The Missing in Action report published by the Australian Council of Trade Unions has uncovered a massive 32% jump in workplace deaths and an 8% increase in injuries since 2018.
The report points directly to the lack of action by the Morrison Government which has not implemented any of the legislative recommendations from the 2018 review of Australia’s WHS laws. The report also details the following points:
- Insecure work has had a large impact into the rise of worker fatalities and injuries.
- Casual workers under 55 years old are facing the highest occurrence of work-related injuries.
This comes on International Workers Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for all workers who have died or were injured carrying out their role at work.
To strengthen the WHS around workplaces the union movement is highlighting stronger protections for workers.
- Introduce Manslaughter laws in the model WHS laws.
- Implement in full the recommendations from the 2018 review including psychological and sexual harassment in the workplace.
- A full ban of silica content engineered stone.
We hope on this day we can work together to bring an end to work related deaths
