Issue No 40 | 19 November 1999 | |
NewsTragic Death Leads to Lift in Contractor Safety StandardsBy Mary Yaager
- Labor Council safety watchdog An outcry over the death of a young worker in mid-1997 has led to tougher requirements for contractors working on Road and Traffic Construction projects.
When Mark Poi fell 50 meters to his death, his employer, a contractor did not have even the basic systems in place and unions believe Mark would be alive today if more attention was paid to safety on the site. The RTA however, still continued to give work to these contractors without making sure that they had adequate safety procedures in place and therefore this led to more deaths and serious injuries. The unions said to the Government enough is enough and demanded action which resulted in the Inquiry. The Inquiry made 43 recommendations and the majority of these were made by the unions. The RTA has agreed to implement all of these recommendations and this week launched their Contractor safety pack. Contractors will now be required to meet the health and safety standards outlined by the RTA in the Contractors Health & Safety Pack. Mary Yaager Labor Councils Watchdog who was on a member of the Ministerial Inquiry welcomes this move by the RTA in tightening up OHS assessments at the prequalification and tender stages however says there is still a long way to go. Yaags says that she can promise that the construction industry unions will give all the support they can to the implementation of contractor pack. After all we would not have it if it was not for the unions.
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