
Issue No 5		19 March 1999

Trades Hall

Mary Yaager on Compo Reform

Recent changes to workers compensation have opened up exciting new possibilities for trade unions to represent the interests of their members.


	Labor Council's Mary Yaager

While the primary focus of the changes have been on the new rules of injury management, changes to scheme administration and injury prevention are even more profound.

They are part of the Carr Government's attempt to rescue a scheme that has faced severe financial difficulties since the former Fahey Government set unsustainable premium and benefit levels.

In a package of reforms introduced into State Parliament last year the Carr Government shifted the focus of the scheme towards the prevention and management of injuries.

One of the key changes was the establishment of the Workers Compensation Advisory Council, a body of employer and union representatives charged with overseeing the WorkCover Authority.

NSW workers are represented by Tony Sheldon (TWU), Ian West (LHMU), Sandra Moaitt (Nurses), Andrew Ferguson (CFMEU) and myself on behalf of the Labor Council.

One of the outcomes of this process has been that union and employer representatives have worked cooperatively to bring in the changes necessary to keep the scheme afloat.

The idea behind the Advisory Council is to give control of the scheme back to its primary stakeholders, rather than keeping it in a distant bureaucracy.

The Council will have responsibility for all occupational health and safety and workers compensation legislation; but the driving ideas are expected to come from newly formed Industry Reference Groups

The groups are listed below, with the trade unions sitting on each group in brackets:

rural (AWU)
construction (CFMEU, CEPU, AMWU, PTU, ETU, Local Govt Engineers)
mining (United Mine Workers, AMWU, ETU, AWU, Collieries Officials)
industrial manufacturing (CFMEU, NUW, ETU, AMWU, AWU)
consumer manufacturing (AMIEU, MEAA, AMWU, NUW, TCFU, LHMU, AWU)
wholesale (NUW, CFMEU)
retail (SDA, LHMU, AMWU, SAWE)
transport and storage (PTU, NUW, ETU, FAA, MUA, AMWU, TWU, ASU)
consumer services (MEAA, AWU, LHMU)
government administration and education (PSA, Teachers Fed, MEAA, HREA, Police Assoc, IEU, MEU)
health and community services (PSA, Dental Assistants, Nurses, ASU, ETU, LHMU, HREA)
business services (FSU, ASU, ETU, CEPU, LHMU)
utlities (CFMEU, ASU, ETU, APESMA, AWU, LGE)

These groups have responsibility for identifying problem spots in industries before they become trends; an early-warning system that will not only contain scheme costs but, more importantly, cut the number of preventable injuries.

For trade unions, the new structure also provides a platform for them to represent the interests of their members at a grass-roots level.

It is an opportunity that all unions should embrace.

   Minutes of all Advisory Council and IRG meetings will be posted on the Labor Council OHSNet

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  Issue 5 contents

Interview: Towards An Information International
FIET general secretary Phillip Jennings talks about the development of the Union Network International and its potential to organise globally.

Unions: The Integral Price of Loyalty
Workers at Integral Energy are asking for their share of the fruits of power reform.

History: A Very Public History
Historian Ray Markey and Public Service Association General Secretary Janet Good take a look at the union�s first 100 years.

Review: Bullworth - Beatty�s Political Rap
Warren Beatty makes some gutsy calls in his new film about a politician who, when all else fails, tries the truth.

Campaign Diary: The Ultimate Punt
As the leaders slug it through the final weeks of the campaign, the armchair critics get their chance to work their pet election theories.

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» Kelty Sees Global Minimum Wage On Horizon

» International Superunion Given Go-Ahead

» FIET Takes Hammer To Debt Wall

» Is The World Bank Anti-Union?

» Lectures Cancelled Over University Pay Claim

» 100 Reasons Why Public Sector Unionism Will Survive

» Maccas Death Call

» Cleaners Time Out Hours Cut