October is National Safe Work Month, a time to commit to building a safe and healthy workplace.
SafeWork NSW is urging employers to watch and learn how to better protect workers from pains, sprains and strains associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) with a new series of short online webinars.
MSDs are entirely preventable but account for 52 per cent of all serious workplace injuries and diseases in NSW. These disorders lead to an average of 20 weeks work time lost per injured person.
Workers can suffer from physical hazards like repetitive movement, heavy lifting and falls and this can lead to injury of muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints.
Psychosocial hazards like a high workload, stress, bullying and poor supervisor support are also directly linked to an increased risk of MSDs in the workplace.
SafeWork NSW is launching useful webinars about MSDs including how to manage risks and prevent injuries, as well as legal duties for both employers and workers in the workplace.
As part of SafeWork NSW’s commitment to reducing injuries through the Musculoskeletal Disorder Prevention Plan to 2026, the agency is also working with key stakeholders to ensure workplaces understand and address MSD risks.
Employers can protect their workers from these preventable disorders by committing resources to effective workplace safety measures, designing work to eliminate hazardous manual tasks, providing relevant training and regularly reassessing and updating risk controls.
More information and access to the webinars can be found by visiting: Preventing Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) webinar series
Resources to support culturally and linguistically diverse communities, including a webinar series in Mandarin and Cantonese, will be available soon.
The Musculoskeletal Disorder Prevention Plan to 2026 can be accessed here: Musculoskeletal Disorders Prevention Plan to 2026 | SafeWork NSW
Quotes to be attributed to Head of SafeWork NSW Trent Curtin
“Musculoskeletal disorders are entirely preventable in the workplace, but more than half of serious workers compensation claims in NSW are MSDs.
“Workers can suffer these injuries and diseases over time or suddenly. These disorders can have significant impacts on a worker’s physical and mental health as well as the productivity of businesses.”
“SafeWork NSW’s new online webinars provide a useful guide for employers to better understand the impacts of MSDs, consider their legal duties and how to better protect workers. Employers need to take responsibility for creating safer workplaces.”
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