Published: 07 August 2017
In a week-long blitz, around 100 inspections will be carried out on farms and other businesses in the area to drive home the importance of workplace safety, and provide practical and constructive advice about how to comply with Victoria’s OHS laws.
The inspections will take place from 18-22 September.
The inspections will be particularly significant as more than 50 per cent of workplace fatalities in Victoria so far this year have been on farms. Of the 15 workplace deaths so far in Victoria this year, eight have been on farms.
To help local employers prepare for the visits, WorkSafe will hold an information session at the Robinvale Golf Club on Wednesday, 23 August from noon-1pm. Employers will be able to speak one-on-one with inspectors about the steps they can take to prepare for the visits.
WorkSafe Regional Operations Manager, Trevor Butler, said farming was a key sector in the region which prompted the targeted safety campaign.
“We know that farming is a prominent industry in Robinvale, but it comes with inherent risks to the health and safety of workers,” he said. “Tractors and their attachments, quad bikes, confined spaces and chemicals all pose a danger and its’s critical that employers are addressing the risk to prevent a serious injury or worse.”
Mr Butler encouraged businesses to take advantage of the information session to speak to WorkSafe inspectors to ensure they fully understood their obligations.
“Our message to employers is that prevention is key – one life lost or changed forever due to serious injury is one too many,” Mr Butler said. “It is vital employers do everything they can to prevent a serious injury or fatality in their workplace.”
The Robinvale event is part of WorkSafe’s ongoing Safe Towns program, in which teams of inspectors visit key towns for a week to drive home the need for workplace safety. The next Safe Towns event will be in Cobram from 20-24 November.