The Greens have decided to oppose new WorkCover legislation in parliament, putting the future of the bill in the hands of the state opposition.
The Victorian government’s push to overhaul its failing workers’ compensation scheme has hit a snag, while a separate plan to increase employer responsibility for staff stress and burnout is more than a year overdue.
Employers would also be required to create prevention strategies and a reporting scheme would be set up to force larger workplaces to record and notify WorkSafe about incidents. The rules were announced after multiple reviews called for improvements and to better spell out the responsibility of employers.
“Work isn’t actually supposed to destroy a person,” she said. “Cutting claims protects WorkCover and employers from liability, but it really doesn’t do anything to incentivise employers to actually take steps to reduce the problem. The WorkCover bill is in danger of being defeated in Victoria’s upper house after the Greens on Wednesday decided not to support it. It means Labor will need the support of the opposition to pass the legislation.
Mental health consultant Simon Katterl said the government’s WorkCover changes would damage the mental health workforce at a time when it was already stretched. Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari said prevention was fundamental to making the WorkCover scheme sustainable and improving employee health.
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