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Unions NSW on model national OHS laws (i.e. harmonisation)
14 July 2008
Unions NSW has made a 70 page submission to National Review into Model Occupational Health and Safety Laws (attached below as a pdf document).
Unions NSW has also produced a 4 page leaflet on the issues for general distribution. It's titled Safety at Work: Our lives are in your hands. Union response to Federal government plans to harmonise OH&S systems across Australia.
The Unions NSW submission was prepared by Terry Hannan, the former PSA OHS Officer now retired (almost).
He says the "The submission is also based on the following general principles of Occupational Health & Safety ('OH&S') legislation in that the legislation is:
- Social legislation
- Promotion of the highest possible OHS standards for workers
- The right of all workers to the highest level of effective protection to prevent injury, illness and disease
- Persons who control and manage workplaces must have responsibility for providing and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace by eliminating hazards at the source
- About protecting ALL workers, including the precariously employed, the selfemployed, those employed in large and small enterprises across gender and ethnicity
- That no worker shall suffer discrimination, harassment or detriment in their employment due to raising health and safety issues
- Based on the principles of industrial democracy which include the right of workers to be involved in all decision making processes.
- That all workers have a right to take collective action over any health and safety matter including the right to case unsafe and unhealthy work.
Unions NSW strongly believes that employers will benefit from having one set of model OHS Laws to comply with. However, with this the primary objective of harmonisation as set by COAG, it must follow automatically that there should be no diminution of workers' rights and OHS protections for such workers."
The submission chapters are:
- Legislative Approach
- Scope, Application and Definitions
- Duties of Care - Who Owes them and to Whom?
- "Reasonable Practicable" and Risk Management
- Consultation, Participation and Representation
- Regulator Functions, Powers and Accountability
- Compliance and Enforcement
- Prosecutions
- Other Issues
- Unions NSW issues
The submission by Unions NSW is supplementary to and supports the submission of the ACTU.
Related links
ACTU Submission to the Review
Unions NSW leaflet
Submissions to the National Review - 242 at July 31
National Review of Model OHS Laws home page
Download File:
UNIONS NSW SUBMISSION TO OHS REVIEW [ pdf ]
Contact Details
Shay Degara, OHS Industrial Officer
Ph: 02 9290 1555
Fax: 02 9262 1623
sdeguara@psa.asn.au
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