Members will rally outside the NSW Government offices at 52 Martin Place, Sydney on Monday 26 May at 8am, as workers continue their campaign opposing NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey’s proposed changes to workers compensation for mental health injuries.
The changes have the potential to significantly impact support and income thresholds for school and TAFE teachers. If you are available, Federation encourages you to attend.
Local rallies draw attention to critical issue for all workers
This week, rallies at Parramatta, Tweed Heads, Wollongong, Wagga Wagga and Newcastle brought the public’s attention to the issue, which affects all essential workers.
They’ve heard from union officials, as well as members from across the union movement, about injured workers and the dire consequences for workers if the proposed changes are legislated.
Rallies will continue next week.
In Parramatta on 21 May, Federation’s Deputy President Amber Flohm said: “These changes will shift the financial burden from government to injured teachers and other workers. Mental health injuries are real and assessing and compensating them on the basis of a budgetary spreadsheet is unfair and wrong.” She highlighted the support of unions by doctors, lawyers, mental health experts and other social services organisations against the proposed legislative changes.
Threats to injured workers’ rights
The Government’s proposals include:
- thresholds for seriously injured workers to receive income support and medical benefits for long-term care and support to more than double
- thresholds for lump-sum payments and work injury damages to increase from 15 per cent to 31 per cent
- a new definition of “psychological injury” to exclude several current psychosocial hazards, including workload
- before being able to make a psychosocial injury claim, which includes accessing medical interventions, workers would be required to have a finding from either a newly established NSW Bullying and Harassment (including sexual harassment) jurisdiction at the Industrial Relations Commission or the existing jurisdiction at the Fair Work Commission
- additional legal requirements on “close connection” to a traumatic event
- new definition of “reasonable management action”, narrowing the current scope
- limited medical benefits for work pressure claims.
Changes won’t prevent workplace injuries
The Government’s proposed changes won’t prevent workplace injuries and are just a cost-cutting exercise.
In evidence at the Parliamentary Inquiry on proposed changes to liability and entitlements for psychological injury in NSW, icare NSW admitted that only 27 claimants [among the current 12,000 claimants] would reach the proposed 31 per cent impairment threshold.
A better way for workers compensation reform
Federation supports Unions NSW’s 5-point plan Financial Sustainability through prevention: a better way for NSW workers compensation reform as an alternative to the Government’s plan — fixing the system through prevention and supported return to work.
The union’s unanimous decision from State Council on 17 May can be accessed here.
What you can do, right now
Call and email your local Labor MP and MLCS now and tell them to stand by their pre-election promise to support injured workers.
