SafeWork Australia reports that as at August 29, there have been 101 Australian workers killed at work in 2019. In 2018, the preliminary data show there were 149 Australian workers killed at work, compared with 190 workers in 2017. Although these numbers have reduced, does more need to be done?
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On August 21, Mohamad Riche, 38, died after falling several storeys from a building site in Western Sydney. Unfortunately, since then there have been a number of deaths including three workplace accidents within three hours in Sydney, with one fatality. Another 30-year-old man died last week after his head became trapped in a machine.
Unsafe work conditions and behaviour generates risks in the workplace. Workplace accidents create trauma that extends beyond the workplace and impact on the lives of many. Obviously, those affected would be family and friends; the witnesses to the accident and others in the vicinity. However, we often hear of the impact on the first responders, such as firefighters, police and ambulance officers who are particularly vulnerable in developing PTSD.
Research shows:
- Witnessing a traumatic event or being part of a traumatic event can cause PTSD
- Trauma can affect anyone, no matter what kind of position or occupation they hold
- The symptoms may not be noticeable right away
- Many individuals with PTSD have other conditions, like substance abuse, anxiety and/or depression
Workplace Health and Safety laws place an obligation on workers not to cause harm to themselves or others.
Serious illness, injury, or death at workplaces have cascading psychological, social, and economic effects. Every year, numerous families and friends of these workers become survivors of traumatic work-related death. The trauma could have serious consequences, which would include prolonged grief and unresolved loss, physical health problems, family disruption and behavioural effects on children, imminent financial hardships and disruption of longer-term plans such as: purchasing their homes or retirement funds.
At the NSW Regional Safety Conference, held in July in Newcastle, one of the speakers was Patrizia Cassaniti, who lost her 18-year-old son Christopher in a workplace accident in April 2019.
Patrizia is on a mission to establish a foundation to provide families of workers killed on worksite with financial support for the first three months after the accident. The "Touched by Christopher" Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to help immediate families who lose a loved one at a construction site.
Patrizia and Robert Cassaniti are self-employed and had clearly experienced the financial hardships when grieving and unable to work. Having no financial income at such a crucial time can create further stress and anxiety, when experiencing the most traumatic event and grieving a loss.
Why are there no immediate provisions available for victims in these circumstances?
