Injured workers will no longer be able to claim their legal costs in WorkCover disputes even if they win, due to 11th hour amendments to the government’s new workers compensation laws, reports the Sydney Morning Herald today. This will devastate many injured workers – and for what? So the O’Farrell Government can suck up and impress corporate Australia!!!???
WorkCover NSW amendments won’t cover legal costs – barbaric
The government was also forced to back down during a marathon debate on the laws in the early hours of yesterday morning and allow firefighters and paramedics to be exempt, despite the Premier, Barry O’Farrell, earlier lashing the firefighter’s strike on Thursday as among the most ”most irresponsible actions … by a public sector union in the history of this state” and refusing to compromise.
The emergency services’ exemption was welcomed as a bittersweet win by unions yesterday, but other amendments were lambasted, such as the removal of an injured worker’s right to claim their legal costs even when they win a dispute.
The new laws cap benefits and medical expenses for injured workers and do not cover journey claims, except where it can be proved the injury had ”a real and substantial connection” to the person’s work.
Mr O’Farrell said yesterday’s laws would prevent the scheme from becoming financially unviable, rein in a $4 billion deficit, and would actually offer better protection to the most seriously injured workers.
”With premiums in NSW already between 20 per cent and 60 per cent higher than in Victoria and Queensland, any increase would only have driven more businesses and more jobs interstate,” he said.
The Fire Brigade Employees’ Union claimed victory yesterday over its strike on Thursday, the first in 56 years, but said it was angry other workers would be subject to the laws.
”We had no choice [but to strike]; the government tabled this legislation two days ago, there was no chance for consultation,” said the union secretary, Jim Casey.
A Greens amendment calling for firefighters and paramedics to join police in being exempt from the laws was supported at 2am by the opposition, the Shooters and Fishers Party and the Christian Democrats, with the government then forced to support it in the lower house just before 3am to see the legislation pass.
Other unions yesterday cried foul over the laws exempting only some workers and not others .
Steve Butler, the branch secretary of the Electrical Trades Union, said his members often performed dangerous first-response tasks in accidents involving power lines and were regularly at risk in poor weather.
”Their jobs are risky at best, but when they’re working around large mains in inclement weather and storms they are at even higher risk,” he said.
[Source: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/workcover-amendments-wont-cover-legal-costs-20120622-20tk0.html#ixzz1yZrCbigw]
Shortlink: http://aworkcovervictimsdiary.com/?p=10163
Amazing! The shooters have just shot NSW in the foot and Christian Democrats……. Well, even Jesus had a Judas. Solicitors will now what? Will they now run the Workcover victims around in circles with endless meetings. Years of litigation to extending their services to inflate costs? Solicitors are not going to change their rates of service costs to workers on lower incomes or casual workers. Or like many Doctors just dump Workcover victims refusing their services Now who will police the solicitors? Has anyone considered that some banks will not loan a worker on Workcover the full entilted amount? Who is going to pay the bill to help the poverty this will cause? How dare this government expect welfare groups to take the slack of the devastation this will cause throughout the community.
ALL INJURED workers will have to pay their legal costs under new workers compensation laws, lawyers have warned, which will result in many going unrepresented or not pursuing their claims.
Richard Brennan, a Sydney solicitor who represents injured workers seeking benefits under the workers compensation scheme, said the Christian Democrats MP Fred Nile had inadvertently made it more difficult for injured workers to access the legal system.
Mr Nile introduced amendments to controversial workers compensation laws which he said were aimed at helping some avoid paying costs.
”Fred, in trying to save one worker in 1000 from paying the insurance company’s costs, has ensured that 1000 [out of] 1000 have to pay costs,” Mr Brennan said.
Under existing laws, injured workers’ costs were paid in full by the insurer at rates regulated by WorkCover, Mr Brennan said.
”Now, the insurance companies can pay their own lawyers anything they like.”
The Labor MP Adam Searle and the Greens MP David Shoebridge tried to explain the consequences of the amendment to Mr Nile in the early hours of Friday morning.
The government has defended its changes, saying they are necessary to rein in WorkCover’s $4 billion deficit.