4/01/2008

News Item

WorkSafe warning as fruit season begins

Victoria's workplace safety watchdog is warning farmers and hirers to get their workplaces in order as the annual harvesting season gets under way.

Hundreds of students, backpackers and seasonal workers are descending on the state's rich produce-growing areas to cash in on the fruit picking season.

Tomatoes, apples, peaches and pears are almost ripe for the picking, prompting WorkSafe Victoria executive director John Merritt to issue a stern safety warning to farmers and labour hirers.

"Even for the most experienced workers farms can be dangerous places to work," Mr Merritt said.

"But with the added risk of young and inexperienced workers, many with limited English language skills, the risk of injury, or worse, is extremely high."

The most common hazards for fruit pickers include falls from ladders, chemical exposure, heat exhaustion, sun exposure, manual handling and forklifts.

"Just because most pickers are working at a low height on ladders doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. Many serious injuries occur from falls from ladders every year," Mr Merritt said.

He said it was crucial that fruit pickers wore protective clothing and that employers made tractors off-limits to inexperienced operators.

Forklifts were one of the "biggest killers" in workplaces and should be operated around clearly defined walkways, Mr Merritt added.

source: http://news.theage.com.au/worksafe-warning-as-fruit-season-begins/20080104-1k5v.html