Transport Workers Union, Australian Services Union call for improvement after workplace deaths in 2022

It was another deadly year at worksites across the state with unions demanding improved safety and a stronger focus on mental health.

Unions are calling for better safety and a stronger focus on mental health with 56 workplace deaths recorded this year as of December 21.

While WorkSafe Victoria’s statistics reflect a better year at the workplace — there were 66 workplace fatalities in 2021 — there were still plenty of horrific accidents that claimed lives across the state, as well as hundreds of injuries.

In 2020, 73 workers died on Victorian worksites, the same number as in the previous year.

In one of the most recent incidents, a 74-year-old Pirron Yallock man died after herding cattle on his quad bike on December 21 with WorkSafe still investigating.

In another incident, a 65-year-old Caulfield North woman was fatally injured at the HART motorcycle training facility in Somerton after she lost control of the motorcycle.

John Burley’s family was left mourning after the avid fisher and “most gentle and loving“ soul was fatally injured following a telehandler incident before Christmas.

John Burley, an avid fisherman, is being mourned by his family. He died while at work in Willaura, near Ararat on December 15, 2022.

A horror period occurred in July with three tradies injured in three days from serious falls on worksites.

That followed an incident in February, when a 69-year-old worker died after falling 5m from a Cheltenham construction site.

An apprentice electrician fell from a Coburg home’s roof which left him with a broken ankle, wrist, and eye socket while a plumber suffered more than a 2m fall the day after on July 27.

The plumber suffered serious head and back injuries.

It was followed by a construction worker falling 4m and sustaining a laceration to their head on July 28.

WorkSafe Victoria’s health and safety executive director Narelle Beer said at the time the “terrible sequence of incidents — three falls in three days — highlights the very real risks”.

“It is every employer’s duty to ensure measures are in place to control these risks, such as a passive fall prevention device and a fall arrest system,” she said.

Truck drivers had another deadly year, including an incident when a Campbellfield auto-electrician was crushed to death by a truck tailgate in November.

WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Dr Narelle Beer. Picture: Supplied

Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine said there had been more than 150 deaths in the trucking industry across the county.

“It’s been a string of tough years for drivers, who have carried our country through bushfires, floods and a pandemic under immense pressure,’’ he said.

“The impacts on drivers are hugely aggravated by companies at the top of the supply chain squeezing transport contracts to make more profit.

“These pressures become deadly when money is tight because transport operators and drivers are pressured to cut corners on safety, delay vital maintenance, and drive faster for longer just to make ends meet.

“All workers should get to come home safe. Minimum and sustainable standards in transport are critical if we are to stop the carnage on our roads.”

The union has welcomed Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke’s pledge to use the Fair Work Commission to implement minimum standards for transport workers.

The Australian Services Union believes mental health will be the next frontier of workplace safety.

WorkSafe Victoria received 29,477 claims in 2021 which was up from 27,431 in 2020 and 28,982 in 2019, and was the highest number since the 2011. Mental injury was cited in 4283 claims in 2021 which was an increase from the 3546 in 2020 and 4012 in 2019.

ASU assistant national secretary Emeline Gaske said: “Workplace mental health continue to be the fastest growing type of workplace injury and much more needs to be done to manage the risks and hazards at work that cause these issues.’’

“With the new laws in Victoria that introduce an industrial manslaughter offence for negligent conduct by an employer and tightens laws across the board, this should motivate boards and CEOs to better manage their workplace health and safety risks much more closely.

“(This includes) having proactive risk mitigation to manage mental health hazards in the workplace like overwork, customer abuse, isolated work, and other issues.”

Originally published as Transport Workers Union, Australian Services Union call for improvement after workplace deaths in 2022