Safety alarm after tragic rise in deaths at Victorian workplaces

WORKPLACE fatalities in Victoria are set to soar to the highest figure in more than a decade with 24 workers ­already losing their lives in 2016.

A construction worker is overcome with grief at the site of an accident in South Wharf, where a worker was killed. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

WORKPLACE fatalities in Victoria are set to soar to the highest figure in more than a decade with 24 workers ­already losing their lives in 2016.

It comes as another Melbourne family is in mourning this week after a 54-year-old boilermaker, Ivica Andrijasevic, was crushed by a boom lift working on a major city development on Wednesday.

With November and December typically the deadliest months, WorkSafe Victoria will launch an advertising blitz of radio, print and online next week.

‘He was my best friend, my teammate’

Not a chance to say goodbye

Don’t let death be a part of your Christmas

Worker death on South Wharf construction site

The devastating number comes as the workplace watchdog will also undergo a recruiting drive for more ­inspectors.

Of the 24 workers who have lost their lives so far this year, seven have been in construction and another seven have been on farms.

This compares with 19 ­fatalities for all of 2015.

WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Marnie Williams.

With 25 per cent of all workplace deaths normally occurring in November and December, this year would rise to more than 30 on ­current trends.

Marnie Williams, executive director of health and safety at WorkSafe Victoria, said the state needed to stop 2016 from being one of the worst years on record.

“I want to keep it at 24 if I can, and 24 is already way too many,” Ms Williams said.

“Now 24 families will spend this Christmas grieving for a loved one.

“No one deserves to go through the pain that these families are suffering.”

Victorian Finance Minister Robin Scott. Picture: Steve Tanner

Victorian Finance Minister Robin Scott called on businesses to develop a plan to deal with any increased workload in the lead-up to Christmas.

CFMEU state secretary John Setka said more support should be offered to those injured on work sites as well as the families of deceased workers.

“These workers are forced to spend months chasing their entitlements while in extreme physical and psychological hardship,” he said.

“In the case of fatalities, the trauma of chasing entitlements is transferred to their loved ones.

“This system is broken and it’s the victims and families who continue to suffer.”

Worksafe investigators at the scene where a man died when a fence fell on him in Culbin Ave, Belmont, in May this year. Picture: Alison Wynd

Master Builders of Victoria chief executive Radley de Silva said he welcomed more advertising, but companies needed to create “a positive message about safety”.

With agriculture also claiming so many lives in Victoria, the National Farmers Federation is calling for a safety system rating for quad bikes and “side-by-side” vehicles, which would operate like the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) for motor vehicles.

Farm vehicles would be rated from one to five, according to the quality of their safety features.

Workplace relations general manager at the National Farmers Federation, Sarah McKinnon, said: “About 70 per cent of all quad bike deaths involve a rollover. If we can address the rollover issue, including with bars and protection, that will go a long way to addressing fatalities in the agricultural sector.”

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