Manufacturing: high rates of insurance claims and focus of national WHS strategy
The manufacturing industry reportedly holds second spot in the number of serious workers compensation claims of any industry in Australia, according to recent data from Safe Work Australia, and will be a main focus of The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022.
Statistics show some manufacturing subsectors have rates more than twice as high as the national rate with fabricated metal product manufacturing a particularly high offender recording 54.3 claims per 1000 employees - more than four times the Australian average.
Michelle Baxter, CEO of Safe Work Australia, said while huge gains have been made in the last 30 years in comparison to current rates of worker incidents and claims, more effort is needed.
“The number of work-related traumatic fatalities each year has more than halved and the number of serious claims has also decreased dramatically, but there is more we can and should do if we want to reduce the huge personal, social and economic costs of work-related injury, disease and death,” she said.
Baxter will be discussing strategies and the role of Safe Work Australia in the development of national policy to improve work health and safety at the Safety First Conference’s opening keynote address next month in Melbourne.
The construction and manufacturing industries will also be a specific focus of the Australian Strategy Virtual Seminar Series (VSS) during National Safety Month in October.
“We realised that to provide relevant information to businesses and community leaders we needed to move at their pace and with innovative approaches,” Baxter said.
The VSS will provide live webinars, case studies and opinion pieces by credible voices, which can be streamed live to desktops and mobile devices.
“It is a very important time for Safe Work Australia as we see our strategy achieving measurable improvements in work health and safety and new approaches being successfully implemented.
“I look forward to sharing more about some of the big issues and how we are tackling them at the Safety First Conference.”
The Safety First Conference & Expo - co-located with National Manufacturing Week and Austech - will be held 26-29 May at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and is free for safety professionals across all industry sectors.
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