Fight against R.S.I. stepped up

Press, 25 July 1985, Page 21

Fight against R.S.I. stepped up

PA Wellington The fight to prevent repetition strain injury among keyboard operators is being stepped up in a joint effort by Government departments and the Public Service Association. Union-management meetings are being held in all Wellington Government offices at which P.S.A. and State Services Commission representatives are explaining the obligations of State employers to provide safe work conditions. The Commissioner, Mrs Margaret Bazley, says present thinking was that R.S.I. among keyboard operators was caused by the small number of muscle movements required on an electronic keyboard rather than just the speeds possible . . . the older, manual typewriter required a complete arm movement at the end of each line and other arm movements to put fresh paper into the machine. Government employers were required to give keyboard operators a 10-minute break every hour so they could use their muscles in other ways, she said. Also, Government employers were being told to make sure staff were not put under pressure to overwork. Temporary staff should be employed while there were staff vacancies,

rather than just putting extra work on full-time staff, Mrs Bazlev said. It was also important to check that Government departments were up to the mark on the equipment being used, though generally standards were good, Mrs Bazley said. “One suggestion from these meetings has been for keyboard operators to each have an alarm clock which they set when they start work so it tells them when to have a break,” she said. Also attitudes to work would have to change so that the current demands for work reduced. An example might be people writing documents to not require keyboard operators to prepare a rough draft, that being done by the author of the document. “People must feel confident that they are protecting themselves,” she said. The regional secretary for

the Public Service Association, Mr Francis Wevers, said the health of the individual must be paramount This was especially important in Government departments where there was pressure to prepare documents in a hurry, he said. “The commission has told them they must revise their schedules and find new work procedures based on concern for the health of staff. Output must be modified to prevent R. 5.1.” Mr Wevers said it was the responsibility of Government employers to find alternative work for R.S.I. victims as it was workrelated factors controllable by the employer that in most cases caused R.S.I. After the Wellington meetings ended it would be the responsibility of each Government department to see safe practices were used in the rest of New Zealand, Mr Wevers said.