Occupational Health & Safety
The SDA is committed to ensuring that our members work in a safe and healthy workplace. Workers in the retail, fast food and warehousing industries are exposed to many unsafe situations at work.
Workers' Rights
We believe that workers have a right to:
- A safe and healthy work environment;
- Travel safely to and from work with appropriate protections;
- Return home from work free of injury or illness;
- Enjoy retirement without suffering adversely from workplace injury or illness;
- Engage in discussions, negotiations, and consultations on all matters impacting their health and safety.
Employers' Responsibilities
Employers have an absolute duty of care to provide and maintain a safe and healthy work environment for their employees. The obligations of employers are detailed in legislation and one of our functions is to monitor employers' compliance with health & safety laws.
SDA Health & Safety Officer
The SDA employees a full-time Health and Safety Officer. They co-ordinate their work in health and safety to achieve the best outcomes for SDA members. They are a qualified Health and Safety Representative (HSR) trainer and train our HSRs so that they can help create safer workplaces.
Health & Safety Representatives
The SDA has a large network of duly elected HSRs and Deputy HSRs who provide vital representation to members in relation to health and safety issues in the workplace. Our HSRs and Deputy HSRs receive Worksafe-approved training from the SDA and have certain powers under the OHS Act. For further information about the role of HSRs, click here.
Visit the Victorian Government's WorkSafe Website for further information.
Health & Safety at Petrol Stations
The SDA in conjunction with The Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) has set up a website www.servicestationsafety.com.au to provide practical advice to the independent service station industry relating to Occupational Health and Safety matters.
Funding for this project was provided by WorkSafe Victoria in 2006/07 through the Workplace Injury Insurance Safety Fund (WIISF)
This website has been developed through extensive consultation with a cross section of employers and employees in the independent service station industry.
This website provides practical advice in relation to specific scenarios likely to be encountered in this industry. It contains information relating to compliance requirements for handling dangerous goods as well as induction training material for new staff.