Elected workplace health and safety representatives key to workplace safety: Minister

29/10/04
Recognising, valuing and supporting the role played by elected workplace health and safety representatives is the key to improving workplace safety in the mining industry, according to State Development Minister Clive Brown.
Mr Brown made these comments today while addressing delegates at the 2004 Australian Mine Safety Conference.
The Minister said elected occupational and safety representatives played an essential role in the prevention of workplace injuries.
"The mining industry is important to the State's economy, but nothing is more important than ensuring that workers return home safely at the end of their working day," he said.
"While the WA resources sector has improved its health and safety performance, there remains a need to constantly focus on ways of ensuring workplaces are free from serious accidents and fatalities.
"The focus of today's approach to accident prevention revolves around effective workplace arrangements where company representatives and elected employee representatives work co-operatively to identify and eliminate hazards, develop safe working procedures and ensure everyone at the workplace has the skills and training to work safely.
"The focus as we move forward must be to strengthen this co-operative approach and improve workplace safety in the mining industry."
Mr Brown said he occasionally received complaints from elected employee safety representatives indicating they were not given the opportunity to participate in all workplace safety matters. He said this was not within the spirit or intent of the Mines Safety And Inspection Act (MSIA).
"Unfortunately, some people have interpreted the MSIA as providing a deregulatory approach to workplace safety - this is not the case," he said.
"The Act contemplates a different type of approach to workplace safety - one that revolves around appropriate safety arrangements being determined at the workplace, with the input of elected workplace health and safety representatives, rather than by external Government inspectors enforcing a myriad of detailed Government regulations.
"This modern approach cannot work effectively in the absence of proper workplace consultative arrangements and the onus is on all parties to make these arrangements work."
The Minister said it was essential that elected workplace representatives were:

• encouraged to become involved in the identification and elimination of workplace hazards;

• actively involved the development of safe working procedure and processes;

• provided with accurate and timely information on company occupational health and safety policies;

• given the opportunity to verify safety procedures and processes were being implemented; and

• involved in the implementation of proper occupational health and safety training, including induction training.

Mr Brown said he recognised the Government needed to do more to recognise the role of elected workplace representatives, including ensuring that Government inspectors contacted such representatives during workplace visits.
Minister's office: 9222 9699