The Victorian government is now requiring random testing for drug and alcohol use on people working on all Victorian Government construction projects, according to a press release posted on the Premier of Victoria website.
Drinking alcohol is admittedly an important part of Australian culture. Alcohol-related illnesses, however, kill 15 Australians daily, according to a study jointly commissioned by Victoria Health, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education. Unless we make a serious change in our attitude towards alcohol, that figure is bound to increase in the years to come.
Here is a welcome news to all contractors, service operators, and engineers in the HVAC & R (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and refrigeration) industry: Pro-Visual Publishing has released the latest edition of the annual HVAC & R Industry Guide to Workplace Safety. (more…)
A new study reveals that up to 15 Australians die each day due to alcohol-related illnesses, according to a report by Simon Santow for ABC News.
Western Australia police is now stepping up its campaign against people who drive under the influence of illicit drugs by rolling out a state-of-the-art drug test for drivers that can get results in just five minutes.
Safe Work Australia has released data that says workplace deaths in the country has hit an 11-year low.
Much is being said about drug testing in the workplace. Those who are against it mainly raise the issue of privacy, and they are, more often than not, backed by local and state laws. The benefits of drug testing in the workplace, however, are too clear to be ignored. This is not just some empty claim. It’s backed by a US poll considered to be the one of the most comprehensive and current surveys on the subject of drug testing in the workplace.
Called Drug Testing Efficacy 2011, the poll, which was conducted by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA), had employers as respondents, all of whom have a workforce of around 500 to 2,500 employees. The results of the survey indicate that their organisations—mostly publicly owned and for-profit—have benefited significantly from drug testing in the workplace. Here are some of the poll’s findings.
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Over the years, smoking has always been tagged as the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Australia. Despite the fact that tobacco smoking leads to a myriad of health problems, such as heart disease and cancer, many Australians continue to light up like there’s no tomorrow. Unfortunately, there indeed is no tomorrow for approximately 15,500 Australians every year who die of smoking-related diseases.
While tobacco is a legal drug that can be bought just about everywhere, employers have every right to aim for a tobacco-free workplace. After all, smoking employees can cost their business more because of absenteeism, health care benefits, and lost productivity — all because of its adverse effects on their health. Here are some of the things employers can do to promote a tobacco-free workplace.
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