Occupational Health & Safety In Australia’s Mining Industry Research Paper

Executive Summary

Australia is currently facing the problem of the poor occupational health safety in the mining industry because of high risks of accidents, such as the emission of methane that may cause explosions in mines. At the moment, the government attempts to enhance occupational health safety through the introduction of new legal acts and standards, which match international safety standards. However, the close cooperation between all stakeholders is required, while the effective occupational health safety strategy is possible only on the condition of the effective risk management, monitoring and control and full stakeholder involvement.

Table of contents:

Introduction

Literature Review

Overview of OHS in the mining industry of Australia

Key stakeholders

Current legislative gaps and issues in the OHS in the mining industry of Australia

Results and Discussion

Results

Discussion

Conclusion and recommendations

References

Appendices

 

Introduction

In actuality, the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia faces a number of challenges, which raise the high risk and threat to the life and health of miners. For example, miners face a risk of the exposure to the emission of methane, which can trigger the explosion in the mine; they face the risk of injuries caused by falls; they can develop chronic diseases because of the specificity of their workplace environment; and many other issues. Therefore, the government along with unions and companies operating in the mining industry of Australia attempt to introduce standards and develop the national strategy for the enhancement of the occupational health safety in the mining industry. In this regard, the major concern of stakeholders is the enhancement of the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia through the creation safe conditions of work with respect to interests of employees and specificities of their workplace environment along with the effective risk management, close interaction between key stakeholders and permanent monitoring and control.

Literature Review

              Overview of OHS in the mining industry of Australia

At the moment, the mining industry of Australia faces the problem of high risks associated with the occupational health safety. In this regard, researchers (Keefe, 2010) believe methane being one of the major threats to the occupational health safety for employees working in the mining industry. At the same time, current recommendations on the management of methane of methane are clearly determined by the existing legislation, which requires the following:

  • A ventilation plan – it is the mine’s responsibility to specify details, and the plan is reviewed by regulators for adequacy
  • A gas management plan – again, it is the mine’s responsibility to specify details, and the plan is reviewed by regulators for adequacy.

Furthermore, the existing legislation specifies the following:

  • Various types of explosion risk zones
  • Maximum allowable methane concentration and type of equipment allowed in each zone
  • Requirements for machinery to have methane detectors on-board that will cut-off power to the machine, and
  • Use of flameproof and intrinsically safe equipment in explosion risk zones.

Current legislation refers to guidelines for:

  • Requirements for methane drainage pre-mining, during operation, and post-mining, and
  • Requirements for inertisation of panels during sealing (Lippel, 2010).

At first glance, the existing legislative regulations is strict but still it is essential. The introduction of less prescriptive regulations means that change can be introduced more quickly to account for shifting technological developments. However, there is sometimes criticism that, because the underpinning guidelines and codes of practice are not subject to Parliamentary scrutiny, change can occur with little consultation and review.

             Key stakeholders

Key stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of the effective occupational health safety program in the mining industry of Australia include employers, employees, government, and auditors, who can perform functions of monitoring and control over the occupational health safety in the mining industry. The interaction between key stakeholders is essential for the effective implementation of the occupational health safety strategy and its enhancement in the mining industry of Australia (Judge, 2009). Employers are interested in the occupational health safety because they can avoid the negative publicity and pressure from the part of unions and the state, in case of accidents. They can also save costs by securing their employees. Employees are particularly interested in the occupational health safety because it is their life and health that are at stake. The government is also an important stakeholder because the government should stand for interests of all citizens and the protection of their safety, health and life was always the primary concern of the government.

   Current legislative gaps and issues in the OHS in the mining industry of Australia

At the same time, Australia still faces some legislative gaps, which can deteriorate the quality of the occupational health safety in the mining industry. For example, there is a series of accepted international OHS standards, including: OHSAS 18001: 2007 – Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems – Requirements, and OHSAS 18002:2008 – Occupational Health and Safety, which though are not fully matched by the Australian legislation. In fact, the problem is not the Australian legislation itself but rather its integration and adaptation at the state level since the federal legislation sets the framework within which the state legislation develops but the state legislation can vary consistently between states. In such a situation, the introduction of common standards can help to enhance the occupational health safety and national standards are actively promoted by the federal government (McKee, 2011).

At the moment, Australian legislators attempt to close current gaps between international and national standards of the occupational health safety in the mining industry. The development of the modern legislation reveals the growing trend to the introduction of national standards that are applicable to all companies operating in the mining industry of Australia. Australian legislation focuses on the improvement of the quality of the occupational health safety standards. Companies operating in the mining industry of Australia focus on standards developed at the local level mainly. The state legislation involves basic standards that help the company to enhance the occupational safety and secure employees. In this regard, the national legislation remains under-developed. The enhancement of the national legislation contributes to the overall improvement of the quality of the occupational health safety. The introduction of such standards can help to minimize risks associated with the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia.

On the other hand, Australia cannot accept the existing international legislation point blank. Instead, Australia needs to adapt international standards to national specificities because standards of employment and conditions of work in Australian mines are different from conditions of work in the US or China, for example. Therefore, the mining industry of Australia needs its own national standards, which take into consideration all specificities of the mining industry of Australia. The elaboration of national standards is important for the safety of employees and environment. At the moment, existing standards are not implemented nationwide. Instead, they vary depending on the state and jurisdiction, where a mine is located.

However, the elaboration of national standards of the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia does not mean that international standards should be neglected. On the contrary, international standards should be viewed as the minimum basis of occupational health safety standards of the mining industry of Australia. As for national standards developed in accordance to national specificities, their introduction will enhance international standards to improve the quality of the occupational health safety in Australia. But, at the moment, existing legislation does not provide companies operating in the mining industry of Australia with such standards.

Results and Discussion

Results

The enhancement of the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia starts with the implementation of high standards of the workplace safety. In this regard, existing management systems should focus on the implementation of

OHSAS 18001:2007 (Mitchell, 2011). In each state, the legislation is supported by a hierarchy of other documents with varying degrees of legal status including: Codes of practice or recognised standards (Romeyn, Archer, & Leung, 2011). These are advisory documents that aim to provide practical guidance. They do not have the same status as regulations and may be used by courts as the standard when assessing other methods or practices used (Maconachie & Goodwin, 2011). The key is attainment of the same or better level of risk protection (Meyer &Greenleaf, 2011). At this point, it is possible to refer the West Australian ‘Code of Practice on Working Hours’, as  an example of the code of conduct (Kochan, 2011).

At the same time, companies operating in the mining industry of Australia should match existing guidelines concerning the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia. These are explanatory documents. They provide more information about the requirements of legislation, detail good practice and may explain means of compliance with standards prescribed in the legislation (Peters, 2011). Compliance with guidelines is not mandatory, however they could have legal standing if it were demonstrated that the guideline is the industry norm. For example: the West Australian ‘Emergency

preparedness for underground fires in metalliferous mines’ (Plowman & Perryer, 2010). These standards and guidelines determine policies conducted by Australian companies operating in the mining industry.

However, the existing standards are not homogeneous and vary from state to state. National standards and guidelines are not fully implemented nationwide. Therefore, their implementation should become one of the main priorities in the operational health safety in the mining industry at the moment. In fact, the problem is the lack of homogeneous standards. In this regard, international standards may serve as the basis for the national standards. What is more important, the national legislations should introduce clear standards and guidelines that would make standards of the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia applicable nationwide.

Discussion

Therefore, the existing legislation offers basic opportunities for the enhancement of the occupational health safety in the mining industry. However, the occupational health safety system should still focus on key issues such as risk management, monitoring and control and stakeholder involvement in the development and implementation of the occupational health safety strategy. In actuality, the risk management is relatively underdeveloped, but clear and concise regulations and guidelines help to tackle such problems as the risk of methane explosions in Australian mines. At the same time, the occupational health safety needs the effective system of control. In this regard, control officers working on the government agencies may be insufficient. Instead, stakeholders should unite their efforts and create monitoring and control system based on the independent external and internal auditing. Current gaps in the Australian legislation raise the problem of the implementation of national standards of the occupational health nationwide. Their application would enhance the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia nationwide.

Recommendations

In actuality, it is possible to suggest several recommendations to enhance the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia. First, the government should adopt international standards and guidelines concerning the occupational health safety and harmonize the legislation nationwide, including the state level. Second, the risk management should follow specific guidelines developed by the government with the involvement of other stakeholders. For example, companies operating in the mining industry should follow the occupational health safety guidelines developed for methane management in Australian mines. Third, the closer interaction between key stakeholders is essential. Fourth, the involvement of external auditors, including representatives of government agencies, unions, and public organizations, can help to mitigate risks associated with the mining industry of Australia.

Conclusion

Thus, the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia needs consistent improvements. The enhancement of the occupational health safety can be achieved through balancing the existing legislation, elaboration of clear, concise regulations and requirements along with specific guidelines for companies operating in the mining industry. The involvement of independent, external auditors will help to secure the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia. However, to enhance the occupational health safety, all stakeholders should unite their efforts and focus on the achievement of their strategic goals. The enhancement of the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia is pivotal because it is not only the matter of employees’ safety but also the matter of their wellbeing and environmental safety as well.

 

References

Judge, J. (2009) ‘International employment discrimination and racketeering in the global economy’, Texas Bar Journal, 72(3),pp. 192-199.

Keefe, J. (2010) Debunking the Myth of the Over-Compensated Public Employee: The Evidence, Economic Policy InstituteBriefing Paper 276, Washington DC.

Kochan, T. (2011) ‘Use evidence-based approach to public sector challenges, The Cap Times, 15 February.

Lemieux, T. (2011) ‘Wage inequality: A comparative perspective’, Australian Bulletin of Labour, 37(1), pp. 2-32.

Lippel, K. (2010) ‘The law of workplace bullying: An international overview, Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal,32(1), pp. 1-13.

Liu, M., Li, C. and Kim, S. (2011) ‘Chinese trade unions in transition: A three-level analysis’ in P. Sheldon, S. Kim, Y. Liand M. Warner (eds) China’s Changing Workplace: Dynamism, Diversity and Disparity, Routledge, London, pp. 277-300.

Maconachie, G. and Goodwin, M. (2011) ‘Does institutional location protect from political influence? The case of a minimumlabour standards enforcement agency in Australia’, Australian Journal of Political Science, 46(1), pp. 105-119.

McKee, M. (2011) ‘Responding to the economic crisis: Europe’s governments must take account of the cost of healthinequalities, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health doi10.1136/jech.2010.129999.

Meyer, J. and Greenleaf, R. (2011) Enforcement of State Wage and Hour Laws: A Survey of State Regulators, ColumbiaLaw School National State Attorneys General Program, New York.

Mitchell, R. (2011) ‘Where are we going in labour law? Some thoughts on a field of scholarship and policy in process ofchange’, Australian Journal of Labour Law, 24(1), pp. 45-59.

Peters, J. (2011) ‘The rise of finance and the decline of organised labour in the advanced capitalist countries, New PoliticalEconomy, 16(1), pp. 73-99.

Plowman, D. and Perryer, C. (2010) ‘Moral sentiments and the minimum wage’, Economic and Labour Relations Review,21(2), pp. 1-21.

Quinlan, M. and Johnstone, R. (2009) ‘The implications of de-collectivist industrial relations laws and associateddevelopments for worker health and safety in Australia, 1996-2007’, Industrial Relations Journal, 40(5), pp. 426-443.

Romeyn, J., Archer, S. And Leung, E. (2011) Review of Equal Remuneration Principles, Research Report 5/2011, FairWork Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

Sheldon, P., Kim, S., Li, Y. and Warner, M. (2011) ‘Introduction, in P. Sheldon, S. Kim, Y. Li and M. Warner (eds)China’s Changing Workplace: Dynamism, Diversity and Disparity, Routledge, London, pp. 1-18.

Smith, B. (2010) ‘Fair and equal in the world of work: Two significant federal developments in Australian discriminationlaw’, Australian Journal of Labour Law, 23(4), pp. 199-219.

Stiglitz, J. (2009) ‘The global crisis, social protection and jobs, International Labour Review, 148(1-2), pp. 1-13.

Walters, D., Johstone, R., Frick, K., Quinlan, M., Gingras, G. and Thebaud-Mony, A. (2011) Regulating Workplace Risksin Times of Change: A Comparative Study, Edward Elgar, London.

Warner, M. (2010) ‘In search of Confucian HRM: Theory and practice in Greater China and beyond’, International Journal ofHuman Resource Management, 21(12), pp. 2053-2078.

Weil, D. (2009) ‘Rethinking the regulation of vulnerable work in the USA: A sector based approach’, Journal of IndustrialRelations, 51(3), pp. 411-430.

 

Appendix:

Annotated Bibliography

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explore the occupational health safety in the mining industry of Australia.

Judge, J. (2009) ‘International employment discrimination and racketeering in the global economy’, Texas Bar Journal, 72(3),pp. 192-199.

The article explores the impact of the employment relations on the occupational health safety.

Keefe, J. (2010) Debunking the Myth of the Over-Compensated Public Employee: The Evidence, Economic Policy InstituteBriefing Paper 276, Washington DC.

The author debunks the myth about the interdependence between employees’ payment and the OHS.

Kochan, T. (2011) ‘Use evidence-based approach to public sector challenges, The Cap Times, 15 February.

The author explores the use of the evidence-based approach to the enhancement of the OHS in the public sector.

Lemieux, T. (2011) ‘Wage inequality: A comparative perspective’, Australian Bulletin of Labour, 37(1), pp. 2-32.

The author studies the impact of the wage of employees on their behaviour and respect to OHS.

Lippel, K. (2010) ‘The law of workplace bullying: An international overview, Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal,32(1), pp. 1-13.

The author explores the impact of the workplace conflicts on the safety of the workplace environment.

Maconachie, G. and Goodwin, M. (2011) ‘Does institutional location protect from political influence? The case of a minimumlabour standards enforcement agency in Australia’, Australian Journal of Political Science, 46(1), pp. 105-119.

The article focuses on the revelation of the correlation between policies conducted by the government in relation to the OHS and practices conducted by companies.

McKee, M. (2011) ‘Responding to the economic crisis: Europe’s governments must take account of the cost of healthinequalities, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health doi10.1136/jech.2010.129999.

The author explores the impact of economic factors on the occupational health safety

Meyer, J. and Greenleaf, R. (2011) Enforcement of State Wage and Hour Laws: A Survey of State Regulators, ColumbiaLaw School National State Attorneys General Program, New York.

The author studies the impact of the level of wages and work hours on the OHS.

Mitchell, R. (2011) ‘Where are we going in labour law? Some thoughts on a field of scholarship and policy in process ofchange’, Australian Journal of Labour Law, 24(1), pp. 45-59.

The article studies the current legislation in Australia dedicated to the OHS.

Peters, J. (2011) ‘The rise of finance and the decline of organised labour in the advanced capitalist countries, New PoliticalEconomy, 16(1), pp. 73-99.

The author reveals the correlation between the economic development and the OHS.

Plowman, D. and Perryer, C. (2010) ‘Moral sentiments and the minimum wage’, Economic and Labour Relations Review,21(2), pp. 1-21.

The article focuses on the correlation between the level of wages and the performance of employees and their adherence to OHS standards and regulations.

Quinlan, M. and Johnstone, R. (2009) ‘The implications of de-collectivist industrial relations laws and associateddevelopments for worker health and safety in Australia, 1996-2007’, Industrial Relations Journal, 40(5), pp. 426-443.

The article explores the development of the OHS legislation in Australia.

Romeyn, J., Archer, S. And Leung, E. (2011) Review of Equal Remuneration Principles, Research Report 5/2011, FairWork Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

The article focuses on the analysis of Australian policies in regard to the employment relations and OHS.

Sheldon, P., Kim, S., Li, Y. and Warner, M. (2011) ‘Introduction, in P. Sheldon, S. Kim, Y. Li and M. Warner (eds)China’s Changing Workplace: Dynamism, Diversity and Disparity, Routledge, London, pp. 1-18.

The authors focus on recent development in the field of the OHS.

Smith, B. (2010) ‘Fair and equal in the world of work: Two significant federal developments in Australian discriminationlaw’, Australian Journal of Labour Law, 23(4), pp. 199-219.

The author explores changes in the development of Australian legislation.

Stiglitz, J. (2009) ‘The global crisis, social protection and jobs, International Labour Review, 148(1-2), pp. 1-13.

The author explores the impact of economic factors and performance of employees on the OHS.

Walters, D., Johstone, R., Frick, K., Quinlan, M., Gingras, G. and Thebaud-Mony, A. (2011) Regulating Workplace Risksin Times of Change: A Comparative Study, Edward Elgar, London.

The authors study effects of changes that take place in the contemporary workplace environment and their impact on the OHS.

Warner, M. (2010) ‘In search of Confucian HRM: Theory and practice in Greater China and beyond’, International Journal ofHuman Resource Management, 21(12), pp. 2053-2078.

The article explores the impact of human resource management on the OHS and examines the latest trends in this field.

Weil, D. (2009) ‘Rethinking the regulation of vulnerable work in the USA: A sector based approach’, Journal of IndustrialRelations, 51(3), pp. 411-430.

The article explores the experience of the US in the field of regulations of the OHS, which can be applied to the mining industry of Australia too.

 

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

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