NSW needs to stay ahead on safety: Unions

Plugging the gaps of the workplace safety legislation is needed to keep NSW a step ahead of other jurisdictions, according to AMWU OHS officer David Henry.

Unions NSW will make 19 suggestions to the NSW Government's review of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Suggestions range from making it easier for workers to stop work when they see a safety risk to allowing unions to apply for enforceable safety orders on employers.

A suggestion would be to allow WorkCover to intervene when workers take action, such as walking off the job, because of safety risks.

Such instances are currently classified as industrial matters, which WorkCover tends to step away from.

"This will make the regulator live up to their obligations," Henry said.

Another suggestion is if businesses breach safety standards, enforceable undertakings between unions and employers could be registered with the Industrial Relations Commission.

This would mean unions wouldn't have to go to court every time there is a breach, which is the case at the moment.

A third suggestion is to make OHS training for representatives compulsory and compel employers to support this training, which would bring NSW in line with Victoria.

"Employers are ignoring the current code of practice which says reps should train after three months," Henry said.

Other suggestions include making green card safety training compulsory for transient workers in the construction industry and expanding the green card to include other industries.

Henry said although NSW compared favourably to other states in OHS laws, other jurisdictions are catching up.

"In the past we've been touted as a step ahead but other states are now close on our heels," he said.

NSW Minister for Commerce, John Della Bosca, said the final report on the review would be tabled in Parliament in December.

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Last modified: Tuesday, 15-Nov-2005 20:37:38 EST