CFMEU Condems Howard On Safety

Date: 19 May 2004

Australia's construction union, the CFMEU, has strongly condemned the Howard Government's decision, announced today, to abolish the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission.

CFMEU Construction National Secretary John Sutton said:

'The Howard Government has seriously undermined the workings of the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission with its cuts to NOHSC funding in previous budgets. Its decision to abolish the Commission today is the nail in the coffin for the only tripartite OHS body in Australia.

'The National Health and Safety Commission importantly involved the key participants for effective health and safety regulation: trade unions, employers and government officials.

'The Howard Government's decision to hand those functions over to the Department of Workplace Relations raises questions about the continuing role of workers and employer representatives in formulating health and safety standards.

'With over 50 construction deaths per year, our industry needs stronger health and safety standards and more investment, not less, in effective national controls and databases to improve working conditions on construction sites.'

'It makes no sense that the Government should on the one hand abolish the existing infrastructure of NOHSC while at the same time allocating $21.7 million to set up an entirely new federal Safety Commissioner for the industry.'

For further information

Contact:	John Sutton
Union:	CFMEU
Phone:	02 9267 2576
WWW:	http://workers.labor.net.au/

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