Recently, tragic deaths in the lift industry in Australia and abroad have highlighted the need for safer conditions for workers.
There are four big lift companies globally and a few others that are dominant in their home countries.
This year there was a tragic death of an apprentice in Melbourne. It is believed the 21-year-old was undertaking electrical work on a car stacker elevator when the incident occurred.
In February Cristian Cancino Soto, the president of the Thyssenkrupp elevator union in Chile in February died from a fall. Chile, like most Latin American countries has been hit very hard by the pandemic, so there is a lot of pressure on the workforce.
In April Alvaro Medina of Schindler in Chile was also killed.
In each of these cases the men were working alone.
Since the beginning of the pandemic the workers in the lift industry have not stopped. They are essential workers who perform risky work. They deserve better protection.
Unions around the world must put pressure on these global companies to improve work systems.
“These incidents highlight the need to be ever vigilant in the workplace and fight for better protections and safety standards for workers,” said David Mier, National Assistant Secretary of the Electrical Trades Union.
The Union hopes that industrial manslaughter laws will be strengthened to make sure employers take action to protect the workforce.