By Liam Mitchell
ADELAIDE — The South Australian Labor Party State Council meeting on November 12 voted to sacrifice workers' compensation in order to avoid facing an early poll and likely defeat at the hands of an electorate which has suffered under years of Labor austerity.
In a significant policy reversal, the council voted 142 to 56 to support amendments to the government's WorkCover reform legislation, which had been moved by Independent Labor MP Norm Peterson.
Peterson had threatened to vote withdraw his support from the Arnold government, forcing an early election, if the Legislative Council did not pass his amendments.
Premier Lynn Arnold spoke at the council meeting, warning of inevitable defeat if an early poll was called.
Peterson's changes would reduce the amount employers are levied from 3.5% of their payroll to 2.7%. The cuts would be offset by slashing workers' entitlements.
Changes to the definition of stress mean that workers would have to prove that their stress-related disability was a direct result of their normal work. Excluded now are cases where an employer has "reasonably" transferred, demoted, disciplined, counselled, retrenched or dismissed a worker.
Workers may also be forced to take their claims to court to obtain a ruling on whether their injuries come within the boundaries of the legislation. This would act as an enormous deterrent to workers because of legal costs if they lose the case.
The right to sue an employer for negligence causing injury is to be removed.
Compensation for pain and suffering is to be abolished. In its place will be a system of defined injuries with predefined rates of payment, determined on a medical assessment of loss of capacity.
For example, if a worker were to lose both eyes in an accident, he or she would be entitled to a payment of $93,000.
In a dispute between WorkCover and a claimant, compensation payments may be suspended pending the outcome of the dispute. This could mean that some cases would be dragged out for months or years, with the worker having either to live on no income, or being forced back to work without full rehabilitation.
The argument that is being peddled by employer groups — and swallowed and regurgitated by politicians — is that a reduction in WorkCover levies would make SA industries more competitive with other states, which have lower premiums. The United Trades and Labour Council has labelled this a fantasy of a "compo-cut led recovery". The union movement has argued that it would be better to turn the talk away from savings to the employers and government and towards improving workshop safety.
Sixty thousand workers were injured in South Australia last year — one in 10 workers. Approximately 6% of employers are responsible for about 75% of compensation costs, which last year totalled $150 million.
Left unionists have said that they will still continue to campaign against the slashing of workers' rights. However, with the ALP deciding to support the changes, it remains to be seen to what extent the union movement will carry through.