Almost 1000 workers were injured at Wyndham workplaces in 2015.
New statistics from WorkSafe show that 973 injury claims were made by workers in Wyndham in the past calendar year, up slightly from 945 claims in 2014.
The bulk of claims were made by workers in the transport, postal, warehousing, manufacturing and wholesale trade industries, with many injuries occurring as a result of poor manual handling, slips, trips, falls, or a worker being hit by a moving object.
Incidents included a worker at Werribee who was shot in the foot with a nail gun; another Werribee worker who sustained a broken leg and lacerations after tripping over material left on the ground; and a Truganina worker who fell into a trench when the edge gave way, breaking a bone in his left ankle.
WorkSafe is calling on employers to make safety their top priority in their new campaign, dubbed Really Bad Day.
The campaign includes a series of television, radio, print and online advertisements that show the consequences for workers, employers and families when there is a workplace injury or fatality.
Concerning increase
A WorkSafe spokeswoman said that while injury claims in the Wyndham region were lower than in 2011, it was concerning to see a marginal increase in recent years.
“As our new public awareness campaign shows, a workplace injury or fatality affects everyone, not just the person involved but their family, friends, colleagues, and the business itself,” the spokeswoman said.
“Our message is that prevention is the key. It’s vitally important that employers do everything they can to prevent the kind of scenarios seen in this campaign.”
State Finance Minister Robin Scott said WorkSafe’s new campaign highlighted the tragic consequences of serious workplace injuries and sent a powerful message to employers about the need to protect the safety of their workers.
