ADCO Construction Industry

ADCO, a leading construction company is operating since 1972 in Australia. Since its inception it has completed over 3000 projects with annual revenues exceeding $700 million. It has 400 direct employees and is rated among “top 100 private companies of Australia”. It believes in continuous improvement in business practices and further incorporates innovation in every step. Employee turnover is low and 40 percent of employees are working for ADCO for more than 7 years (About us, 2015).

 

Rights and responsibilities

Under Work Health and Safety laws of construction industry, health and safety of the workers must be ensured; which is done by maintaining a work environment with minimum risk to employees. In the same way safe plant structures must be ensured. The plant substances should also be safely used, handled, stored and transported. The companies must ensure that adequate facilities are available for employee welfare. All the required information, training, instructions and supervisions should be ensured. Finally health of workers and conditions of workplace must also be monitored.

In construction industry of Australia workplace laws are designed, which set rights and responsibilities (for employers and employees) and are aimed at protecting workers.  According to the law workers should receive a minimum payment and entitlements. The workers should further be treated in fair manner and there are certain unacceptable behaviors which must also be understood by both parties. “Fair Work Building and Construction” is in Australia that assists people who work in construction industry to understand their rights and responsibilities. This organisation provides information to contractors, employers and workers in the industry. In cases when workplace laws are broken this organisation investigates the problems and further takes legal actions (Working in Australia’s building and construction industry, 2012).

As a worker in the construction industry; the workplace rights are a resource for worker and they can be understood by contacting this organisation. At times understanding the culture is difficult for workers, Fair Work Building & Construction website assists workers in understanding industry culture.

Once the work is started employer should give “Fair Work Information Statement” to employee.  This document comprehensively states what worker should expect at workplace. It further explains workplace conditions, holiday times, maximum weekly work hours, flexible working arrangements and the employment termination process. Basic rights and responsibilities are available for all the workers working in this industry, regardless of their tenure in the industry. Both overseas and local workers receive same wages when performing similar work at workplace.

Workplace agreements are also important under Australia’s fair work system. They offer minimum employment conditions that apply to employers and employees. In the building and construction industry most employees are covered by an enterprise agreement or an Award. An enterprise agreement is an agreement negotiated between an employer and its employees. Whereas an award is a set of minimum terms and conditions of employment that is occupation or industry specific. Most employees that are covered by an award are covered by the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2010.

Australian workplace laws provide general protections for all workers.  No worker can be forced to do anything, or be threatened about their rights under these laws.  For example, you can’t be made to undertake unsafe work and you can’t be forced to go on strike if you want to continue to work. Workers further have right to join a union, if they want to. Laws and legislations protect employees from discrimination under any circumstance.  Australian workers have different workplace entitlements depending on whether they are a contractor or an employee. It is illegal for an employer to treat a contractor as an employee.

Example of risk assessment matrix is attached in appendix 1, of the report. Under which hazards were identified, then risk level was analyzed and relevant controls were decided. As shown in appendix low risk level activities will be carried out with existing controls, for medium risk additional controls will be added and for high risk level activities controls will be incorporated before the activity is started.

 

Health and Lifestyle of workers

In construction industry, the risk to employee health problem is high, these risks can create several health issues including development of chronic diseases, injuries and psychological distress.  Due to above mentioned high risks; healthy lifestyle behaviors should be ensured that can prevent these issues.

Good nutrition should be provided, fitness of employees should be ensured, proper amount of sleep should be taken and intake of alcohol should be limited. In construction industry in order to improve health outcomes; workers should be consulted. Moreover construction companies introduced different programs to ensure health of workers. For example “your health, your future” program was implemented by Building Employee’s Redundancy Trust (BERT), which aimed at offering health and wellbeing program tailored for construction workers. The initiatives included voluntary participation in health checkups, feedbacks and referrals. Free healthy meals were offered on Fridays. This program offered several benefits including 25% reduction in blood pressure. Another example is of “Bussta Gut Challenge” which aimed at improving health of construction workers by increasing awareness of chronic disease risk factors (Healthy Diet and Lifestyle, Construction Industry, 2014).