UnionsWA has today renewed calls for industrial manslaughter law reform at national and state levels as today working people and unions commemorate International Workers' Memorial Day in Perth and with voting having just begun in the 2019 federal election. 

Owen Whittle, UnionsWA Assistant Secretary said:

“As voting begins for the 2019 federal election, the commemoration today of International Workers Memorial Day has renewed calls for industrial manslaughter reform at federal and state levels.

"The recently released final report of the Review of the model federal Work Health and Safety laws, The Boland Report, called for industrial manslaughter law reform.

"The federal opposition has agreed, but the Morrison Liberal National Government has not supported industrial manslaughter law reform.

"Our parliaments should get on with the job of saving lives by enacting industrial manslaughter laws.

“West Australians understand that our economy relies on a particularly dangerous mix of jobs and industries.

“The WA Government is currently considering the need for reform.

“When very large corporations face relatively minor fines for breaking work health and safety laws, there is no meaningful penalty or disincentive.

“Responsible individuals need to know that they can face jail time if they break the law.

“A recent poll found that 62% of West Australians believe that unions have an important role in improving work health and safety.

”Penalties are important, but we also need to prevent work injuries and fatalities and the presence of unions in workplaces on work health and safety is about prevention.”

Further information

Review of the model Work Health and Safety laws Final report December 2018 (Boland Report) is available online here.

A summary of the recent poll commissioned by the ACTU is available online here.