The first alert centres on the actions of a Tweed Heads company, Safety Compliance Pty Ltd, which is alleged to have engaged in “harassment, coercion and misleading or deceptive conduct,” to sell health and safety products. The second alert, an Internet scam, falsely represents updates of Adobe freeware to obtain user personal and financial information and potentially infect computers with a virus.

Charles Watson, national manager employee relations at Printing Industries says the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had been investigating the conduct of Safety Compliance Pty Ltd which sells safety material to small businesses across Australia via phone calls.

He says, “The result of their investigation is the issuing of a public warning for all states and the Northern Territory. The notices allege that Safety Compliance made misrepresentations about occupational health and safety requirements and engaged in harassment, coercion and misleading or deceptive conduct.

“Further, the company had falsely claimed to be affiliated with workplace health and safety regulators, and warned employers they were likely to be fined by inspectors if they didn’t have their products in place.”

Watson adds the Printing Industries was very concerned over scare mongering used by any company, especially in such important and sensitive areas as workplace health and safety.

He says, “I would like to hear from any member who may have been approached by this company. Members seeking advice on workplace health and safety issues should contact Printing Industries’ national Employment Relations team on 1800 227 425.”

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