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30/03/06 - TELSTRA: COMCARE TO INVESTIGATE ACOUSTIC SHOCK INCIDENT AT RIVER QUAYS
On Thursday 23 March 2006 approximately fifteen workers at Telstra’s River Quays call centre were injured by an acoustic shock incident allegedly caused by power surges.

One worker was stretchered out of the building and taken to hospital. Other staff members suffered symptoms including haemorrhaging in the ears, numbness, ringing in the ears, dizziness and nausea.

The worst affected staff member received the shock from the same phone where a previous acoustic shock incident occurred last year. It appears Telstra have failed to make the workplace safe.

It also appears staff were placed back on phones 24 hours after the incident without any actions being undertaken by Telstra to make the workplace safe.

What has your union done?

• Written to the Commonwealth OHS body Comcare expressing concerns about Telstra's record on acoustic shock incidents and urging them to investigate. Comcare have responded to the CPSU indicating they have commenced an investigation
• Provided compensation claim forms and advice to affected staff. It appears this was not done by local Telstra management
• Encouraged all affected staff to submit incident/accident reports

Acoustic shock a real threat to health and safety in Telstra

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