AWU Log Onto Rural Safety

Hundreds of farm workers die or are injured on the job each year but through the work of its regional organisers and a new log of claims, the Australian Workers Union is striving to turn the situation around.

Workers in the agricultural industry have the second highest fatality rate of all workers in Australia, with two workers dying on farms each week, according to research by the National Health and Safety Commission.

Poorly designed machinery, insufficient operating knowledge and a general lack of precautions and safeguards being established by employers cause many of these deaths.

The Australian Workers Union says the drought has also contributed to a raise in incidences because of the "radical changes in work practices" it has necessitated.

One of these changes includes the increased use of four-wheel bikes, known as grain Augers.

According to AWU state secretary Russ Collison it is the "constant usage of Grain Augers and other equipment, which is rarely used in times of adequate rain, by inexperienced workers are causing injuries across the state and in the case of a 19 year old farmhand in Warren last year, injuries resulting in death".

"Life for rural workers is always a struggle and the worst drought in 20 years has made it a whole lot tougher for the people The Australian Workers' Union represents," Mr Collison says.

The AWU is calling for WorkCover to work with trade unions in the bush to identify problem areas for rural workers and develop programs to avoid workplace deaths and injuries.

The union's log of claims is focusing on increasing employer and employee compliance with OHS legislation and on the government's role in reducing incidences and in ensuring workers are taken care of if incidences do occur.

Farming is not the only rural industry needing urgent attention. One of the priority areas for government attention is the mining industry, Mr Collison says, and all industries in which dust poses a potential problem.

"The government needs to make a public commitment to retaining the current system of compensation for workers who fall victim to dust diseases in the workplace," mr Collison says.

"Persistent rumors that the system may be incorporated into the general workers' Compensation system need to be quashed," he says.

To deal with OHS and other rural issues the AWU says the State Government, as a matter of priority, should convene a summit of key stakeholders in rural and regional NSW.

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Last modified: Tuesday, 15-Nov-2005 20:37:35 EST