WORKSAFE Victoria has conducted a study which suggests one in three Victorian employers is not serious about safety.
The researchers categorised 1,160 Victorian supervisors into six groups according to their attitudes about safety. They were either, carers and protectors, by the book, structure seekers, disgruntled, disconnected and paper cutters.
WorkSafe Victoria's Jill McCabe, says the study found 33 per cent of supervisors were categorised as "disconnected" (14%) or "disgruntled" (19%).
The "disconnected supervisor" personally cares about health and safety, while their senior management didn't, she said. Disconnected supervisors found it very difficult to raise issues and get them dealt with in the workplace.
On the other hand, disgruntled supervisors have the attitude that if senior management doesn't care about safety, then they shouldn't either, she said.
OHS expert Gavin Merriman claims supervisors are in the unenviable position of balancing safety against production.
Jill McCabe will be presenting the research results at the Safety in Action Conference in Melbourne in March 2009.
Add a comment