Linda Moussa goes through the indescribable pain of losing her husband, Iremar Da Silva. Sadly, he lost his life on 25 October 2016, after falling from the first storey of a building site at Ryde, in Sydney’s north-west. Da Silva, a master carpenter known for his obsessive craftsmanship, has sadly died. His death has led to renewed calls for reforms to workplace safety in New South Wales (NSW).
Just weeks before the incident, the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) did a safety audit of the site. They followed this step with a critically needed set of safety recommendations for improving protection for workers. Moussa, if those recommendations had been adopted, her husband might still be in Moussa’s words, alive today.
“That’s really tragic, because had they paid attention to that advice, then maybe he would have been with us.” – Ms Moussa
Da Silva was not just a dedicated worker. He was a vibrant individual who enjoyed parties, music, and soccer, reflecting his Brazilian heritage. Moussa recalls him with great warmth as “the love of my life and my son’s father.” His unexpected death has had an incredible emotional impact on him.
A Call for Accountability
In the wake of this tragic death, SafeWork NSW is cracking down on employers who skirt workplace safety standards. Then Executive Director Petrina Casey unveiled some very thrilling new plans. She wants to refocus the regulator’s lens on psychological damages, addressing such concerns as sexual harassment and bullying at work. She told the AP it was because the agency is better poised to prosecute even more violators.
SafeWork NSW currently has 370 inspectors targeting bad behaviour at workplaces all over the state, including construction sites every day. Their mission is to fix the shocking stat of one person a week dying from work-related injury in NSW. Casey stated that the same focus applied to physical trauma needed to be brought to psychological injury.
“Traditionally [bullying] is where we’re seeing a lot of the psychosocial claims come from,” Casey noted. The regulator has shown real determination – this time, putting two corporations on trial. This triggered each company to now suddenly be subjected to $500,000 fines for their recent failures and spills.
New Initiatives for Safer Workplaces
In a move to further improve workplace safety, SafeWork NSW are kicking off an advertising blitz that will start this Sunday. This year’s initiative focuses on enacting safer work environments while bringing awareness to psychological hazards in the workplace. In addition, the agency is in the process of hiring 25 new positions dedicated solely to tackling these problems.
What we want to do is fill the pot with a lot more dough, Casey said. This is key to ensuring we can hold employers accountable and improve workplace safety overall.
Casey celebrated the recent uptick in workplace incidents as a sign that more workplaces are taking proactive steps to avoid injuries and fatalities. “We’ve seen an increase, and we’re trying to manage that increase at the front end as well, at the preventative,” she said.
The Emotional Toll of Loss
For Linda Moussa, the emotional toll of losing her husband is still too great to bear. As she does, she recalls the dreams they once shared, and how fundamentally those dreams have been changed by his absence.
“It’s really difficult to continue and actually fully understand that all the dreams that you had would never come true,” she expressed, underscoring the profound sadness she feels in facing a future without him.
SafeWork NSW is stepping up its game to better protect the safety and increase accountability of Australian workplaces. Moussa’s story is a moving testament to the human toll of dangerous and irresponsible practices plaguing construction and other high-risk industries.
