Today Senator Kate Lundy visited the Electro Skills training centre to talk to apprentices about Federal Labor’s plan for occupational health and safety.
The Howard Government has failed to address significant issues in the area of workplace health and safety because of its ideological obsession with Work Choices.
In contrast, Federal Labor believes that policy inaction in the area of workplace health and safety is bad for business and bad for workers. Labor has already announced it will:
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reform Comcare; |
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improve Commonwealth OH&S legislation; |
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reduce red tape through cooperative federalism; and |
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create a new, independent reform focused federal OH&S agency. |
Federal Labor’s plan to harmonise OHS regulations and workers compensation schemes will uphold existing safety standards, while streamlining the different state systems and reducing complexity for employers and employees.
“Unfortunately, recently occupational health and safety has become the forgotten element of national industrial relations policy” Senator Lundy said.
“In 2003-04, 332 people died in Australia as a result of work-related industries. This equates to a rate of 3.5 per 100,000 employed Australians”, Senator Lundy said.
Federal Labor’s OH&S plan shows that Labor has fresh ideas for health and safety in Australian workplaces.
Contact: Rachel Allen – 6230 0411 or 0418 488 295
