THE NSW government is considering cutting benefits under the workers compensation scheme by putting a cap on medical expenses payouts, removing coverage for injury claims relating to journeys to and from work and reducing weekly compensation payments, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.Injured workers, support groups and unions are crying out loud…
Outcry as axe hangs over WorkCover NSW payouts
The Finance and Services Minister, Greg Pearce, released an issues paper yesterday on the scheme which he described as unsustainable because it has a deficit of $4.1 billion.
Mr Pearce said that without significant reform NSW businesses would face a 28 per cent increase in WorkCover premiums, which would stall the state’s economy and jobs growth.
”The government is determined to provide injured workers the best safety net that we can and to ensure return to work as quickly as possible where a worker is able to return to work,” he said. ”One of our concerns is that premiums in NSW are already 20 to 60 per cent higher than our main competitors in Victoria and Queensland.”
The government had not yet made any decisions about how it would reform the WorkCover scheme, Mr Pearce said, but it released a government working paper that suggests cuts to benefits to manage the deficit.
The issues paper presents a case for removing coverage of journey claims, introducing caps for medical coverage and the duration of weekly payments and excluding nervous shock claims from relatives or dependants of workers who die or are injured on the job. It also suggests removing pain and suffering as a separate category of compensation and incorporating this into lump sum payments. Regulation of health providers has also been suggested to curb increases in medical costs in the past five years.
The government has appointed a parliamentary committee to hold an inquiry into how the scheme should be reformed.
The eight-member committee will be chaired by the Shooters and Fishers Party MP Robert Borsak and will include four government MPs, two from the Labor Party and one other MP from the crossbench.
The Labor Party leader, John Robertson, the former head of Unions NSW who opposed former premier Bob Carr’s WorkCover reforms, accused the government yesterday of removing a crucial safety net for all injured workers and their families. He said the committee had a majority of conservative MPs who would deliver the government’s agenda.
”This committee has been set up as a whitewash by a gutless and heartless government that is seeking to rip away the entitlements of injured workers,” he said.
”We are going to see massive cuts to workers’ compensation entitlements which will leave injured workers and families who have suffered the loss of a loved one left destitute simply because this government is looking at ways it can cut away at the entitlements of every worker in NSW.”
The Unions NSW secretary, Mark Lennon, said the changes floated in the government’s issues paper appeared to flag an agenda to cut benefits.
”Workers deserve to be protected when they’re travelling to and from work – that’s a basic right. It’s completely callous to put this on the chopping block,” he said.
”Preventing nervous shock claims from relatives of deceased workers is simply heartless. The families of workers who have died in workplace tragedies need to be supported, not abandoned.”
The Greens MP David Shoebridge described the parliamentary inquiry as a ”mock inquiry with no independence”.
”It is completely dominated by Coalition members and right-wing minor parties,” Mr Shoebridge said.
@WCVictimsdiary my thanks to mr Pearce and mr ofarrell kicking injured workers .@jrobertsonmpsmh.com.au/nsw/outcry-as-…
— graeme thomas (@grathom) April 23, 2012
Injured Workers Support Network NSW – Media release 19 April
The IWSN’s Michelle Burgess, Director of the Workers Health Centre, (supportive rehab provider) and injured workers network spokesperson, contacted aworkcovervictimsdiary.com to share their press releases and to seek additional support from injured workers and their supporters.
Press Release 19 April 2012
Injured and ill workers last night voiced their concerns on Premier O’Farrell’s
Recent announcement to “reform” the workers compensation system in NSW.
The meeting were outraged by Hon Greg Pearce’s recent comments in the Parliament that “everyone in the system gets a prize except the Authority’.
“While the media would have us think otherwise, workers in the current system are suffering. Not receiving timely treatment, are sacked from their jobs, have low or no weekly payments and are unable to meet basic cost of living expenses,” said one injured worker.
One distressed worker sacked after 12 years said, “My prize was I got injured, lost my job and my house”.
The meeting unanimously passed a resolution that condemned any changes to the system that would see injured and ill workers and their families worse off.“This meeting of the Injured Workers Support Group condemns any moves by the O’Farrell Government to slash injured workers benefits.
Injured and ill workers and their families in NSW deserve a better system.
- Consultation with the people most effected by and who have first hand experience of the system – ill and injured workers and their families
- A system focused on respect and dignity that can truly assist and compensate workers injured, made sick or disabled at work.
- Availability of hasty access to diagnosis and treatment
- Prompt and respectful claims assistance
- Prevention of injury and illness as a priority
- Penalties for employers who injure workers
- Genuine commitment from employers to return workers to meaningful duties.
- A decent wage to support injured workers and their families during recuperation.
NSW injury victims and their families should not be the targeted recipients of Mr. O’Farrell’s knee jerk attempts amend the current workers compensation deficit.
This meeting calls on Mr. O’Farrell to meet with our Injured Workers Group as soon as possible to truly understand how our lives have been effected by a scheme riddled with bullying from insurers, delays in treatment and loss of jobs and income.”The Injured Workers Support Network was set up in early 2011 to assist and support workers who have sustained work related injuries, illness and disabilities. To provide and share information and experiences about the workers compensation system and the rights of injured & disabled workers.
Sick and injured workers abandoned by O’Farrell -Press release 22 April 2012
The Injured Workers Support Group met in Bathurst tonight with a key agenda item being the announcement of an enquiry into the NSW workers compensation scheme by the O’Farrell government.
Injured and ill workers tonight voiced their concerns on Premier O’Farrell’s
Recent announcement to “reform” the workers compensation system in NSW.
The meeting were outraged by Hon Greg Pearce’s recent comments in the Parliament that “everyone in the system gets a prize except the Authority’.
“While the media would have us think otherwise, workers in the current system are suffering. Not receiving timely treatment, are sacked from their jobs, have low or no weekly payments and are unable to meet basic cost of living expenses,” said a local injured worker.
The meeting unanimously passed a resolution that condemned any changes to the system that would see injured and ill workers and their families worse off.
As Barry O’Farrell prepares to slash workers compensation entitlements, a new survey by the Injured Workers Support Network has revealed the deep stress and anxiety faced by people on the current scheme.
Of the sick and injured workers surveyed , an alarming 52 per cent revealed that they have contemplated suicide in the past six months.
One in four sick and injured workers surveyed said a workplace based injury had resulted in a separation or divorce, while 60% said their relationship had suffered significantly as a result of workplace illness or injury.
25 per cent of sick and injured workers also reported being forced to move house – either through having to sell their home, move to cheaper rented accommodation or moving in with family and friends.
Michelle Burgess, Director of the Workers Health Centre said the alarming statistics would get worse if the Government pushed ahead with mooted changes to Workers Compensation.
“These statistics are deeply concerning, but what’s even more worrying is how much worse this will get if the Government slashes Workers Compensation entitlements,” Ms Burgess said.
“We see first hand workers facing impossible odds. Either they have to be forced to return to work and soldier on with illness and injury – seriously jeopardising their health or having to face selling the family home”.
“Life is hard enough for sick and injured workers. The Government ought to abandon these savage cuts and treat sick and injured workers with respect and dignity.”
The Injured Workers Support NetworkAddress: PO Box 123, GRANVILLE NSW 2142 Phone: (02) 97497666 Email: support@injuredworkerssupport.org.au Website: www.injuredworkerssupport.org.au
Workers Compensation issues paper
Open document in popup screenLink to PDF document
Government stacks Workcover Committee
Published on Apr 23, 2012 by DShoebridge
The committee to inquire into WorkCover announced today by Finance Minister Greg Pearce has no credibility and reveals the government’s agenda to push injured workers into poverty, according to Greens NSW Industrial Relations spokesperson David Shoebridge.
Read more on David Shoebridge’s site.
Shortlink: http://aworkcovervictimsdiary.com/?p=7264
@Bunny, thank you for sourcing the Workers compensation issues paper – most interesting
We have written a short letter to MLC David Shoebridge to thank him for fighting for injured little guys like us and to offer ALL our support.
AN INQUIRY into workers’ compensation payments announced yesterday (Monday) by the State Government will be nothing more than a whitewash designed to give Premier Barry O’Farrell political cover to slash employees’ entitlements, says the New South Wales Opposition.
“Barry O’Farrell has made it clear he plans to slash workers’ compensation payments and (the) announcement confirms that,” says Opposition Leader, John Robertson.
“A parliamentary inquiry stacked out with conservative MPs will now decide the fate of injured workers across NSW and that will mean savage cuts to entitlements.
“People who work hard and play by the rules will be hit hardest by Barry O’Farrell’s plans to slash workers’ compensation payments.
“Workplace accidents are indiscriminate and random,” Mr Robertson says.>
“They can happen to any person, at any time, working in any industry and that’s why the workers’ compensation safety net is so important.
“Reducing workers’ compensation entitlements will mean that if you are injured on the job tomorrow you and your family will miss out on help to pay the bills and pay the mortgage.”
Mr Robertson says Mr O’Farrell’s decision to convene an inquiry “is a cowardly act from a Premier who knows these reforms are wrong, but intends to implement them anyway”.
“I fear these reforms are driven by the Premier’s desire to punish Labor supporters and unions, but, in doing so, he is undermining the entitlements of every employee in NSW,” says Mr Robertson.
The Opposition leader says reports in a Sydney newspaper yesterday confirm the government is considering measures to slash workers’ compensation entitlements:
Abolishing lump-sum payments for injured workers with less than 10 per cent whole body impairment;
A two-and-a-half-year cap on compensation payments for injured or disabled workers; and,
A nine-year cap on entitlements for all workers, except those who are totally incapacitated.
Opposition finance and services spokesman, Michael Daley, says the changes foreshadowed by the government over the weekend are not supported by the Price-Waterhouse-Coopers review into Workcover.
“Workers will lose their homes and families will be left destitute if savage cuts to workers’ compensation payments are implemented,” Mr Daley says.
“In 2012, there is no excuse for reducing the safety net for dead and injured workers – the safety net should be strengthened, not torn apart.”
http://cowracommunitynews.com/viewnews.php?newsid=338
FFS, look how they try to taint injured workers, see the examples at the end of the government’s press release.
http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/newsroom/Ministerial%20Media%20releases/230412-workcover-improvements-begin.pdf
Even though the people whose cases are used as examples are not named, the information provided there might be enough to identify them to those who know them. This might cause incredible embarrassment and if so, those individuals should lodge complaints with the NSW Privacy Commissioner.
WORKCOVER IMPROVEMENTS BEGIN
(as posted on http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/newsroom/Ministerial%20Media%20releases/230412-workcover-improvements-begin.pdf)
Check out the outrageously scandalous case studies presented at the bottom!
Minister for Finance & Services Greg Pearce today released an issues paper and announced a parliamentary committee as the next steps in the vital reform of WorkCover.
Mr Pearce said the scheme had a deficit of over $4 billion and would fast become unviable – and unable to help injured employees get back to work – unless it was reformed to make it more effective and economically sound.
“We want to transform the scheme to ensure injured workers get the best treatment as quickly as possible; that employers are not hit by massive premium hikes; and that our State has a solid scheme which will do its job well into the future,” Mr Pearce said.
“Analysis by WorkCover, the independent scheme actuary – PwC – and the Auditor-General have concluded that the scheme in its current form is not financially sustainable.”
Mr Pearce warned that without substantial reform, NSW businesses could face an immediate increase in their WorkCover premiums of 28 per cent on average, stalling business and jobs growth in NSW.
“Huge increases in premiums would be a damaging impost on business owners and operators who work hard to make a living and generate jobs for others,” Mr Pearce said.
“With premiums in NSW already between 20 and 60 per cent higher than in Victoria and Queensland, any increase would only drive more businesses and more jobs interstate.
“We must get the scheme running as efficiently and effectively as our interstate counterparts, to provide assurance to workers and encourage business and jobs growth.
“We must achieve better rehabilitation outcomes, better rates of return-to-work and better management of the scheme.”
Mr Pearce said the issues paper released today outlined the scheme’s failings when compared to its key aims – supporting injured workers through rehabilitation, getting them back to work, and remaining financially sustainable while still being price competitive with other States.
It also noted the cost of the scheme was increasing despite the number of claims dropping – meaning injured workers were remaining on WorkCover benefits for longer than ever before.
“I also announce that to provide an opportunity for consultation and review the Government will also refer the matter to a Joint Parliamentary Committee,” Mr Pearce said.
“The committee of eight will be chaired by The Hon. Robert Borsak MLC and consist of four Coalition MPs, two Labor MPs, and one from the Christian Democratic Party.
“The committee will be tasked with inquiring and reporting on:
- The performance of the scheme in the key objectives of promoting better health and return-to-work outcomes;
-The financial sustainability of the scheme; and
-The functions and operations of the WorkCover Authority.
“The committee will report back to the Government within 28 days of its appointment,” Mr Pearce said.
The Issues Paper can be found at http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au.
INTERSTATE COMPARISONS
Employer description Annual wages Premium Rates Qld rate & cost Vic rate & cost Current NSW rate & cost NSW rate & cost plus 28%
See table (attached)
CASE STUDIES –> WTF!!!
Case Study One
A worker reported suffering glandular fever in 1991/92 and was incapacitated for three months. Several years later, the worker reported being generally unwell for several months with flu, bronchial asthma, sinus problems, sleeping difficulties and poor diet as a result of the glandular fever.
In 2001 the worker submitted a workers’ compensation claim for chronic fatigue syndrome due to the excessive hours and stress experienced at work in 1995/96.
The worker travels more than 1,000 kilometres to see the treating doctor based in another state.
The worker claims interstate travel costs to see their treating doctor, domestic assistance, lawn mowing, multiple weekly physiotherapy, chiropractic therapy, psychiatric therapy and exercise physiology.
More than 10 years after making the claim, the worker continues to receive the maximum weekly workers’ compensation benefits, even though working part time in a different field.
TOTAL COST TO DATE = $657,039
Case Study Two
A worker suffered a minor injury more than two years ago while driving over a pot hole and was deemed “totally unfit” for work.
The worker has become a recluse and is deemed by the nominated treating doctor to be completely consumed by the workers’ compensation claim.
At a recent case conference, the worker was deemed psychologically ill as a result of an obsession with the claim.
The doctor feels the claimant needs to get out of the scheme to improve their health.
The claimant still receives workers’ compensation.
TOTAL COST TO DATE = $195,000
More info here:
http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/newsroom/Pages/WorkersCompensationIssuesPaper.aspx
Download and republish. WorkCover has a history of removing papers from its website without notice.
Look who the fat cat consultants are recommending cuts to injured workers. We’re nothing but graphs and numbers.
Rest assured we have a back up copy of the Compensation Issues paper (published within article)
Also see the following documents:
http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/Documents/jurisdictional-comparison.pdf
http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/Documents/pwc-executive-summary-actuarial-valuation.pdf
http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/formspublications/publications/Documents/external-peer-review-outstanding-claims-liabilities.pdf
Thanks to @grathom for tweeting
I wrote a short message to NSW Greens MLC David Shoebridge today and I encourage ALL injured workers, regardless of where they live, to do the same! We need formidable politicians like him to stand up for the injured little guys like us, and more than ever for those in NSW facing a nightmare. Please cheer Mr Shoebridge on- burchering Barry- and show him YOUR support!
This current debacle is yet another reason to not use a pencil at the next elections eh barry?
The original whitewash……
Not the first time nor the last either I,d bet
Here is a quote from an australian band TISM
“government doesn,t love you,unless they,re facing re election”
exposure
Unions unite for O’Farrell fight
UNION leaders and delegates from across the Central West met in Bathurst yesterday for the launch of the Central West Union Alliance.
Several unions have come together to form the alliance as part of a campaign to take on the NSW Government and its new industrial relations laws.
Around 80 people attended the launch, surpassing local spokesperson Cassandra Coleman’s wildest expectations.
They came from Lithgow, Clarence, Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo……
Fantastic! Music to our injured ears down in Vic!
We noticed, with delight, that your press released was also published by the Greens Left:
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/50827
Well done to all involved and keep kicking butt!