Injured workers in NSW had a global voice this week as the Family and Injured Workers Support and Advisory Group (FIWSAG) took part in the 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work.
The FIWSAG allows the families of those injured or killed in the workplace to have their voices heard and advises the NSW Government on how to improve workplace health and safety, and develop resources for those who experience workplace incidents.
The group is currently co-chaired by Matt Beckhaus and Jacqueline Quinlivan, and consists of 11 members who have first-hand experience of either being injured at work or are a family member of someone who has died in a work-related incident.
A session at the World Congress this week discussed the role injured workers and their families play in shaping safer work environments, including the way regulators and employers respond to incidents where a worker is injured or killed.
The panel, which also included unions, law firms and regulators, explored workplace injuries from the immediate aftermath to long-term implications and asked how stakeholders in an injured worker's journey can have a voice in safer workplaces.
The FIWSAG was represented by Noeline Bridge, whose husband died after a workplace incident which claimed the lives of two co-workers, Mark Johnston, who was seriously injured at work in a farming incident, and David White whose son died after a workplace incident.
The FIWSAG has just published four stories online giving first-had accounts of how people have been affected following a workplace death or serious injury. For more information on the Family and Injured Worker Support Group, please visit https://www.nsw.gov.au/nsw-government/projects-and-initiatives/family-and-injured-workers-support-and-advisory-group
Quotes to be attributed to Head of SafeWork, Trent Curtin
“It is important workers and their families are given an opportunity to speak and share their unique perspective, not just in committee but at a major international event like the World Congress on Safety.
“Workplace regulators need to hear the voices of those who have lived experience in these tragic matters and must be open to their ideas on how to best respond to workplace accidents in the future.”
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