Burden on male health must be reduced - Worksafe
Male workers have most dangerous jobs
Male workers have the most hazardous jobs in Australia, the head of the national occupational health and safety watchdog, Worksafe Australia, said today.
Speaking at the first national men's health conference in Melbourne, chief executive, Dr Ted Emmett, said this was mainly due to cultural, social and religious factors which had placed men in, or excluded women from, most high-risk jobs.
In some instances, the distinctions between men and women workers had been enshrined in legislation or accepted industrial practices.
"For example, until recently, women have been excluded from jobs exposed to lead; and, as in many parts of the world, the superstition that women would bring bad luck and possibly disaster virtually excluded them from jobs in underground mines," Dr Emmett said.
Although males accounted for just over half of all employed people (56 per cent), a Worksafe traumatic fatality study showed that the overwhelming majority of those who died from work- related deaths (93 per cent) were men. And Worksafe's mesothelioma register recorded that, out of the 800 cases of the asbestos-related disease between 1991-93, nearly 700 affected men.
"We believe the same male preponderance is likely to be present for other occupational cancers in Australia," said Dr Emmett.
He dismissed the male workers' macho, 'She'll be right' attitude to workplace accidents as now largely mythical. Dr Emmett cited a Worksafe study into long-distance truck drivers which found the vast majority of drivers were aware that fatigue was a problem.
"We must make these jobs safer and reduce the burden of male health rather than concentrating on changing male attitudes."
Issued: August 11
Page last updated: 06/07/2008