CCH human resources expert Carol Luow on the latest industrial relations developments.
Queensland amends health legislation
The Health Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 amends a number of health portfolio acts to ensure the effective operation of the portfolio's extensive legislative base. The main objective of the Bill is to amend Queensland's 13 Health Practitioner Registration Acts to provide greater opportunities for the recruitment of medical and allied health professionals. The Bill amends:
The Medical Practitioners Registration Act 2001 to give effect to recommendations of the Ministerial Taskforce on Recruitment, Assessment and Registration Processes for International Medical Graduates in Areas of Need.
The Dental Practitioners Registration Act 2001 to give effect to the Public Sector Dental Workforce Scheme that was established by the Australian Health Ministers' Conference to help address the national shortage of dentists in the public sector.
Twelve of the Health Practitioner Registration Acts to replicate arrangements under the Medical Practitioners Registration Act 2001 to enable allied health practitioners to be registered in Queensland for short periods of time; that is, up to five weeks.
The Bill also amends the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998 to prohibit the supply of smokeless tobacco products such as nasal and oral snuff, which are known to have adverse health impacts similar to cigarettes and other smoking products. The Bill passed through parliament on 1 November 2006.
New code covers tunnel workers
New South Wales has a new code of practice for tunnels under construction.
The code came into effect on 17 November 2006, and provides practical guidance on the -prevention of illness and injury to those engaged in or affected by tunnel construction. It promotes consultation and cooperation between employers, employees, principal contractors and -subcontractors. It is also intended to assist designers of tunnels and the clients for whom tunnels are built.
But it is not meant to apply to tunnel construction in mines.Separate chapters in the 86-page document cover a systematic approach to managing risks in underground construction; design for safe tunnel construction; training, instruction, information and supervision; and managing risks during tunnelling. It replaces a previous tunnel construction code that was published in 1990 and commenced in June 1991.
The new code was published in New South Wales Government Gazette No. 139 and will soon be available from the WorkCover website.
New federal magistrates' panels
New federal magistrates' panels have been created for specialist jurisdictions in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.
The Federal Magistrates Court says the move is designed to ensure that work is handled by the federal magistrates who have expertise in the area. The panel system will encourage the economical, less formal and prompt disposition of its workload.
The Employment Panel will consider all applications under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and associated acts, including provisions to hear unlawful termination claims, enforcement powers by way of civil penalties and injunctive relief, unfair contracts and breaches of agreement making.
Panel convenors will be -responsible for the allocation of applications to panel members, and will establish specialist liaison groups with practitioners. Urgent applications in panel cases made out of business hours will be considered by the duty federal magistrate who may, depending on the circumstances, make arrangements for urgent applications to be referred to a panel member. More information is available from the Federal Magistrates Court website.
Wage policy based on race was flawed
The full bench of the Federal Court of Australia has found Aboriginal workers who were employed on reserves in Queensland run by the Lutheran Church were discriminated against though the under-payment of wages between 1975 and 1986.
The court found the state of Queensland had breached the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 by calculating and paying grants, based on below-award wages, to the Lutheran Church that it knew were to be paid to Aboriginal workers. The grants were found to be based on race.
The Aboriginal workers were all employed on reserves known as Hope Vale and Wujal Wujal. They claimed the state determined the amount that should be paid to them by awarding grants to the Lutheran Church.
At first instance Justice Dowsett of the Federal Court acknowledged the state was aware wages were paid on the missions at below-award rates and that there was pressure to remedy the problem. He also found the state was not their employer. But although he found the state grants calculated for the Lutheran Church reserves resulted in wage levels that were lower than employees who were not on reserves, he found the distinction did not involve a discriminatory element, and dismissed the workers' claims.
On appeal, the Aboriginal workers claimed that not only did the state know and accept the Lutheran Church was paying below-award wages on the reserves, but that they also knew that it was not financially feasible for the Lutheran Church to pay substantially more in wages on the reserves.
The full bench found that the calculation and payment of the grants using below-award wages, as opposed to award wages, based on the Aboriginality of workers on the reserves, had the effect of damaging the Aboriginal workers' rights of equal pay for equal work.
It found that the state knew that the Lutheran Church could not pay the workers on the reserves any more in wages than was allowed for in the grants. As the full bench found the state calculated the grants in part by reference to below-award wages, and concluded the actions of the state involving the distinction based on race caused discrimination. Consequently, it found that the state breached section 9 of the Act, and allowed the appeal.
NSW increases workers' comp
The NSW Government has successfully guided its new legislation to increase workers' compensation benefits through the state parliament. The Workers Compensation Amendment (Permanent Impairment Benefits) Bill 2006 authorises a 10 per cent increase in permanent impairment benefits for workers injured after 1 January 2007.
The maximum payment in the scheme rises to $231,000, in addition to weekly benefits, ongoing medical care, rehabilitation and other support.
