Page 2558 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 October 1992
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It was referred to a select committee which recommended a level for designated work groups of 10 employees as a compromise between the union bid for all workplaces to be covered and the business sector calling for designated work groups to be put in place only where there were more than 20 employees.
Interstate the number varies, with New South Wales specifying 20 employees and Queensland 30, as quoted by Mr De Domenico, while South Australia and Victoria have no limit. An amendment put forward by the Liberal Party during the First Assembly was passed by a majority of one after nearly an hour's debate on this one clause. The rest of the Bill had an equally tortuous passage. The arguments put forward then are somewhat the same as now, only perhaps time has lulled people into a sense that legislation once passed should not be changed.
The estimated 750 businesses which employ a staff of between 10 and 20 people that are targeted by the amendment Bill before us today have already benefited to some degree from this improvement, as indeed have all workers in the ACT, through improved knowledge of and compliance with occupational health and safety practices. From figures available from the Occupational Health and Safety Council, there was a drop in lost working hours following the introduction of the legislation, a drop of more than 2,000 working hours lost because of workers compensation claims. If this can be achieved under this legislation with designated work groups in businesses with more than 20 employees, I would expect to see further improvements following the passage of this amendment Bill.
The Government has also claimed a corresponding fall in workers compensation insurance premiums, although it has been expressed to me from several sources that the main contributor to that decrease was the inability of the market to pay premiums at the higher rate. I do feel, however, that a reduced incidence of workers compensation claims will eventually have the effect of pushing the premiums down further. Following on from these gains, the next step is to organise the employees of these smaller businesses into designated work groups in a bid to further improve the record for preventing work-related injury and illness.
The businesses which will be specifically affected by the amendment Bill are the retail, hospitality, and building and construction industries. In retail trades the most common cause of injury is strain or overexertion, followed by tripping over, being hit by objects or hitting parts of their bodies. If occupational health and safety improvements can help reduce these injuries we will have a more efficient workplace, and I feel that this is the achievable aim of this amendment Bill. The same injuries were the most common in labouring trades, particularly among non-apprentices, and similar accidents were the cause of most injuries in the hospitality area.
In reducing the number of employees needed for designated work groups we are under an obligation to ensure that the employers too are informed and are prepared for this change. I do not hold the ideological view that employers are industrial relations devils who, if given the chance, will do their best to abuse their employees' rights. I believe that employers are members of our community who contribute a great deal to the economic, social and business life of Canberra. While in some cases they may have to be dragged unwillingly into wages and conditions agreements, generally goodwill exists towards their staff and they desire to improve working conditions within reason. I also do not believe that employers are industrial relations angels who grant their employees' every
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