The ACTU welcomes the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors’ (ACSI) report into workplace health and safety standards and disclosure across the ASX200.
The report shows that one-third companies do not publicly disclose any of their workplace health and safety information and recommends a pathway to changing that.
This at a time when every year nearly 200 workers are killed in Australian workplace and a further 5,000 die from diseases caused by their work. More than 100,000 workers will be seriously injured at work and 1 in 5 workers will take time off because of poor mental health.
The report also emphasises the importance of unions in improving health and safety outcomes for workers.
The ACTU agrees with the recommendations that companies should be required to publicly disclose deaths in their workplaces and put in place measures to prevent them happening again.
This report represents the importance of industry super funds to workers, both while they’re at work and when they retire.
Quotes attributable to ACTU Assistant Secretary Liam O’Brien:
“This report highlights the fact that many companies which are paying their executives massive bonusses this year are failing to meet even basic safety requirements.
“Health and safety of workers should be the first priority of any employers, regardless of sector. The lack of attention being paid to this by the biggest companies in Australia is completely unacceptable.
“We thank ACSI for drawing attention to the critical role unions play in ensuring that workplaces are safe and that all working people get to go home to their families.
“We have four people dying at work in Australia every week, and the fact that businesses can get away with not disclosing that a death has occurred on their watch is appalling. This needs to change.
“We fully support the report and its findings and call on these companies to embrace them.”
