WorkCover scheme to be reviewed

Brad Crouch From: Sunday Mail (SA) January 23, 2011 12:01AM

Unions SA secretary Janet Giles says WorkCover has penalised the most
vulnerable in the community.

A REVIEW of the WorkCover scheme begins tomorrow as the system labours
under a $1 billion liability.

South Australia's union movement will demand the scheme revert to a system
based on protecting workers, after a contentious overhaul in 2008 that
undermined protection to save money.

The overhaul, which split the Labor movement and remains a huge divide
 line within the Party, will be reviewed under legislation spearheaded at the
time of the changes by MLC John Darley.

Submissions will be accepted from tomorrow until March 4.

Unions SA has prepared a consolidated submission on behalf of all unions
that calls for major reforms. Unions SA secretary Janet Giles, who resigned
from the WorkCover board in protest over the reforms, said fundamental
change was needed to restore fairness to the system.

"The existing scheme has become unjust and is now one which punishes injured
workers instead of helping them," Ms Giles said. "We've seen cuts to payments
for workers while they are recovering from injury, the creation of star chamber
medical panels which make secretive decisions that can't be appealed, and cuts
to payments of people who challenge WorkCover decisions.

"We will be arguing this review is a chance for the government to make the
system fairer so people who are injured at work are treated with respect, not
suspicion."

The review will be run by Bill Cossey AM, a former senior public servant
who will consider the impact of the changes on workers who have suffered
compensable disabilities and been affected by the operation of the legislation.

The 2008 changes, triggered by WorkCover's ballooning liabilities, resulted
in cuts in payments to injured workers and termination of payments.

Ms Giles said the reforms had penalised the most vulnerable in the community
while failing to prop up the system.

"Our submission will show injured workers have been the innocent victims
of a failed experiment by Mike Rann and Kevin Foley - the aim to increase
 the return-to-work rate and reduce the unfunded liability have not been
achieved, yet workers have suffered enormously," she said.

The scheme's most recent figures show its unfunded liability decreased from
$1.298 billion in December 2008, to $911 million in December 2009.