Folly = the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense.
It’s worth restating: What is outrageous about the O’Farrell Government’s attack on injured workers entitlements is that they’ve failed to look at the facts. It is injured workers and the community who bear an overwhelming majority of the costs associated with workplace related injuries and illnesses. Injured workers much more so. Employers (and no doubt insurers), on the other hand continue to get an increasingly free-ride.
Foolish O’Farrell’s folly: Employers and insurers are the real ‘free-riders’
Cost of Work-related injury and disease: 2008-2009
According to the 2012 Safe Work Australia report the estimated distributed costs of workplace related injury and illness in Australia are:
- employers bear 5 per cent of the total cost – this includes loss of productivity from absent workers, recruitment and retraining costs and fines and penalties from breaches of work health and safety regulations,
- injured workers bear 74 per cent of the costs – costs include loss of current and future income and non-compensated medical expenses, and
- the community bears 21 per cent of the total cost – this includes social welfare payments, medical and health scheme costs and loss of potential output and revenue.
http://wp.me/p1MA9G-3n2
But why let facts get in the way of good propaganda? With a compliant media, spin doctors and a government hell bent on portraying injured workers, welfare recipients, the disabled etc as lazy rorters, it is no wonder that many so called ordinary people believe their crap. Afterall if they can make you resent the weakest in our society and it makes you feel better, you wont think about how they are eventually going to screw you.
That 74% of the costs that I bore – that was my home and my working income. Now homeless and unemployable thanks to the costs that the insurer spent trying to frustrate my every attempt to get better and return to work.
The 21% that the community carries, that’s my medicare bills and my disability pension. My costs should be covered by Workcover, the insurance scheme set up to compensate and rehabilitate injured workers! I should not be left like so many other injured workers rotting in the world of Workover!
There’s no point saying “Since when did the public purse have to prop up the costs of business?” since we see this happening everywhere in this killing floor called “the economy”. Million dollar subsidies to “failing” car manufacturers; free power worth billions to Alcoa; public private partnerships that give bucketloads of public money to private profiteers, all showing that we live in a transfer economy where communal value is constantly being transferred to the sharks circling in the private sector. Is that what is happening to all that dosh in the Workover pot? I would think so, since it certainly isn’t trickling down to the injured workers.
Hi ; Pauline; i enjoy your views and feel disgusted at most everything you write about, what a sad pathetic society the scummy politicians we trust too run our country have reduced us to. they are nothing but filthy , vile , vermin . self serving maggots. driven by GREED .POWER OVER THEIR FELLOW HUMANS .I HAVE COME TO BELIEVE THAT THERE HAS TO BE A FORM OF EVIL INVOLVED. OUR GOVERNMENT IS A DISGUSTING JOKE. I thank GOD above that i am not like these parasites . These filthy rich doctors and lawyers that milk the guts out of a system designed by politicians , doctors , lawyers , and businessmen.A COMPLETE AND UTTER SCAM , FRAUD FOR THE RICH. at the expense of working class people.it is a form of mental abuse against our values our honesty ,integrity and our rights as equals in society. THE MOST SCARY PART IS WHERE ARE WE HEADED AS A SOCIETY . where lies and deceit rule . after ten years of fighting for my rights as a worker and human being .the lies told by everyone , doctors , lawyers service providers.i have been dumped in the mental health system.slandered by the doctor i trusted to take care of me. i would love to know how much money my doctors and lawyers have pilfered out of the system at my expense .these vile people obviously have no christian values. its a terrible feeling to feel dirty for being part of the human race. what does the BIBLE SAY . MAN WILL DOMINATE MAN TO HIS OWN DESTRUCTION.
Well, I’m off shortly to “enjoy” what is, apart from my medication, the only free ride I get from the Workover – my weekly counselling session. I’ll spend the time talking about how I don’t want to think about the facts that I’m homeless and unemployed/unemployable because to do so makes me feel suicidal. I’ll talk about how I’m worried that the goods i have stored in my daughter’s shed will have to be moved as they are moving house soon. I’ll have to pay for storage out of my non rent assisted disability pension if I don’t want to lose all my books and music and furniture and prized personal possessions. Probably if it takes five years to house the homeless in Victoria, I will end up paying more for storage that what that stuff is worth, but I guess some values can’t be translated into the mighty dollar. I can’t give it up as to do so would make my future totally void.
Enjoy your day everyone. Let’s keep moving forward to a parasite free world!
It may be worth restating that:
A WORKSAFE agent appointed to pay benefits to injured workers has been fined $2.8 million and ordered to repay $2.5 million for dodging late payments to clients.
In interviews with Victoria’s Ombudsman George Brouwer, workers from CGU admitted some files were binned if they lapsed the due date for payment, because there was no system in place for recording when the account was lodged.
This meant the agent would wait for a duplicate account to arrive to process that within the allocated time period, avoiding a fine by Worksafe and claiming a bonus payment for processing the payment on time.
Insurers and claims managers, Alliance, CGU, Gallagher Bassett, GIO, QBE and Xchanging, act as agents for Worksafe however GIO is no longer contracted by Worksafe.
“If I was a person punching accounts and I have to hit a certain level, that’s checkin in that day, and the timeliness is really thoroughly checked and it’s a tight measure…I could throw a whole batch of those in the bin, walk over to the security bin…and they’re gone,” a manager at CGU told the ombudsman.
Worksafe told the Ombudsman 10,000 case files needing payment had been hidden in a locked cupboard at CGU.
When the late accounts were found, CGU said 5000 of the “stored” files had been paid and 5000 were outstanding which equated to a week’s backlog of paperwork.
Complaints about WorkSafe to the Ombudsman have increased almost 30 per cent over the past three years, prompting the investigation.
An Ombudsman report found poor record keeping in agents offices caused accounts to be paid late.
Mr Brouwer’s investigation uncovered evidence that CGU staff were manipulating the scheme, benefiting by $2.5 million before the practice was detected.
CGU has since been fined $2.8 million and ordered to repay the $2.5 million for the manipulation known as `gaming’, which Mr Brouwer said was “clearly improper”.
Mr Brouwer’s investigation uncovered evidence that CGU staff, including managers, were manipulating the scheme, benefiting by $2.5 million before the practice was detected.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/cgu-fined-28m-forced-to-repay-25m-over-improper-worksafe-payments/story-e6frf7jo-1226063523171
No wonder the “bin is empty” as @Dargan66 tweeted!
I was “case-managed” by CGU from 2002 to 2011. I think many of my applications for refunds and rehab approvals must have ended up in the locked cupboard. No wonder i always felt I was “talking to the Silence”. Continually being ignored in relation to financial and health matters is definitely a trigger for making my psych injury so much worse. Millions of dollars they ripped off. Where are the headlines proclaimed that insurance companies are cheats and bullies, stealing from the public purse.
Another way injured workers are rorted:
A PROMISING soccer player who suffered life threatening and permanent injuries as a result of a workplace accident eight years ago has dropped his legal case against the government in exchange for a $250,000 ex gratia payment.
Bryan Hedges spent almost three weeks in a coma and sustained severe head trauma after a welding gun he was using to fix a boat exploded.
Doctors initially told his parents that he would never leave the hospital, however the gifted soccer player, who took part in UK club trials, defied them all by learning to walk, talk and swallow again.
The Balcatta firm Mr Hedges worked for did not have workers compensation insurance or any assets leaving him unable to sue for common law damages.
WorkCover WA awarded the 26-year-old $130,000 and has helped with most of the medical bills. But he has not received any damages in relation to the accident.
The Hedges were told by their lawyer their son could have been awarded millions had the company had the correct insurance but instead he was left with virtually nothing.
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Astounded by the flaw, his mother Mrs Hedges raised the issue with the State Government and legislation was introduced last year allowing a safety net fund to be set up to pay damages to injured workers in default of payment by a negligent employer.
However, the law, known as Bryan’s law, was brought in too late for Mr Hedges.
In a bid to seek some compensation, the Hedges launched legal action against the Department of Education and Training.
This week the state government offered the former soccer player an ex gratia payment of $250,000 as long as the dropped the legal action.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, an emotional Mrs Hedges said the offer was bittersweet.
They have already spent $40,000 on legal bills, and could not afford to continue with the case.
“We are grateful for the money but it also feels like a slap in the face,” Mrs Hedges said. “We have spent years fighting the government to get something for Bryan.
“And we are happy the legislation has been changed – I wouldn’t want anyone else to have to go through what we went through.
“But Bryan is going to have to deal with this for the rest of his life. The money will go towards paying off the legal bills and a deposit for a house but it won’t last him for the rest of his life.”
Mr Hedges still suffers from epilepsy, short-term memory loss, headaches, as well as cognitive issues as a result of the brain damage he sustained.
He will also be on medication for the rest of his life.
Finance Minister Simon O’Brien, who organised the payment for Mr Hedges, said the government introduced Bryan’s law to prevent the same misfortune from happening to other West Australians.
“This government has moved so that there will never be a case like Bryan’s ever again,” he said. “We listened and acted.”
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/bryans-law-comes-too-late-for-bryan/story-e6frg13u-1226458286674