THE BURDEN of proof is set to be a hot topic at The Safety Conference to be held in late-October 2009.
Currently, employers in New South Wales and Queensland must prove they have taken reasonable steps to ensure safety but this would become the prosecutor's responsibility under the draft national model law.
Geoff Fary, assistant secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) says removing the burden of proof from the employer reduces the rights and entitlements of workers.
Other planned changes to NSW's OHS laws have angered the ACTU, says Geoff Fary.
"We'd lose the victim's ability to launch prosecutions and the reversal of the onus of proof," says Fary.
"There would also be a reduction in the abilities and powers of OHS representatives, who have been proven over decades to be critical to safety at work."
The suspicion that the unions will use safety issues for industrial relations purposes has led to employer resistance to wide-ranging union powers of investigation.
Fary has indicated if there are major changes to the thrust of the Review Panel’s recommendations then the unions would cross that bridge if and when they get to it.
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