You have the right to come home from work as physically and mentally well as when you started the day, and your employer has a responsibility to see you do.


Standing up for safe and healthy workplaces is a key priority for union members.

Many people don’t know that their employer is legally responsible for ensuring the safety and health of all workers and visitors to their campuses. That includes protection from physical hazards and injury as well as safe-guarding mental health. This responsibility of course came to prominence in the Covid pandemic, but it is not restricted to such extreme events.

Excessive workloads, bullying, harassment, violence at work, inequitable working conditions including decisions about reward and recognition, and poorly managed change are all acknowledged work health and safety risks that our employers must seek to eliminate or reduce and they are the key WHS challenges facing us today.

It is beyond time that the employers we work for take these responsibilities seriously, particularly the mental health of workers.
 
We are campaigning for better recognition of the mental health impact of management decisions and university working conditions. Stress and anxiety caused by work is not the fault of the employee being “unable to cope” it is the fault of a structure and system that is designed to be understaffed and to exploit employee goodwill to students.

It doesn’t need to be this way. Working together we can support each other in ensuring our workplaces are supportive and do no harm.


We provide support and resources for members including details on rights, campaign for improvements and make submissions on legislative reviews. We support and resource health and safety advocates and health and safety representatives. We are building networks of health and safety representatives where they can share information and provide each other with support and encouragement.

Most importantly we challenge employers when they are not taking the mental health impact of their actions into account.


Want to find out more?

 

Check out the FAQs    on WHS
Read NTEU policy  on WHS
Read the NTEU Submission on the WHS Laws 


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I appreciate working in an environment that is both physically and mentally safe for my colleagues and me. Being a union member has provided me access to training and support that has helped maintain this.
Oliver, Soil Systems Biologist