On October 30, A-Plus Contracting and Poly Welding are sponsoring a Safe Work Month Seminar in Singleton, and they are inviting you to be a part of the conversation.
The seminar features a lineup of speakers equipped to tackle some of the hard conversations around safety, including industrial manslaughter, psychosocial hazards and managing complacency.
Kathy Clarkson from Key Consultation Solutions is the seminar emcee and will be sharing her expertise from many years working in the HSEQ space across heavy industries.
“One of things I will be speaking about is the introduction of new industrial manslaughter legislation and what it means for both PCBU’s and for workers.
“NSW was the last mainland state to make industrial manslaughter an offence and our keynote speaker Patrizia Cassaniti has been a driving force behind the changes in the legislation.
“Patrizia’s story is heartbreaking. After her son Chris was killed at work Patrizia became an advocate for safety, gaining her Certificate IV in WHS and campaigning to change NSW’s industrial manslaughter laws.
“She launched the Touched by Christopher Foundation which provides families who have lost a loved one at work with financial assistance and support and was also instrumental in the development of the SafeWork NSW app, Speak Up, Save Lives, which allows anyone to report incidents anonymously.
“Patrizia’s story is hard hitting, but with so many people losing their lives in the workplace every year, it is a story that everyone needs to hear.”
Director of Thrive Wellbeing Services Megan Brewster rounds up the speakers, bringing over 20 years’ experience in health, safety and wellbeing.
“Megan will be talking about the new legislation on psychosocial hazards and how to manage them. It’s taken a long time for mental health to be recognised as an integral part of a worker’s safety as it was always seen as an HR issue, but we finally worked out that people aren’t robots and that it is a hazard just like anything else we need to manage.
“It can be quite daunting as people can struggle to talk about emotions, but Megan really breaks it down and has practical solutions and advice on how businesses can manage it.”
A-Plus Contracting & Poly Welding Director Andrew Hughes said the seminar will be beneficial to everyone, regardless of their role or where they work.
“Safety is everyone’s business. It doesn’t matter what industry you work in, there’s always risks and accidents can happen anywhere. Whether you are a worker or a boss, we all have a part to play,” said Andrew.
“I’ve always looked at it simply, I would never ask anyone who works for me to do something that I wouldn’t ask my own kids to do. But people are often complacent and put themselves in positions where what they are doing is not safe.
“If even one person walks away more cautious or we’ve given them the courage to speak up about something that’s not safe, then it’s worth it.”
| The seminar will be held at Singelton Civic Centre on Friday, October 30 from 7am to 10am. Tickets for the seminar cost $60 per person, however the event is entirely not-for-profit, with all proceeds donated to The Touched by Christopher Foundation. For tickets go to: https://letstalkaboutsafety.com.au/product/safe-work-month-seminar/ |
