After winning Region of the Year at the AEU Reps Conference in 2018, the Inner City region has been working on a project to tackle some of the big issues within education. For the early childhood collective, it was OHS that stood out as a particular issue for the sector to address.
A survey was sent to members of the Darebin and Yarra regions to identify the workplace OHS issues that are impacting upon them. The alarming results indicated that this is a focus our sector needs to prioritise.
Examples included members not being provided with sufficient adult seating (as a preventative to back injuries), 50% of members indicating they have sustained an injury at work (not all of which they had reported) and an increasing prevalence of psychological factors which we may not always recognise as an OHS hazard.
In response to the survey, we are developing information resources to share with the workplaces within the region as a pilot to change the culture around OHS. This will hopefully lead to changes which prevent injuries and support our physical and emotional wellbeing, by embedding preventative actions into our everyday practice.
