New Work Safety Laws for New Economy

Date: 08 June 2000

The Attorney General and Minister for Industrial Relations, Jeff Shaw, QC, today announced new work safety legislation which will provide the framework for workplace safety in the technological era.

Mr Shaw said: "The Occupational Health and Safety Bill 2000 implements the key recommendations of the bi-partisan Upper House Inquiry, including:
· duties on employers to consult with employees on work safety in a more flexible arrangement than under current legislation
· giving the court authority to order offenders to publicise the consequences of their offence or to undertake projects to improve work safety in the general community
· giving victims or their families the opportunity to present victim impact statements

"The Carr Government is committed to reducing the workplace death and injury toll. Approximately one worker is killed every two days in NSW and 58,000 are injured or suffer illness each year at a cost of nearly $1 billion per annum to the community.

"The entire Act has been re-written in plain English and brought in line with modern occupational health and safety practices designed to identify and eliminate risks.

" Employers will be required to consult with workers on safety issues either through safety committees (for organisations with 20 or more employees) or through one or more health and safety representatives or through another agreed mechanism which takes employees safety concerns into account and identifies risks.

"Apart from penalties, the courts will have the power where appropriate to order companies to publicise breaches of occupational health and safety legislation and victims or their families will be able to present their side of the story.

"I am pleased that these reforms were bi-partisan recommendations. Results of the work safety awareness campaign, another Upper House Inquiry key recommendation implemented by the Carr Government, show that the vast majority of the community is concerned about work safety.

"Those concerns are above politics and I hope we can continue to work together to cut workplace deaths and injuries."

Contact: John Sampson on 0419 014 135

For further information

Contact:	John Sampson
Union:	Politics - NSW
Phone:	0419 014135

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