Narelle Beer
LANDING your first job as a teenager is a big deal. For me, it was at a popular fast food outlet. (Chicken, anyone?)
I remember the butterflies in my stomach as I rocked up to my first shift. To be honest, I was mostly excited about the prospect of my first pay cheque. But I was also eager to make a good impression and just a little worried about whether I looked like a dork in the uniform. (I definitely did.)
Do you know what I didn’t think about at all? The possibility that I might be seriously hurt, or worse, at work.
Tragically, this was the outcome for more than 600 Victorian teens last year.
The 615 claims WorkSafe accepted from workers aged 15-19 resulted from injuries that happened across the state and in a range of industries, including in construction, hospitality, manufacturing, arts and recreation, and retail.
They were from teens injured while working casual or part-time jobs, as well as apprentices, and full-time workers.
All were young people taking the first steps in what should be long, purposeful and rewarding working lives.
Instead, many have ended up with debilitating and potentially life-changing injuries. The details of these injuries paint a gruesome picture. Lost fingers and thumbs, chemical and hot oil burns, crushed hands, broken bones, and mental injuries from bullying and sexual harassment.
Work should be rewarding and it should be safe.
I’m a big believer in the power of education and I’m convinced it can play a key part in making both of these things possible.
We know that young workers are particularly vulnerable. Their lack of knowledge, experience and awareness about occupational health and safety means young people are more likely to accept unsafe work conditions in the first place and less likely to raise safety concerns or to report issues when they do occur.
That’s why WorkSafe has launched a new program that aims to educate and empower secondary students to understand occupational health and safety basics and to speak up when something isn’t right.
Photo: Contributed
WorkSafe 101 for high schools is a free, interactive program to help prepare students in Years 9 to 12 to enter the workforce safely – and it’s now available to teachers in schools across Victoria.
The program introduces students to their OHS rights and responsibilities, common hazards to physical and psychological health, and teaches participants to speak up if something seems unsafe.
Already, more than 250 students have completed the course. So far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive – with post-course testing showing improved understanding of OHS rights and responsibilities.
The program is part of WorkSafe’s ongoing focus on young workers, which includes campaigns that talk directly to young people already in the workforce and that seek to educate employers about their obligations to young workers.
WorkSafe inspectors – who regularly visit workplaces around the state – are also reminding employers of their responsibility to protect all workers from risks to their health and safety, especially young workers who don’t have the experience and skills that their older colleagues do.
And when employers fail in their obligations to protect young workers, WorkSafe won’t hesitate to take action, with employers risking hefty fines.
In one example, a road tanker manufacturer was convicted and fined $600,000 last June, after a young apprentice died from asphyxiation while working inside a tanker in 2018. The apprentice had started work at the factory less than two weeks earlier.
This young worker is one of 18, aged 24 or younger, to have died as a result of workplace incidents since January 2018.
They all deserved better. As a parent of a young worker, these numbers are heart-breaking. Like every parent, I want my daughter to know her rights and to have the training, supervision and tools she needs to stay safe at work.
I can also think of another 615 reasons why we need to better arm young workers with the knowledge and power to put their safety first.
Many of us know a young person who is, or soon will be, beginning their working life.
We want the very best for them. And, if the young people I’m fortunate enough to know are any indication, we can be confident that they will bring impressive new skills, talents and ways of looking at the world into our workplaces.
Every generation reshapes the way we work – from changes in email tone and office attire, to how we collaborate, use offices and prioritise sustainability at work.
These changes can be profound and pervasive.
It’s my hope that by empowering young people to know and advocate for their OHS rights, we not only help them, but we prepare this generation of workers to put safety at the forefront of the next workplace transformation.
Narelle Beer is Executive Director of Health and Safety at WorkSafe
