Every worker should be safe at work
Far too many workers in Australia are still being injured or made sick at work.
While union members enjoy safer workplaces than non-members, the Australian union movement is continuing to fight to ensure that every worker can go to work and get home safely.
Work Shouldn’t Hurt Survey 2022
In 2022, the annual Work Shouldn’t Hurt Survey found that more than one in four workers in Australia been injured or made sick due to work in the previous 12 months.
Even more concerning, 38 per cent of workers are reporting that they literally couldn’t afford to be away from work – likely a sign of the cost-of-living pressures workers have suffered.
You can read the 2021 Work Shouldn’t Hurt Survey Here.
Work Shouldn’t Hurt
A grim picture of what work is like for millions of Australian workers:
Insecure work makes unsafe work even worse
More than a third (38%) of workers in insecure jobs did not take time off work to recover from their injury or illness
Gendered violence and harassment on the rise
Women are more impacted by workplace injuries and mental health concerns than men, due to their over-representation in insecure, low-paid industries, and the impact of the pandemic. One in three (32%) workers experienced gendered violence or harassment in the past 12 months.
Workplace mental ill-health crisis
Millions of workers are suffering mental health issues as a result of their work, and a high proportion of them are not seeking help due to the fear of negative consequences.
Find out more about the causes and solutions of mental health hazards at work at the Mind Your Head information site.
Younger workers more exposed to risks
Young workers aged under 25 are significantly more likely to be exposed to the risk of serious injury, and young workers are especially vulnerable to experiencing mental health issues due to work.
The level of insecure work we have in Australia is not normal, we have the third highest rate of non-standard employment in the OECD.
This level of insecurity is the direct result of policy decisions by successive coalition Governments which have shifted power to employers and attacked the rights of working people.
Liam O’Brien, ACTU Assistant Secretary 