By ANEEKA SIMONIS
A STAGGERING number of workers in the outer south-east were injured and four killed while on the job last year, according to the latest WorkSafe Victoria statistics.
And this year the region has been struck by another death – a 30-year-old female truck driver who was killed at a Nyora quarry.
Last year, 2381 injuries claims were submitted to WorkSafe Victoria from employees and contractors working in Cardinia shire, City of Casey and Greater Dandenong region.
The data shows Casey and Greater Dandenong were among the top 10 worst areas for workplace injuries, with Dandenong ranked second behind Melbourne’s CBD with 1469 injuries and Casey coming in 10th with 703 injuries.
More than 200 Cardinia shire injury claims were received by WorkSafe Victoria in 2015 with construction, manufacturing and the retail trade found to be the most dangerous industries in the municipality.
The data shows 33 cases involved laceration or amputations and 44 muscular or tendon injuries suffered in Cardinia shire workplaces.
More than six times the rate of lacerations and amputations were recorded in the City of Casey which found health care and social assistance to be the most high-risk job followed by construction and manufacturing.
Of Victoria’s 20 workplace deaths last year, four happened at worksites in the south-east.
On 29 June, a 33-year-old man died after an industrial oven being removed from a truck fell on him in Pakenham and a 64-year-old worker died following an explosion in a trench at a housing development site in Harkaway on 9 November.
Outside of the shire, a 19-year-old man died in early March when a trench collapsed on top of him at a building site in Cranbourne East and a 29-year-old worker was crushed to death by heavy equipment that fell from a Keysborough forklift on 12 November.
A month ago, a 30-year-old Garfield woman died after the truck she was driving fell into a Nyora quarry.
The deaths are being investigated by WorkSafe Victoria.
WorkSafe regional Operations Manager Ian Matthews said the number of fatalities was unacceptable.
“It is vitally important employers do everything they can to prevent an injury or death at their workplaces,” he said.
“A workplace injury or fatality affects everyone,” he said.
