Are we going backwards on worker safety?
Recently, an IEU OHS veteran read Barry Naismith’s three-volume work The 35th Anniversary of OHS in Victoria.
He was struck most by the post script.
Since 1985:
1350 have died in traumatic incidents at work (those are the reported ones)
1.25 million have been seriously injured or made ill (and that’s only those known because they lodged and succeeded in getting a WorkCover claim up)
$42 billion dollars has been paid in benefits and recovery to harmed workers and bereaved families.
Since 1990:
1353 employers prosecuted
$98 million in fines
Those figures made our Organiser consider the ‘progress’ that we’ve achieved in those three decades. As Barry writes, thousands of workers have avoided being killed, injured, or made ill because of an improved legislative framework and the tireless efforts of, amongst others, health, and safety Reps.
However, WorkSafe’s 2020 Annual Report tells us 65 workers were killed and 27,686 were seriously harmed that year.
And where’s the progress, our OHS guru asks, when the government that introduced workplace manslaughter law wants to make it much harder for workers afflicted with psychological injury at work?
The Victorian Government has proposed changes to WorkCover that would reduce restrict the type of psychological injury for which workers would be entitled to compensation and making it harder for workers with long-term injuries to access weekly payments.
The OHS Reps network based at Victorian Trades Hall has launched a petition calling on the Victorian Government to:
Reverse the proposed cuts to WorkCover
Implement all 22 recommendations of the recent Rozen Review into workers compensation
Give injured workers a voice at all stages of the process
Hold insurance companies accountable by reigning in unfair practices and the over-use of IMEs and private investigators.
The petition reads: “WorkCover is failing injured workers and multiple reviews have found that it is those with long-term and complex issues who suffer the most”.
“Two Ombudsman's reports have found that the private insurance companies responsible for managing claims unfairly delay payments, make unsustainable decisions, and deny services essential for rehabilitation. This pushes injured workers even further into poverty, prolongs and exacerbates injury and costs the scheme millions.
“Injured workers should not bear the cost of fixing the WorkCover scheme. Injured workers deserve dignity, respect, and a fair workers compensation system.”
The Injured Workers Support Network proposes a scheme that works with, not against, injured workers by providing the support to help them rehabilitate and return to work safely.
Our Organiser says, “progress is not measured in decreasing numbers of workers killed or injured, or dollars dished out to put Humpty Dumpty back on the wall, it’s measured by duty holders giving the highest level of protection, taking on the accountability, really listening to workers, acting out what prevention is and getting rid of danger before anyone gets hurt”.
“It’s measured by the willingness of bean counters to spend money and time to invest in and protect the asset upon which their business is built – their workers.”
“For all our technology and our immense knowledge of human behaviour it’s just not acceptable that workers keep getting killed and injured at work.”
Luke Hilakari, Secretary of Trades Hall Council told the ABC the restrictions on mental health claims undermined efforts to destigmatise mental health problems.
"We know there are real problems with the scheme. We want to see injured workers get back to work as soon as possible. But we think denying workers access to the scheme is the wrong way to go," he said.
"We have real concerns about what is being said about excluding workers who experience stress, anxiety and overwork. We have real concerns about a whole person impairment test being put forward at 20 per cent."
You can sign the petition at: https://rb.gy/imccm