New WorkSafe data reveals areas where people are getting injured on the job

A young man who had his thumb amputated and another who injured his back just months from finishing his apprenticeship are among the alarming number of Victorians seriously injured at work every week.

New Worksafe data has revealed thousands of Victorians were injured on the job last year.

More than 500 Victorians are injured on the job each week — and six people have died so far this year — new data has revealed.

There were 23 confirmed workplace deaths in 2018.

Figures obtained from WorkSafe Victoria show there were more than 27,000 injury claims filed across the state last year.

Being home to high concentrations of workplaces the City of Melbourne (2285 claims), Greater Dandenong (1488), Hume (1486), Monash (1147) and Wyndham (1083) were among those with the most injury claims in the metropolitan region.

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Manufacturing was the most perilous sector with more than 4080 claims made across the state in 2018.

A national steel supply and fabrication company was recently fined $30,000 after a worker lost his thumb due to a manufacturing incident in 2017.

The 28-year-old’s left thumb was caught between a fixed guard and a conveyor, and was later amputated.

OneSteel Reinforcing Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Dandenong Magistrates Court on February 7 to one charge of failing to, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain a safe working environment.

A WorkSafe investigation found a 10mm gap between the conveyor and a fixed metal guard posed a risk of entanglement or crush injury as a worker’s hand could enter the gap and be exposed to the conveyor.

More than 4000 injury claims were filed by manufacturing workers in 2018.

The Noble Park company was fined without conviction.

The court heard they had since complied with three improvement notices, such as adding two guards at the end of the conveyor and moving an emergency stop button to make it accessible to workers.

According to the 2018 WorkSafe injury claims data, other sectors with the most common claims were health care and social assistance (4069 claims) and construction (3766).

The most common injuries were musculoskeletal, followed by muscle and tendon injuries, mental disorders, wounds, lacerations and amputations.

WorkSafe regional operations manager Ian Matthews said musculoskeletal injuries were a leading cause of injury due to poor manual handling while lifting heavy loads, or slips trips and falls.

“These can also be debilitating and require a long recovery period before workers can return to work,” Mr Matthews said.

“It is important employers do everything they can do to protect workers from risks to their health and safety because every single injury is one too many.”

“I WANT APPRENTICES TO SPEAK UP OR THEY COULD LOSE EVERYTHING LIKE I DID”

Cem Oge was only two months away from finishing his apprenticeship when a workplace injury ended his plumbing career.

‘It was my dream job. It was taken away from me and turned everything upside down,” Mr Oge, from Strathmore, said.

“I felt robbed.”

Cem Oge had to give up his dream job when he was injured. Picture: George Salpigtidis

He had been spending up to 16 hours a week bending at the waist to use an angle grinder to cut holes in flooring material.

The strenuous, repetitive work resulted in a ruptured disc requiring surgery, ongoing nerve condition sciatica and no qualifications, despite having almost finished his training.

He was forced to find a new career path with his options narrowed by his doctor’s restrictions against manual labour, sitting or standing for too long or heavy lifting.

Mr Oge hoped his story would give apprentices the confidence to speak up if they felt unsafe.

“Apprentices feel like they are told what they have to do and then do it,” he said.

“They are afraid to speak up because they don’t want to lose their job.

“I want apprentices to have the confidence to speak up or they could lose everything like I did.”

His lawyer, Maurice Blackburn associate Andrew Johnston, said the injury was preventable.

“As a workplace injury lawyer, sadly, I often see workers directed to undertake unsafe work like this,” Mr Johnston said.

“It can be even harder for young people to speak up about safety, so they are often the most vulnerable to workplace injuries and accidents.”

Mr Johnston said employers should regularly complete risk assessments for potential hazards, provide standardised safety equipment and training for workers and ensure equipment is in good working order.

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