The ACT Greens have released their Industrial Relations election initiative, aiming to make Canberra the ‘work safety capital’ of the country.

 

ACT Greens Industrial Relations Spokesperson, Amanda Bresnan, said the initiative was particularly focused on the health and safety of workers, especially those in the building and construction sector.

 

“We have seen four tragic deaths on ACT worksites just in the last year and this simply isn’t acceptable. The ACT accounts for just under 1.3% of Australia’s construction industry employment, but in the last year it has accounted for nearly 10% of total fatalities in the industry,” Ms Bresnan said.

 

The Greens have released two key initiatives for the ACT building and construction sector:

  • A proposal to raise approximately $2M annually for improving safety and for training apprentices, especially in recognised areas of skills shortage. The funds would accrue through an increase in the building and construction training levy from 0.2% to 0.3%, and be managed by the Building and Construction Training Fund Authority. The Greens will consult with building and construction industry participants about this proposed change.
  • $500K to support proactive inspections of safety and employee conditions on Government construction sites to help prevent accidents, eliminate sham contracting and ensure best practice in Government procurement.

 

Details of the proposal are available here: http://act.greens.org.au/sites/greens.org.au/files/Safe_and_Healthy_Workplaces.pdf