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| Issue No 80 |  |
01 December 2000 |
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NewsWorkCover Needs First Aid HelpBy HT Lee
As angry building workers descended on the WorkCover office in Kent Street, chanting 'hands of first aid' and handed out leaflets, the bewildered officials and staff of WorkCover carried on business as usual.
Just down the road two blocks away a jack hammer had accidentally slipped and went through a workers foot--luckily for him there was a first aider on site who was able to administer immediate first aid and call in the ambulance. The building workers were concerned changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2001 would diminish rather than improve the standard of OHS and first aid standard and facilities especially in the construction industry. CFMEU State Secretary Andrew Ferguson addressing the rally said: 'We will not cop any watering down of the first aid minimum standard in the most dangerous industry in the country.' This second draft of the OHS Regulations 2001 was supposed to have addressed the concerns raised by the CFMEU to the first aid section in the first draft released in October 1999. However, with their banks of expertise working through the submissions to the first draft, WorkCover has failed to come up with the goods--the second draft still needs clarification and improvement. In the latest submission to WorkCover the CFMEU pointed out it is possible and probable that under the new draft code, WorkCover could place employers and employees at risk if appropriate changes to the new regulations are not made. An area of contention is the definition of 'trained first aid personnel.' In this latest draft trained first aid personnel besides being a registered nurse or a medical practitioner is a person with a 'current first aid certificate' approved by WorkCover. The CFMEU wants a person with a current 'occupational' first certificate--a higher level of first aid training added to the definition. It has been the policy of the union for sometime now to have as many workers as possible trained in basic first aid and for the first aid officer on site to have at least a current occupational first aid certificate. The CFMEU submission also includes: � trained first aid personnel to be responsible for controlling and maintaining the first aid facilities; � when determining the nature of first aid facilities, employers must take into consideration the location of the place of work, the number of employees at a particular location and the type of work being undertaken � when assessing risks employers must evaluate the likelihood of an injury or illness occurring and the severity of any injury or illness that might occur � first aid facilities must include a first aid kit or a firs aid room that reflects the outcome of the risk assessment � first aid room to be used exclusively for firs aid or the provision of medical services � the documentation of injuries and illness in the workplace A delegation from the rally delivered the submission to WorkCover. After the meeting two WorkCover representatives--Kate McKenzie and Michelle Patterson came down and address the rally. Mckenzie accepts the legitimate concerns of the union and said WorkCover had no intention of lower the first aid provision. Patterson agreed and said there was some misunderstanding and WorkCover will be looking into the points raised. It has taken WorkCover more than a year and a rally to realise both drafts to the OHS Regulation and might end up in having the reverse intention.
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   Interview: Chewing the Fat with DellaIn a rare extended interview, NSW 's new industrial relations minister State John Della Bosca outlines his vision for the new workplace. Unions: Organising - There Is No ChoiceLHMU national secretary Jeff Lawrence responds to Brisbane Institutue director Peter Botsman's attack on organising. Corporate: The Riddles of Democracy at TelstraShareholder activist Stephen Mayne explains how the big guys ran roughshod when he and trade union activists attempted to stand for the Telstra board. Education: Training for ChangeLabor Council's Michael Gadiel outlines a traiing agenda for the 21st century. History: A Stack of HypocritsBallot rigging, sanctioned by the courts, sponsored by the government were a Liberal Party and Bob Menzies speciality - and they introduced legislation to legalise it. International: African Unions Go To War Against AIDS The war on AIDS is now the number one priority of the ICFTU's African Regional Organization (AFRO), which has launched an ambitious five-year action plan in nine of the most severely afflicted African nations. Satire: Teenage Hackers Behind Shock Cabinet Reshuffle Seasoned front-benchers and political greenhorns alike were joined in stunned surprise today, as a sudden Cabinet reshuffle radically altered the shape of the Federal Government. Review: Manufacturing DissentA new production explores Australian's approach to refugees and their experiences coming to a strange land.
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