2026 is proving to be another big year for the WHS department. So far, it’s been fantastic to have welcomed countless members to undergo training as Delegates and Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs), and to have already heard about members who’ve taken their training to their workplaces to help raise workplace standards, raising provisional improvement notices (PINs) if necessary.
These PINs can help rectify a glaring safety issue, or they can work as simply as to ensure that a PCBU upholds their commitments under the act.
However, 2026 has also been another year where the grave neglect of some employers has been at the forefront. This month, I travelled to Canberra with TWU member and Cleanaway worker Hine, who bravely spoke to MPs and the media about how she has been left with permanent vision loss after exposure to toxic chemicals on the job. Hine is a mother of seven, and after spending weeks in the hospital, she now she has to navigate life with a new and permanent disability – through no fault of her own.
This is just one incident in Cleanaway’s wretched record on worker safety. It has become clear that if a worker is injured – or dies – on Cleanaway’s watch, that they appear more interested in deflecting and moving on than actually making things safer for the people that work for them. They did not even notify the regulator of Hine’s incident.
ABOVE:
MARIJA JOINED NSW CLEANAWAY WORKER HINE (LEFT), WHO TRAVELLED TO CANBERRA THIS MONTH TO TALK ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE BEING LEFT WITH PERMANENT VISION LOSS AFTER EXPOSURE TO TOXIC CHEMICALS AT WORK. HINE NOW HAS TO NAVIGATE LIFE AS A MOTHER OF SEVEN WITH A NEW AND PERMANENT DISABILITY.
Members, this is abhorrent, and it has to change. That’s why the TWU NSW/QLD/VIC/TAS (Interim Governance) Branch has just submitted a report to Comcare seeking prosecution of Cleanaway, for multiple contraventions of the WHS Act.
We know that the Transport Industry is Australia’s most dangerous industry, and we’re making it clear that everyone is accountable. That is why also in the last month, we have also submitted a request for to SafeWork NSW to prosecute Swissport.
In aviation, Swissport have proven every prediction about industry fragmentation true. In our submission, we note that Swissport have failed to provide workers with appropriate PPE, consultation, safe systems of work, information training and instruction, maintenance and safe storage of their plant, and expose workers to biological hazards with imminent risks to their health and safety.
Members, we will ensure to provide you updates on these matters in this journal as these cases continue.
The WHS Act violations we see on a daily basis are the reason myself and the TWU have spent so many years fighting for better standards and to train hundreds of HSRs. While the two cases above show that the fight continues, I am pleased to share that this winter, our union’s work in safety has been recognised through my appointment by Minister Sophie Cotsis to the SafeWork NSW Advisory Council.
Transport is an essential industry, and my membership of this Council creates an opportunity to share those experiences in a way that’s meaningful for policy and change in New South Wales. It’s an avenue to share ideas from different perspectives – not only from a community worker perspective but also from government, and from business, to come up with strategies that are practical. Not just something glossy on a piece of paper, but strategies that work in practice to keep our members alive and safe.
I’m looking forward to contributing to this Council over the next few years to help make workplaces safer for all of us in NSW.
With that members, I look forward to seeing even more of you in training, in sector meetings, and at next month’s Delegates Conference.
All the best, and stay safe.
Marija Marsic • Assistant State Secretary