Diseases in Abattoir and Meat Industry Workers - Essay Example

Diseases in abattoir and meat industry workers Professor (Tutor) The Name of the School (University) The City and State Date Diseases in abattoir and meat industry workers Diseases and injuries related to workplace are a continuing international problem. People working in different industries are at constant risk of developing occupational diseases or injuries. Hazardous substances or materials can be inhaled or access the body through skin contact that may cause increased harm. Some of the general occupational diseases may range from minor diseases such as irritation, sensation, and chemical burns to chronic diseases such birth defects and cancer (RMIT University 2015, Lecture 5). The meat processing industry in Australia is at risk of exposing workers to occupational diseases and injuries. Workers in the meat processing industry are at risk of developing zoonotic bacterial infections that are passed from animals to humans. Additionally, abattoir and meat industry employees risk getting Q fever, Brucellosis, and Leptospirosis (RMIT University 2015, Lecture 5). The following paper aims at exploring diseases in abattoir and meat industry workers in relation to Occupational Health and Safety Management. The issue of occupational diseases is not new and has received increased attention from researchers and scholars worldwide. Occupational diseases are an ongoing problem due to the hazardous or risky nature of some industries. The meat processing industry has received increased focus based on the development of occupational diseases that are passed from bacteria in animals to humans. Previous and current literature has illustrated that abattoir and meat industry workers are in high risks of getting occupational diseases. The growing body of literature has even supported regulatory reforms that have ensured that all people working in the meat industry are vaccinated against the Q fever in Australia (Kermode et al., 2003). Players in the health and meat production industries have also developed numerous studies on related occupational diseases and infection in the meat industry. Nonetheless, increased research will be required to develop proper regulatory reforms and enable effective OHS management practices in the meat industry. The risk of developing an occupation disease in the meat industry covers abattoir employees, stock transporters, stock workers, hide processors, shearers, farmers, and lab workers. The main challenge behind occupational diseases is that they may be challenging to detect and measure. Most employees in the meat industry may not understand the changes in bodily or psychological functions. Furthermore, it is not always easy to identify a disease or infection as work-related if its cause is not well identified. Therefore, the general understanding of occupations diseases in the meat industry is only based on risk assessments. Nonetheless, occupational diseases in the meat industry do relate to sociological factors. According to the Australian Meat industry report, about 50% of all workers are aged 45 years and above (Fragar, Pollock & Morton 2005). According to Fragar, Pollock & Morton (2005), about 64 cases were noted of Q fever among farmers aged above 70, which was the highest observation compared to other age groups. This means that the elderly and aging are at high risks of developing occupational diseases and injuries. This is because ageing is related to increased health risks. Additionally, women in the meat industry have increased over the past few decades. Most of the work they do involves exposure to meat and use of detergents puts them in high risks to exposure of bacteria. Moreover, there are a high number of employees in the meat industry who are immigrants or illegal immigrants. Therefore, some companies may take advantage of the increased demand for employment from illegal immigrants based on the fact that most jobs in the meat industry do not require special skills or training (Piller & Lising 2014). Occupational diseases in the meat industry can be prevented through following the expected OHS standards. Numerous regulatory and legal frameworks are available for the meat industry workers. Australia’s government passed the Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Act 1986 that makes it mandatory for organizations to develop and implement an OHS strategy and program (Australian Meat Industry Employees Union 1995). Moreover, the Occupational Health and Safety ACT 1985 require certain provisions for health and safety provisions. These legal provisions require employers in the meat industry to offer and maintain workplaces, work systems, and facilities that are practicable, health-risk free, and safe. Furthermore, employers are required to consult with workers and their health and safety agents and to offer such instruction, information, supervision, and training to employees as is essential to enable them to conduct their work in a certain manner that is deemed safe and without any health risks (Australian Meat Industry Employees Union 1995). OHS national guidelines for the meat industry also require the creation of OHS committees to research and review health and safety risks and take necessary action to prevent any type of health or safety incident in the workplace. Workers in the meat industry also enjoy union support when it comes to making claims over such cases of occupational diseases (Australian Meat Industry Employees Union 1995). Increased enforcement of regulations is needed to ensure that the occurrence of occupational diseases reduces in the meat industry. It has been found that most cases where bacteria or zoonotic diseases occur, OHS guidelines are not implemented fully. Furthermore, research has not focused on the overall OHS practices in the meat industry. Overall, the meat industry has developed comprehensive regulatory and legal guidelines, but the enforcement part of it has failed increasingly as workers still get infected with occupational diseases. As discussed above, there are comprehensive OHS standards and guidelines that businesses in the meat industry can implement. These are the expert solutions to this issue of occupational diseases among meat industry workers. A study by Dreyfus et al (2014), found that meat workers in New Zealand were exposed to leptospires, and recommended enhancement of personal protective equipment, vaccination of sheep, and transformations in slaughter procedure. Another study suggested that close coordination medical and veterinary experts can help reduce and increase awareness on health risks and safety associated with handling meat from animals. The expert solution is based on adopting a comprehensive OHS program. This involves selecting an OHS committee or representatives who can be able to spearhead OHS standards on a daily basis. The meat workers require increased OHS training as well as awareness. Lack of education and awareness is likely to cause increased risk to exposure of bacteria. Based on the issue of occupational diseases, regulation should make it mandatory for meat workers to be vaccinated against some of the known diseases such as Q fever. In addition, meat businesses especially in the processing sector should have medical examinations for their staff on a monthly or weekly basis to ensure that such infections are addressed (RMIT University 2015, Lecture 7). A comprehensive OHS strategy should also consider the issue of daily or weekly training/supervision programs aimed at enhancing the safety of workers. A safety supervisor should be able to gather all workers in the morning and offer them a few tips or reminders on what to do at their working stations to minimize risk of disease or injury. The medical profession also plays a significant role in increasing as much knowledge as possible on how such diseases can find their way to humans from animals. Moreover, veterinary professionals should consider how animals can be treated or vaccinated against disease-causing bacteria. Currently, the medical profession has conducted numerous epidemiological researches that have determined the need for vaccines such as Q fever vaccine. The administration of Q fever vaccine to workers in the meat industry has improved from 65% to 100% due to the medical program focused on eliminating the disease (Kermode et al., 2003). It would also be effective to have a legal provision that requires all employers in the meat industry to offer their workers vaccination. The same case applies to animals that should also be vaccinated to avoid contracting any diseases that may be passed on to humans. The overall solution to the issue of diseases among meat workers is ensuring that businesses are held accountable for not implementing effective OHS programs and strategies. The issue of occupational diseases in the meat industry is also based on the economic dimension. Australia is among the largest meat exporters, thus it has a high demand for employees in the meat industry. Nonetheless, due to the nature of the job, most Australians prefer not to work in such places. This has led to resulted in employers seeking immigrants mostly on temporarily working visas (Piller & Lising 2014). This nature of employment makes it impossible to effectively ensure that the OHS standards of employees are met. The high percentage of immigrant workers in the meat industry also makes it impossible for unions to develop clear standards on OHS. It is the use of such contracts that makes it impossible to deal with OHS on a direct basis when it comes to occupational diseases. Increased demand for beef and mutton means that work may be stressing when demand rises and production has to be increased. It is common to find overtime working hours in the meat industry to ensure production targets are met. Moreover, the meat industry attracts a lot of economic gains from the profits gained by farmers for their animals to the salaries and work developed by the meat industry. Nonetheless, the meat industry and Australia as whole undergoes increased economic losses based on the claims made for occupational diseases. According to Fragar, Pollock & Morton (2005), about 565 claims were made between 1998 and 2003 for occupational infectious diseases in the meat industry. All these claims carry economic losses since businesses have to compensate affected workers. Again, the health sector will incur losses for treating the workers when all the diseases could be prevented. All these are economically related since such cases of occupational diseases can also reduce productivity of workers or even lead to death. In such cases, productivity and the income of such individual results in losses to whole economy. Overall, the issue of occupational diseases in the meat industry is a real and ongoing problem in Australia and worldwide. Increased research has illustrated that failure to take preventive measures by either vaccinating animals or humans has led to increased risks of infecting humans with disease-causing bacteria from animals. The high number of infections reported includes Q fevers and zoonotic diseases. Being a major industry in the Australian economy, OHS standards should be improved to ensure the safety of workers. It is clear that the labor and industry relations pose increased challenges for effective OHS strategies and actions. The lack of OHS strategies on how to mitigate health and injury risk is prevalent in most meat industry occupations or businesses. Players and stakeholders should come together to develop effective technologies and strategies that can help reduce the risk associated to handling meat. As earlier identified, the only solution for preventing occupational diseases among meat industry workers is applying a comprehensive OHS strategy or plan. As a highly health related risk for the meat industry, it is clear that most meat processing plants do not have individual screening and monitoring. As a recommendation, all animals should be monitored or at least vaccinated against common and infectious diseases. Moreover, workers should receive pre-employment and regular medical monitoring as well as biological monitoring to ensure that they are treated as soon as infections are detected. The overall solution requires that OHS committees be developed and adopt OHS management systems that can offer follow ups as well as measure effectives in the long run. References Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union, 1995, NATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE MEAT INDUSTRY. [online]. Available at: < http://meatiesohs.org/files/information/guidelines.pdf> [Accessed 18 Sept. 2015]. Dreyfus, A., Wilson, P., Collins-Emerson, J., Benschop, J., Moore, S. and Heuer, C., 2014. Risk factors for new infection with Leptospira in meat workers in New Zealand. Occup Environ Med, 72(3), pp.219-225. Fragar LJ, Pollock K & Morton C 2005, Occupational health and safety risk in the Chart-book of Summary Information 2005 Australian Beef Cattle Industry, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Sydney. Kermode, M., Yong, K., Hurley, S. and Marmion, B., 2003. An economic evaluation of increased uptake in Q fever vaccination among meat and agricultural industry workers following implementation of the National Q Fever Management Program. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 27(4), pp.390-398. Piller, I. and Lising, L., 2014. Language, employment, and settlement: Temporary meat workers in Australia. Multilingua, 33(1-2). Quinlan, M, Bohle, P, & Lamm, F 2010, Managing occupational health and safety: A multidisciplinary approach, 3rd ed, Palgrave Macmillan, South Yarra, Chapter 1, ‘Work and health: an overview’, pp. 1-68. RMIT University, 2015, BUSM 3122 Occupational Health and Safety Management: Lecture 5: Occupational Disease. Lecture Notes. RMIT University, 2015, BUSM 3122 Occupational Health and Safety Management: Lecture 7 Managing Work Safety. Lecture Notes. Read More