The Victorian Greens have said Labor will no longer be able to tout themselves as the ‘party for workers’ if the state government’s disastrous WorkCover changes are passed today.
The Greens say the government’s proposed changes will make life harder for workers who are already doing it tough.
Victorian Greens industrial relations spokesperson, Sam Hibbins, said Labor’s attempts to rush this legislation through Parliament was a kick in the guts to the workers the party claimed to represent.
He added that if Labor and the Liberals had struck a deal to get it over the line, they’d both have to answer to the many workers and unions rightly outraged over the anti-worker bill.
Over summer, a parliamentary committee tasked with looking into the changes requested details from the government around the number of workers these changes would impact.
Yet the government refused to provide any details, hiding behind Cabinet-in-Confidence.
And in recent days, reports have suggested that even some Labor MPs aren’t supportive of the changes.
As stated by Victorian Greens industrial relations spokesperson, Sam Hibbins MP:
“The Victorian Labor Government is planning to team up with the Liberals to rush through its anti-worker Bill.
“If these changes go through it will be a dark day for Victorian workers and anyone who cares about mental health at work.
“Labor’s changes to WorkCover will screw workers over. It will stop people accessing support and kick many off the scheme altogether. Injured workers will be pushed into poverty, emergency departments, and an already overstretched mental health system.
“Yet Labor refuses to say how many. Despite repeated questioning, they refuse to provide key documents and are keeping Victorians in the dark.
“How can they expect Parliament to wave through these changes when they won’t even come clean on how many workers will be impacted by them?
“Labor can no longer call itself the ‘party for workers’ while making life harder for workers who are already doing it tough.
“They need to withdraw this anti-worker bill and go back to the drawing board.”
