Seasonal Heat
Management has a legal duty of care to prevent staff and students from being injured or exacerbating existing injuries, including those caused or worsened by heat. Your individual health issues and circumstances must be taken into account by your supervisor. If you believe you are working in unsafe conditions you should ask to be relocated or to go home. Symptoms of heat stress include dehydration, swollen ankles, heat rashes, heat fatigue, headaches and so on.
Even if you are not experiencing symptoms the University heat policy applies to you. If your working environment exceeds 32 degrees and you can't be relocated to a cooler environment you are entitled to go home without loss of pay.
Incident reporting and issue resolution
- The union recommends that you submit an online OHS Incident report when your workspace becomes too hot.
- Forward the incident confirmation number to your employer and employee health and safety representatives (their names can be found here), Gary Nolan (Manager, OHS), and the NTEU La Trobe Branch (nteu@latrobe.edu.au). State that you want the matter dealt with using the OHS Issue Resolution Procedure.
If you don't have a health and safety representative in your area any other rep on the list can be asked to assist. The more formal reports the university receives the more likely it is that positive action will be taken.
For more information on heat stress
Trades Hall's OHS Reps Heat page
Victorian WorkCover Authority Working in Heat - Guidance Note 2010
Branch Contacts
Branch Office
Room 225b David Myers Building East Bundoora Campus
La Trobe University
Phone: 03 9479 2124
Fax: 03 9479 1503
nteu@latrobe.edu.au
http://www.nteu.org.au/latrobe
Virginia Mansel Lees
Branch President
v.mansellees@latrobe.edu.au
Serena O'Meley
Branch Industrial Organiser
nteu@latrobe.edu.au
Tim Rodrigo
Branch Organiser
t.rodrigo@latrobe.edu.au
