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Unions must up the ante on safety says Professor

One of the authors of a five year research program into Australia's occupational health and safety inspectorates says greater union influence is essential to workplace safety.

The University of NSW's Professor Michael Quinlan spoke out today ahead of his April 2 address to the Safety In Action Conference in Melbourne about the findings of his study with Richard Johnstone.

"...unions haven't pursued safety as much as they should have and I don't see employers moaning about that particularly," Professor Quinlan said in a Safety Institute of Australia podcast.

"Having said that, I think we should be very careful to remember from history, that in fact it is unions that played a very significant part in campaigns which brought about health and safety legislation in the first place, workers' compensation legislation in the first place and the reforms of health and safety legislation,."

In response to remarks that unions might be abusing OHS-related powers to deal with an industrial relations agenda, the Professor said "... To read the rest of the article and hear top podcasts, go to:

http://www.siaconference.com.au/News/MediaReleases/

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Industry Spotlight

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SIA09 Safety Conference

The Safety Institute of Australia presents Australia's premier safety conference.

All are confirmed keynote speakers and will have you riveted as the offer their insight and experience in today's safety climate.

	Day One - Janet Holmes a Court Janet is perhaps Australia's most prominent businesswoman and a keen advocate for workplace safety who practices what she preaches.
	Day One - Geoff Knox Geoff is the CEO of Downer EDI Limited. He was unable to participate in the CEO day in SIA08 but was so keen to participate that he pledged to join us this year to discuss his experience with OHS at board level.
	Opening Breakfast - Barry Sherriff, FSIA (Hon). At the time of the conference Barry will have completed his appointment to the review panel on national Model OHS Law and will be able to discuss his experience of that process.
	Day Three - Professor Michael Quinlan, FSIA. Michael was recently involved in an inquiry into the Beaconsfield mine collapse but is a major OHS researcher, academic and author on a range of OHS matters, including casual worker risks, and fatigue in the long-distance transport industry.
	Day Two - John Merritt FSIA (Hon) As the CEO of WorkSafe Victoria and one of the major sponsors, John is a major influence on the operation and enforcement of OHS in Victoria