proactive inspections aimed at providing employers with information on how to make workplaces safer,” Ms Lyhne said.

“There are literally thousands of these types of cranes in use across the State – in fact, most factories, warehouses and workshops have at least one of these cranes.

“WorkSafe inspectors have encountered many mechanical failures with these cranes over the years, and felt that this warranted a program to check as many of them as possible.”

Inspectors have been armed with a checklist to ensure consistency in the inspections, which cover cranes of all lifting capacities in metropolitan and regional areas.

WorkSafe inspectors have also been tasked to check the maintenance records of the worksites.

“Under WA’s occupational safety and health laws, employers have a responsibility to properly maintain items of plant in the workplace,” Ms Lyhne said.

“Our inspectors have noticed that there are many ageing overhead travelling cranes in WA workplaces and want to make sure that they are being properly maintained so they do not fail and cause an injury.

“Employers also have an obligation to ensure these cranes are being maintained, inspected and operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, but in some cases the manufacturer is no longer in existence and Australian standards then must be followed.

“Like all WorkSafe’s proactive inspection programs, this one aims to raise awareness and provide employers with information, but inspectors will take enforcement action if necessary.

“We firmly believe that raising awareness with proactive campaigns is the best way in which to lessen the risk of work-related injury and illness.”

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