Page 211 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 May 1989
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form DWGs. However, all employers are encouraged to involve their employees in workplace arrangements that raise safety awareness and ensure potentially hazardous situations are recognised and speedily addressed.
The purpose of these requirements is not to make life harder for Canberra business. There is a need to break down adversarial and confrontationist attitudes. The legislation provides a framework by which employers can develop cooperative arrangements with their employees, and employees have a channel of communication to bring perceived hazards to the attention of the employer for action. Employees in workplaces without an occupational health and safety representative can ask an inspector to examine a perceived workplace hazard if they wish. The inspector will then take any necessary action to require the hazard to be remedied.
Reference is made in the legislation to occupational health and safety committees. These will be consultative bodies for employers and will not wield power to implement their recommendations. Employers will have discretion to implement or not implement their recommendations. Given the variety of employers in the ACT, details on the formation of committees will be worked out by the tripartite council. For the same reason, the legislation makes no provision for training. As Minister I shall determine training requirements on advice from the ACT Occupational Health and Safety Council.
The ACT Occupational Health and Safety Council will be a tripartite body to be established under the new legislation to provide advice to the Minister. In particular, it will review the operation of the scheme and advise on changes. It will also make recommendations to the Minister on matters such as training and on codes of practice for handling specific hazards. As Minister I shall be looking to the council to provide me with advice on training or codes before I make my decisions. The council will also provide a forum to consider occupational health and safety issues and to provide input to the processes of the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission.
Membership of the council will be by ministerial appointment. There will be nine members. Three members will represent the Government and three will represent employees. For these I shall seek nominations from the Trades and Labour Council. Three people will represent employers. Since there is no single employer organisation I shall have discussions with CARD, the Confederation of ACT Industry and other employer organisations.
Given its importance to the ACT economy and the level of hazards, I think it will be important that the building and construction industry be represented on the council.
Where I accept the advice of the council regarding a code of practice, it may be adopted by being enacted into
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