Safety is union business. The safety of our members at work is our top priority. Many of our
members work in high risk environments, but injuries and fatalities are not, and should never
be perceived as, inevitable.
We will strive to inform members about their safety rights in the workplace; and to empower
them to advocate for safe work practices including by refusing to work in unsafe
environments.
At the state level, we will advocate for comprehensive health and safety legislation and
effective enforcement of standards by regulators.
Nationally, we will strive to identify best practice policy on safety issues and work together to
lift standards across jurisdictions. We will document standards and provide guidance, support
and capacity-building to Districts regarding evidence-based ‘best practice’, to ensure smaller
or less-resourced Districts do not fall behind.
We recognise the important role of our union-elected Site Safety and Health Representatives
and Industry Safety and Health Representatives. We will always defend their role in our
industries and we will strive to extend the model of worker-elected, statutory safety
representatives beyond the coal industry into other areas of the mining industry.
We will monitor and respond to emerging issues impacting the health and safety of our
members, such as respiratory health and psychosocial hazards.
While we stand up in the workplace to mitigate against immediate risks, we are also
committed to the lifelong health and safety of our members. We will advocate for the highest
standards of medical screening and assessment for work-related health impacts. We don’t
accept that any worker should accept a shortened life expectancy due to the nature of their
work.
We recognise the risks involved when operations are heading towards closure and
maintenance may be underfunded, threatening worker safety. We will fight for safety
standards to be prioritised during site closures or transitions.
We will strive to improve safety protections and outcomes for workers in insecure forms of
employment such as labour hire and contractors.
Workers are safest when they are educated, organised and confident about speaking up for
the safety of themselves and their workmates; we will always seek to empower and activate
our members to put safety first.
Endorsed National Convention, Brisbane 2024