The Great Australian Socialist Uniform

[botanika]

It seems half of australians now wear the navy blue and fluoro yellow OH&S (Occupational Health and Safety) jersey's. It should be the next olympic uniform. Without mining australia would be like the Phillipines. Without Sam the Paving Man our roads empty. No use denying it - we are a nation of bogan tradesmen and glorified council workers.

I predict School Teachers and students will soon be required to wear OH&S jerseys for outdoor education, particularly as they will be preparing safety plans of management every time they use the school oval. Next will be Doctors and medical staff. Against the white clean hospital walls, traditional hospital wear presents a plethora of safety concerns for OH&S. Bright fluoro surgical gloves and face masks should keep the OH&S officers happy temporarily. Staff pushing stretchers will need a ticket. Air pilots operate heavy machinery. They will need to wear the blue and yellow vests at all times along with passengers. Policemen may think they already have enough colour, reflective materials and lights but does it conform to the strict OH&S codes? If Barry down the road needs a fire escape plan for digging a hole in his garden I think the police know they will eventually need to don blue and yellow vests and erect temporary fencing and signage when they pull you over for speeding. Additionally RBT spots will have accompanying environmental impact asessments and remediation. Next will be the military. What better way to camoflage into australia's landscape than by wearing the OH&S vests like everyone else. A crack commando could effortlessly blend in with council aborists and electricians, decieving even the most cunning invader. Students may feel their time is suited to wearing second hand leather jackets and corduroy pants but OH&S has other ideas. Using the campus during lecture breaks is no different to a film crew renting a park to film home and away. Students will wear OH&S vests at all times and hard hats during thursday bar night. 'Student orientation week' - see the lingo is already in place. Politicians will not escape the colourful attire either. Ever been to parliament house? It's mostly underground and will require special mining safety equipment, training and pole-flags for fleet cars. If you are part of australia's 2 dozen indigenous population you will be required to wear a special vest permanently in accordance with section 45B, subsection F5248, page 611 of the OH&S manual as all your land is being mined. Tracy Grimshaw will face heavy fines if she does not wear a vest or adequate warnings of her appearence on TV are not screened in advance.

Im doing a speech on this topic at university of NSW in August but I wont be able to discuss anything specific as the 20 min I have allocated to talk will be taken up with legal disclaimers.

The future of australia is bright. Bright blue and fluoro ;)

Edited July 5, 2010 by botanika

[dworx]

Yes, Australia has gone mad.

[ThunderIdeal]

Next will be the military. What better way to camoflage into australia's landscape than by wearing the OH&S vests like everyone else. A crack commando could effortlessly blend in with council aborists and electricians, decieving even the most cunning invader.

 

ahahah! what a laugh.

i call them the hi-vis crowd. i'm one of them, but orange is fully sick compared to yellow.

heh.

expect it to get worse, judging by other developed nations.

i like it though. if you are working around traffic or machinery, you want motherfuckers to see you. if i'm on the road before the sun comes up i need the silver reflective shit and i'm glad i've got it.

a tangential observation: when you're working in some street, without all of the traffic cones, barriers and full-blown signage they use on main roads, male drivers usually exercise caution, and slow down. women seem to be far more likely to just speed on past, even getting visibly angry at the slightest delay to their schedule. i think women are wonderful beings, this is just an observation. slow down around workers all you women, that four-wheeled box you are steering is deadly.

[Magicdirt]

That's an interesting take you have on the subject - socialist.

I've always veiwed it from a different perspective, to me it seems more like a form of elitism.

The working classes are marked with flouro workwear and in lower socioeconomic neighbourhoods they are worn proudly almost as a status symbol or a form of delusional elitism.

In upper class neighbourhoods anyone branded in flouro is almost always silently deemed to be of a lower class or standing than anyone from a "profession" where a 3 piece suit is par for the course.

Anyone who wears nike or flannelette is obviously the lowest of the low and clearly identifiable as unemployed and unworthy.

It clearly divides society into identifiable classes.

To me it is just another wedge driven into society to fullfill the aims of the powerbrokers and a very effective one too.

Divide and conquer.

Whenever people have the mentality "I'm better than that" there can be no unity.

Even amongst the flouro brigade there are many sub classes and there is no unity within that group.

We have been branded like cattle.

Mooooo

[ThunderIdeal]

these might be interesting concepts, but..

fluro work wear is the result of OHS. we should be thankful, because now our bosses can get their asses handed to them if there's an accident in the workplace and they didn't have measures in place to reduce the likelihood/severity of such an accident.

and the big nobs still have to wear a hard hat when they come on site, you know?

it's actually a requirement if you are the premier of queensland that you wear a hard hat whenever a camera is around.

[paradox]

classic

[hutch]

What does this say about me....I have never worked a construction/building site since the Chinese invented the fluro shirt but I have three of them in my draw....I feel bad now..They were cheap and they are great for mowing the lawn and the mrs never has any trouble finding me on our 25 acres..and I wanted to feel a part of this great Australian society...

[botanika]

ahahah! what a laugh.

i call them the hi-vis crowd. i'm one of them, but orange is fully sick compared to yellow.

heh.

i like it though. if you are working around traffic or machinery, you want motherfuckers to see you. if i'm on the road before the sun comes up i need the silver reflective shit and i'm glad i've got it.

 

I reckon this could be a huge market: designing better looking vests and jerseys - a fortune to be made if you could team up with Rip Curl. Ugg boots are now internationally trendy and expensive. Australian OH&S gear could be very chic in years to come. And let's face it who hasn't envied the swaggering council worker who has one of those reliced and faded tops from years of outdoor work. I think I might start marketting 'pre-worn' faded jerseys!

[ThunderIdeal]

yer i've seen hi vis tops with flame graphics on them, but i think it was specific to the company, not something you can buy in a workwear shop.

and chainsaw pants with fluro ankles (so if you're up in a tree and chainsaw your leg off, you can find where it landed??)

[Chiral]

LMFAO...how did I miss this little gem before...Botanika you have a knack for noticing the sublimely subtle..(or not so)... nuances of society, particularly the colloquial, you should write or script up, and perhaps publish some of your observations, they are quirky and rather thought provoking to say the least.

Personally i hate the whole hi vis clothing thing, to be honest it made me feel like an inferior person doing an inferior numb nuts job.

it does have one thing going for it though...when you finish work, you don't have to change clothes when going to your favorite Tekno rave party, and you may find your skinny bead wearing girlfriends will be asking to borrow it.

Edited July 7, 2010 by Chiral

[incognito]

fluro work wear is the result of OHS. we should be thankful, because now our bosses can get their asses handed to them if there's an accident in the workplace and they didn't have measures in place to reduce the likelihood/severity of such an accident

i agree. flouro vests have likely saved 1000's of workers lives.

workin in roadconstruction with graders,bobcats and rollers flying around, i used to nappysan my fluro vest to make it more shiny and visible!!!

OHS is a pain in the ass, but its there for a reason, to save lives and insuance money.

but i like the save life part.

viva la fluoro!!