“Tell Brumby: Don’t let Gillard weaken OHS laws”

The federal government proposes to weaken occupational health and safety laws in the states with the strongest laws – NSW and Victoria – in its plan to harmonise the OHS laws around the country. 

The two sections of the NSW law that the bosses and the federal government want to get rid of are the “onus of proof” being on the employer and the right of third parties (eg unions) to prosecute for safety breaches. 

“These two provisions should apply across the country,” said Margarita Windisch, TAFE teacher and Socialist Alliance candidate for the Footscray district in the state election.

“The NSW government opposes the OHS harmonisation proposal unless these two provisions are retained. The Brumby government should join with NSW and stop the Gillard government from weakening the OHS laws in Victoria and NSW,” said Windisch.

Petrochemical worker and Socialist Alliance candidate in the Melton district Ron Guy added “We want the best OHS laws, not something in between. More people die each year in workplace accidents than die on the roads. We need to do something about this death toll.”

“We call on all parties standing candidates in the Victorian election to come out and tell Gillard that they won’t accept any weakening of our occupational health and safety laws.

“With the Victorian elections on November 27, now is the time for the union movement to put pressure on the Brumby government to protect workers,” said Guy. 

In a Victorian Trades Hall council survey (August 2009), 77% of respondents said that the global financial crisis had caused deterioration in OHS standards in their workplace. Companies took short cuts to reduce costs and skimped on health and safety. Some workers were too scared to raise safety problems because they were scared to lose their job