Safety Matters - Rail, Tram and Bus Union of NSW

Importance of Workplace Health and Safety
All employees have a right to work in a healthy and safe workplace.
All employers have a responsibility to provide a safe and healthy work
environment.
SECTION ONE
Safety Matters A Guide for Workplace OHS Representatives
Work-related injuries and disease carry a high cost. The National
Occupational Health and Safety Commission estimated the total
cost of work-related injury and disease in Australia to be at least
$15 billion per year, and perhaps as high as $37 billion. In terms of the human
cost, at least 500 Australians are killed at work every year, with up to 4000
dying from work-related diseases such as cancer. As many as 30,000 workers
are injured every year.
Occupational health and safety legislation has been put in place to prevent the
occurrence of injury and disease on such a large scale. Every state and territory
in Australia has occupational health and safety legislation. There are also codes
of practice which provide advice on how to implement the regulations and
control hazards. Although the states and territories have different occupational
health and safety legislation, the laws reflect the same basic approach to this
issue.
Like most legislation, OH&S law can be complicated and difficult to read. The
most important point for OHS Representative to understand is that legislation
establishes the requirement that all employers ensure that the workplace is
a healthy and safe environment, and that no employee can be asked to do
something that is dangerous or unsafe. If an employee is asked to do something
that is dangerous or unsafe they are entitled to refuse.
Recently there have been significant changes in the OHS laws in New South
Wales with the introduction of the NSW OHS Act 2000, and NSW OHS
Regulation, 2001. The main OHS duties and responsibilities of employers and
employees are summarised below.
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Workplace Health and Safety
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RAIL
TRAM AND BUS
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