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PASSPORT
TO SAFETY PROTECTING YOUNG WORKERS ON THE JOB
9 November 2006
A pilot program to protect young workers from death and injury on the job has had outstanding success, with participants reporting more than 20% improvement in identifying hazards, avoiding injury, and understanding emergency procedures.
The Passport to Safety project is a school based training program which aims to "wise up" young people to workplace dangers BEFORE they enter the workforce.
After completing a comprehensive course, young people receive a "passport" which signifies to potential employers their knowledge of safe working practices.
SA Unions Secretary, Janet Giles says it works on the adage that prevention is better than cure.
"WorkCover data shows that more than 70% of injuries occur within the first year of employment. That shocking figure tells us that inexperience and lack of awareness of potential hazards is a big factor in deaths and injuries."
"This is a huge problem. In 2004/05, workers aged between 15 and 24 lodged in excess of 2500 compensation claims - and it is anyone's guess how many others were injured but didn't pursue the matter."
"Unless we give young people survival skills, it's like sending lambs to the slaughter."
"At the launch of the Passport to Safety results this afternoon, Alice Solomon-Bridge will give a first hand account of the horrors of workplace injury. While working in a food outlet Alice was severely burned by hot oil, receiving serious leg injuries requiring months of painful rehabilitation and a lifetime of scarring."
"We will also hear from Andrea Madeley about the devastation of losing her son who was dragged into machinery in a joinery workshop and later died from his horrific injuries."
"These are not isolated incidents. Just last month Industrial Court Deputy President Leischke presented damning findings in the case of a young girl who, on the first day of her employment, was ordered to clear offal from under a moving conveyor belt and received injuries that could see her permanently lose 25% function in her arm."
"While tough penalties are needed in instances of breaches, even more important is better safety knowledge to prevent injuries and deaths from occurring - and that's what Passport to Safety helps deliver", Ms Giles says.
The Passport to Safety pilot project results will be launched today.
The launch will feature
the Hon Paul Caica, Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education the Executive Director of SafeWork SA, Michele Patterson Andrea Madeley, mother of Danial Madeley killed in June 2004 Alice Solomon-Bridge, injured young worker SA Unions Secretary, Janet Giles, Passport to Safety Working Group Convenor
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