THE MINISTER for Industrial Relations, John Hargreaves has rejected claims by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Unions (CFMEU) that the ACT Labor Government "had voted for laws" which impact Occupational Health and Safety.
The CFMEU claims that laws were voted on to penalise a union for acting on a suspicion of an unsafe workplace at a recent meeting of the WRMC in Sydney on 25 September 2009.
Hargreaves says a duly authorised union official who reasonably suspects a contravention "may enter a workplace for the purpose of inquiring into the suspected contravention" (Section 106, Model Harmonised OHS provisions). This does not require 24 hours notice.
The Minister says that at the meeting referred to, the ACT Government, along with all other jurisdictions, merely accepted the unanimous recommendation of the Safe Work Australia Council, which includes both Union and Business representatives, to release for public consultation the exposure draft of the model national Occupational Health and Safety provisions.
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