Code of Injured Workers Rights

Code of Injured Workers Rights Blog Post 

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who contributed to our submissions. Everyone's stories and ideas formed the basis of our letter to Bronwyn Halfpenny MP highlighting the types of rights injured workers should have and WorkSafe's obligation to ensure these rights are upheld.

Because of the organising efforts of the Injured Workers Support Network, Injured Workers will finally get a chance to have a say about how WorkCover should treat injured workers. 

This came about after Injured Workers’ Day on the 1st of June. On the day, seven injured workers along with organisers from Victorian Trades Hall Council met with Labor MP and Parliamentary Secretary Bronwyn Halfpenny to share stories about their dealings with the WorkCover system and make recommendations as to what they think needs to change. One of the most important recommendations of the most recent investigation into WorkCover, the Rozen Review, was for the creation of a Code of Injured Workers' Rights. After the meeting, the MP asked Injured Workers to get together and produce a list of recommendations to include in this Code of Injured Workers Rights based on the experiences of injured workers which will be passed on to the Minister for Workplace Safety Ingrid Stitt. This is an excellent opportunity to have injured workers' voices heard and push to change legislation to work for, not against, injured workers.  

This month, we’ll have discussions at every group meeting about the biggest issues injured workers face when dealing with the WorkCover system. A Code of Injured Workers Rights can’t be made without injured workers at its centre. To see when the next group meeting in your area is, follow this link to the local groups page on the IWSN website. We will also be sharing a survey around asking for your ideas as to what should go into the Code so keep an eye on your emails.  
 
An Injured Workers Code of Rights is nothing new for workers’ compensation schemes that put the interests of injured workers before insurance company profits. Under New Zealand’s version of WorkCover, the public Accident Compensation Corporation, injured workers are covered by a code of rights that requires agents to treat them with dignity, respect, honesty, and courtesy among other things. You can access the full New Zealand charter here. The New Zealand code has some great ideas for us to base our own code on, but we can go further. We can push to include things like the right to accessibility and the right to choose our own doctors to make sure that WorkCover is fair and inclusive.  

Come along to the next local group meetings and let’s get the voice of injured workers heard by those that hold the power.

Published 29 June 2022. Updated 05 August 2022.

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