Thursday 23 February 2012

Vic workers entitlements at risk: law firm

Workers' safety and entitlements are at risk after the Victoria government 
decided to raid WorkCover premiums, a law firm has warned.
In December, the government announced it would take $471.5
million out of the state's workplace insurance scheme over
four years and funnel it into general revenue.

Maurice Blackburn workplace law expert John Cain said the
decision was driven by the government wanting to make a
quick buck at workers' expense and could drive up premiums
and threaten injured workers' compensation entitlements.
About eight in every 1000 Victorian workers are injured at
work to an extent where they need at least one week off,
medical attention and compensation.

"These injured workers are entitled to fair compensation,
" Mr Cain said in a statement.

"We need to invest more in preventing workplace injury,
not put more pressure on premiums and benefits paid to
injured workers.

"This is a back door tax that is bad for business, bad for
workers and bad for Victorians."
Comment was being sought from the minister responsible
for WorkCover, Gordon Rich-Phillips.



1 comment:

Workcover Victims Victoria said...

We at workcover victims are sick and tired of being ignored and lied to by our government. I have personally been told that the reason 5000 of us were not included in the Bracks changes was because of the lack of money within worksafe victoia yet here is our government taking 471.5 million from the fund for themselves and they still leave 5000 of us with nothing except a pack of blatant lies..whats wrong with this picture??????????