Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-06-30 Daily Xml

Contents

SAFEWORK SA

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:01): My question is to the Minister for Industrial Relations. How is SafeWork SA promoting workplace health and safety to young people?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:02): I thank the honourable member for his important question. This government firmly believes that young people who have just entered or who may be just about to enter the workplace should learn and have access to the knowledge they need to help them look after themselves and their work colleagues in the workplace. This is why SafeWork SA has partnered with the Equal Opportunity Commission in 2010 to run the Rights, Camera Action! video competition.

Rights, Camera, Action! seeks the views of young people towards rights and responsibilities at work, at school or in the community. The competition is designed to encourage students to think about discrimination, bullying and unfair treatment. Students entering the video competition will be required to produce a video or animation clip of up to 2½ minutes about occupational health, safety and welfare, discrimination or harassment and their impact on young people. Prizes will be awarded to the winning individuals or groups and their schools. Entries close on Friday 1 October 2010.

We know that young people respond well to messages from their peers, so the winning entries will be available on the Youth@Work, Passport to Safety, and Equal Opportunity Commission websites. The Youth@Work website and the Passport to Safety program are both initiatives of SafeWork SA to target young people on matters concerning safety and fairness and work. The Youth@Work website was launched in May 2009 to provide young South Australians with ongoing information and advice on what safety systems should exist at work, how to understand and receive their proper pay, conditions and entitlements, and what to do if they are bullied or harassed.

The Youth@Work website was developed after consultation with focus groups with young people at secondary schools and local council youth advisory committees across metropolitan Adelaide and regional South Australia.

Passport to Safety is a web-based, self-paced learning and test program aimed at young people who are preparing to enter the workforce for the first time for work experience, work placement or part-time/full-time work. Successful participants are awarded a 'passport to safety' certificate. These can be attached to resumés to demonstrate their basic awareness to workplace health and safety. This basic level of awareness becomes the foundation on which to build further knowledge on safety at work.

I urge all members to encourage secondary school students within their communities to find out more about the video competition by looking up the Youth@Work and Passport to Safety websites, where entry conditions and competition details can be found. I look forward to updating members on important initiatives to promote safety at work for our young workers.