Industrial News 2007

May 2007

Nurses occupational health and safety, rehabilitation and compensation rights at risk

In a potentially far reaching decision in March 2007, the High Court of Australia upheld a decision by Optus to move all its employees from state and territory occupational health and safety regulatory systems to a national system under Comcare.

This decision will undoubtedly add to the growing list of nursing employers including Symbion Health, Mayne, Healthscope, St John of God and Australian Defence Industries, who have vacated state and territory systems.

Occupational health and safety regulation and workers compensation and rehabilitation schemes have historically been the responsibility of state and territory governments with the national Comcare scheme covering Commonwealth public sector employees.

The government and employers maintain the national system removes complications and inconsistencies in state and territory schemes which lead to inefficiencies in the running of a business. The ANF is not opposed to a national rehabilitation and compensation system as long as it promotes a safe and healthy workplace and advances the rights and protections for employees injured at work.

In recent moves, not dissimilar to their approach in WorkChoices, the Howard government has altered national occupational health and safety and compensation laws. These changes encourage big business to move to the national scheme and prevent state and territory governments from enacting regulation that may be fairer for employees and their representatives. Examples of this include moves to harmonise state and territory health and safety legislation and override industrial manslaughter laws. Weakening the benefits available under the national scheme will undoubtedly attract more employers away from state and territory schemes.

In the event that your employer decides to move into national Comcare arrangements there a number of steps that nurses can take:

• demand proper consultation involving the ANF and all nurses to fully explain the effect on nurses of a move to national Comcare arrangements,
• introduce effective arrangements for nurses to raise questions and receive prompt answers,
• demand that all nurses both collectively and individually will not have their existing or future rights or entitlements reduced as a result of such a move, and
• demand that enterprise bargaining agreements contain clauses requiring the employer to maintain current employee entitlements and compensation and rehabilitation arrangements.

Nick Blake
ANF Federal Industrial Officer