Call for safety standards at work

A report showing 162 deaths from workplace accidents has given the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) fodder to press the state and federal governments to impose national safety standards.

State and federal industrial relations ministers will meet today to discuss a unified industrial relations system. One item of the agenda may involve the Commonwealth assuming power over the private sector in each state.
 
Sharan Burrow, ACTU president, says she hopes they will consider workplace safety during the meeting. "It is time we saw the highest national standards, where, in harmony around the country, workers can go to work knowing they are safe," she said. "We are shocked to see there were 162 deaths, up from 157 in just the last year."