For many people, it is one of our worst fears to leave home one morning for work and never return.
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Unfortunately, workplace accidents do happen and can leave families torn apart.
It is widely known that farms can be dangerous work environments if proper safety precautions are not taken, and the agricultural sector disproportionately contributes to workplace health and safety incidents across Australia.
National Farm Safety Week was held in July, and it was a reminder of the importance of ensuring safety on farm - for the sake of ourselves, our workers and our families.
The Australian cotton industry is committed to ensuring the health and safety of our people is maintained, because in effect, our people are our industry's greatest asset.
Cotton Australia is proud to implement many programs and initiatives to boost safety industry wide. One of our centrepiece initiatives is our best practices program called myBMP. The myBMP program covers 10 areas of farm operations, with the aim of ensuring cotton farms are operating at the highest standard. One unit of particular importance is the Human Resources and Workplace Health and Safety module. There are 33 best management practices standards in myBMP covering WHS, and in 2019, 68 per cent of surveyed growers said they had improved workplace health and safety as a result of these modules.
It is widely known that farms can be dangerous work environments if proper safety precautions are not taken
- Michael Murray
Among the checklist items for growers to comply with in our HR and WHS module are:
- Having a formal WHS management system in place
- Identifying workplace hazards and workplace situations that may cause a risk
- Assessing the risk and hazards in the workplace to create and implement appropriate control measures using the hierarchy of control measures, and are reviewed regularly
- Providing first aid equipment, facilities and trained first aiders in all workplaces
- Preparing, maintaining and implementing an emergency plan in all workplaces
- Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to workers.
In light of the recent National Farm Safety Week, I would like to take this opportunity to remind growers to review their WHS procedures, complete a hazard check, and ensure their safety procedures are being implemented effectively.
Similarly, I encourage growers who have questions around their WHS requirements to contact our myBMP team for advice. The team is on hand to provide you with guidance and help you run the safest farm possible.
Our industry recognises that while we have a stringent best practices program in place for growers to follow, there is always more to do to ensure we are always protecting our people.
Earlier in 2020, we released our industry's second five-year sustainability report. While that report contained details of many significant industry achievements, it also highlighted how we have more work to do.
For example, under the report's measure of 'Quality of work life - safety', it was pleasing to see injury rates had decreased over the previous five years; however, fatality rates had increased, which was highly concerning. As part of our sustainability efforts, our industry is now developing targets for us to achieve over the next five years, and a core part of that will be boosting our results in the safety category.
Moving forward, in conjunction with the sustainability targets, our industry will continue to implement many of the initiatives we have successfully carried out in recent years to ensure safety on farm increases. Some of those initiatives include: facilitating myBMP WHS workshops and other industry training initiatives, continuing the Look Up and Live campaign, and raising awareness of WHS issues and solutions through industry communications. Similarly, Cotton Australia, through its regional managers and in conjunction with the Cotton Grower Associations, will continue to financially support first aid courses for growers and their employees.
Ensuring safety on farm is everyone's responsibility.
