Motivating stories of innovation, leadership and determination in Victorian workplaces have taken centre stage as the 2024 WorkSafe Awards winners were announced.
More than 400 people gathered at Park Hyatt Melbourne to celebrate 21 finalists who went the extra mile to improve workplace health and safety or showed remarkable strength in their journey back to employment.
Seven winners were honoured across six award categories.
The Return to Work Achievement was awarded to maintenance fitter Matthew Manley, whose determination and resilience saw him return to work just three months after a serious hand injury.
While tightening a conveyor, Matt lost control of a spanner, which shattered his arm and wrist and caused a severe degloving of his hand.
One of his greatest challenges during recovery was being unable to drive for three months and having to rely on others.
Matt’s advice to others recovering from a workplace injury is to listen to those who are trying to help you.
Matt’s commitment to rehabilitation inspired those around him, including his employer, Kinross Farms, which went above and beyond – driving Matt from Benalla to Melbourne for his appointments and ensuring he stayed connected outside of work.
“When you’re sitting at home you get a lot of negative thoughts, so any sort of reinforcement that the workmates make, they give you a positive outlook – that you’re not there by yourself, you’re part of a team,” Matt said.
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