Suicide affects us all. The suicide of a friend, family member or workmate can be devastating across the whole community and particularly at work.

Over 3,000 Australians die from suicide each year; of these, 75 per cent of them are men. It’s a leading cause of death for people in the 25-39 age group.

The pandemic has brought mental health issues into the forefront. Despite the devastating number of workers infected with Covid-19 in workplaces, Safe Work Australia have reported that nearly one in every five  Covid related workers’ compensation claims were generated on mental health grounds.

In manufacturing, with many predominantly male or multicultural workers, there have been barriers to discussing mental health as openly as possible.

Mates in Manufacturing has been set up to remedy the challenges of suicide ideation and mental health more generally. Bringing together employers and unions and drawing on the expertise of the Mates organisation,

Mates in Manufacturing is now ready to deliver its critical workplace training, building this peer-based program within our workplaces and developing the knowledge within our industry to enable us to confront this.

Funding has been secured from both the NSW and Federal Governments for research by Western Sydney, Deakin and Melbourne Universities, to ensure that the programs are fit for purpose.

Undertaken as a partnership between employers and unions in the sector, Mates in Manufacturing will start its rollout over November this year and will officially launch on December 10.

Members of the group overseeing the project, the steering committee come from manufacturing industry leaders like Downer Group, OPAL, UGL, Stramit and Thales and are joined by the Australian Industry Group, with workers represented by the AMWU, AWU and UWU.

We recognise that suicide prevention and improving mental health support transcends traditional workplace issues and that by working together we stand a better chance of making positive change.

If you and your company operate within the manufacturing industry and want to get serious about confronting suicide and mental health challenges, as part of an evidence-based industry partnership through this workplace program, we would welcome your involvement as part of this process.

To start a conversation, contact Dave Henry at matesinmanufacturing@gmail.com