Customer center

We are a boutique essay service, not a mass production custom writing factory. Let us create a perfect paper for you today!

Example research essay topic: International Criminal Court Workers' Compensation - 1,777 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

Australian Union Rules and Courts The Australian Government has announced plans to ratify a new international law to set up an International Criminal Court - a Court that would prosecute the Pinochets and Milosevic's of the future. But the US government is refusing to come to the party. They don't want judges from other countries sitting in judgement on their soldiers and politicians. On the other hand, when it comes to trade and commerce, the US has been happy to ask international arbitration bodies to reverse decisions it doesn't like. Some argue the International Criminal Court should 'start without them', and avoid selective prosecution of the enemies of the USA. This week on the Law Report, we canvas the pros and cons of this new international Court.

The National Tertiary Education Industry Union's members work for a wide range of entities related to tertiary education, from universities that employ thousands of staff to adult education providers that employ only a handful of people. In all these different workplaces, employment and professional rights are regulated by a range of industrial awards and agreements, state and federal legislation and specific institutional or organisational policies. Proposed changes to workers' compensation legislation by the Labor government in the Australian state of New South Wales have provoked a series of strikes, protests and public opposition from the trade union blythe NSW Labor Council and Labor MPs. An estimated 100, 000 workers belonging to the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, and other building unions across NSW are expected to strike on Nov 20 th, 2002 against the proposed changes, indicating the depth of feeling over the issue among workers. The Maritime Union of Australia has announced that it will join the protest. Minister for Industrial Relations John Della Bosca tabled the amended legislation, which severely restricts the entitlements of injured workers, in state parliament on March 29, 2002.

But following walkouts from a number of Sydney building sites and stoppages by transport workers, he agreed to a four-week delay to allow consultation with the unions. The government has made clear, however, that there will be no fundamental changes. Premier Bob Carr stated that he would not consider altering core elements in the legislation. We " ll hear what the unions have to say but the system needs to be fixed and something has to be done, he said. The core elements include measures to prevent workers pursuing common law actions by sharply raising the degree of impairment required to qualify.

At present a worker has to demonstrate a 25 percent permanent impairment of part of his or her body, but under the new scheme the hurdle will rise to 25 percent of the whole body. As a result the ability of injured workers to obtain a lump sum for permanent injury and for pain and suffering will be drastically reduced. Chairman of the Plaintiff Lawyers Association John Wynyard remarked: People who are brain dead will get through and quadriplegics, but no one else will get through the threshold test. It is an impossible bar to jump. In addition, the level of injury will no longer be decided in the Compensation Court on the basis of medical evidence but by medical panels whose decisions will be binding. The panel assessors will not be required to be medical practitioners and will make their decisions based on as few as two medical reports.

Injured workers will have no recourse to the court to appeal against the decision. NSW Law Society president Nick Meagher described the new panel system as quite unbelievable. Two medical reports in front of an unnamed medical assessor and that person decides the future of another person's life, with no right to appeal. As well, the present Workers Compensation Resolution Service will be replaced by a Claims Assessment Service (CAS) staffed by government-appointed commissioners, who will determine all matters and disputes dealing with statutory claims.

Injured workers will not be allowed to give evidence before the CAS commissioners and there will be no right of appeal to the Compensation Court. The CAS is modeled on the State's Motor Accidents Compensation Act introduced in October 1999. That legislation included a total body impairment threshold of just 10 percent before common law action could be taken. According to the NSW Law Society, of the 43 cases lodged under the Act in the past 18 months, only two have received a settlement. Law Society president Meagher estimated that the higher 25 percent injury threshold in the proposed workers compensation changes would mean 95 to 97 percent of injured workers would be denied access to common law remedies. Condemning the changes as being among the most draconian anti-worker changes ever contemplated by a Labor government, Meagher said he knew of workers currently entitled to $ 350, 000 compensation that would receive nothing if the new legislation went through.

The NSW government claims that the sweeping changes are necessary because of a $ 2. 18 billion blowout in the WorkCover scheme due to mounting unfunded liabilities. This figure, however, is only the projected liability that would come about if all current claims were settled at the same time. According to the trade unions, the real blowout is a deficit of $ 250 million caused by increased charges under the Goods and Services Tax introduced last year and lower returns from WorkCover investments due to the fall in the value of the Australian dollar. WorkCover also faces revenue losses due to the failure of employers to pay premiums a factor never mentioned by the government. According to union figures, 25 percent of employers in the construction industry do not pay their premiums or have premiums that do not cover the total number of workers on their books. The real reason for the latest attack on compensation rights and the government attack to control the union activity is to cut the cost of insurance premiums for big business in order to make NSW more attractive for investors.

Competition between the states, especially the two largest NSW and Victoria, intensified following the release of the Hilmer report under the federal Labor government in 1995. Hilmer recommended the deregulation of state-run services and infrastructure to place them on a competitive basis to benefit big business. The proposed changes to workers' compensation in NSW are based on, but go beyond, similar ones introduced by the former Liberal government in Victoria in late 1996. These reduced workers' rights to take common law action by tightening the qualification level of injury and eliminated the table of maims, which laid out payments for certain types of injuries. As a result, thousands of injured workers, who were previously eligible, were disqualified. The NSW government carried through a series of cuts to workers' compensation over the three years from 1995 to 1997.

These included a 25 percent reduction in benefits, stricter eligibility testing for access to benefits and stress claims, a cutback in rehabilitation benefit entitlements from 12 months to 6 months and the ending of weekly benefit payments after two years. Changes included tough sanctions on injured workers who refused to return to work on what was termed suitable duties or who refuse to take a suitable job offer. According to many workers, the offer of so-called suitable duties is often simply a means of either forcing them off compensation altogether, or putting them back to work despite a continuing injury. All of these measures went ahead with the compliance of the NSW Labor Council and its affiliated unions. In 1996, the unions maintained a deafening silence when legislation curtailing workers' compensation rights made its final passage through parliament with the support of the Liberal Party opposition, the Greens and various independents. While the NSW Labor Council kept a lid on the opposition of workers in factories and on construction sites, the mining union, which had initially threatened statewide strike action over the legislation, made a backroom deal with the government that exempted its members from the new provisions.

The changes not only reduced the lump sum payment for permanent disability by 25 percent but forced workers to prove that their job was the significant contributing factor to their injury. The legislation introduced an automatic review of weekly payments after two years providing a mechanism to cut workers off compensation. A little light was thrown on this shabby record at a recent Labor Council meeting called to discuss the latest compensation changes. In the course of the debate, Public Services Association general secretary Marie O'Sullivan blurted out that unions had remained silent over the previous six years when the government had done things against the movement's interest. He went on to claim that things would be different this time. But the latest union campaign is not aimed at defending the rights of injured workers.

Union officials were concerned that Della Bosca's sudden decision to ram through the sweeping legislative changes could have triggered protests, particularly in industries such as construction and mining where the undermining of safety standards has led to increased accidents. According to a union spokesman, the minister reneged on a previous commitment to delay his actions for a week to allow a compromise to be worked out. The Labor Council's show of opposition may also be connected to the present bureaucratic wrangle inside the rightwing faction of the NSW Labor Party. Labor Council secretary Michael Costa is soon to resign to pursue a career in parliament, clearing the way for his assistant and protege John Robertson to take over his post.

However, the succession is being challenged by the state secretary of the Transport Workers Union Tony Sheldon, who is backed by Della Bosca. Bibliography Hamilton, Clive, 1995. Assessment of the Commonwealth's "Wood and Paper Strategy." The Australia Institute, Canberra, 16 pp. Clark, Judy, 1995. Australia's Plantations: Industry, Employment Forestry Tasmania - Davenport, David Brown, pers.

comm. Reedy Marsh Forest Conservation Group, Andrew Ricketts, pers. comm. North Ltd, 1995. Annual Report. Melbourne, 77 pp National First Summit, Minutes, 16 - 17 / 67 / 94 Native Forest Network, "Who's Who of Export Wood chipping", Issue 2, March 1995 Tasmanian Conservation Trust, Suzy Mannigan, pers.

comm. Environment Victoria, et al. 1994. Guidelines for Commonwealth Purchases of Environmentally Preferred Paper Products: A position paper of the environment groups of Australia, Melbourne, 77 pp. Taiga Rescue Network, "The Taiga Trade"' Jokkmokk, 1994 Native Forest Network, "Native Forest News", Issue 6 Rainforest Action Network, 1995.

Boycott Mitsubishi: International Campaign Manual. San Francisco, 47 pp. Boycott Mitsubishi Campaign "Update", December 1995 North Ltd, Media Release, 22 / 9 / 95 Australian Ethical Investments. Media Backgrounder, 7 / 9 / 95 Rosen, Robert, letter 3 / 9 / 95


Free research essays on topics related to: core elements, workers' compensation, international criminal court, workers compensation, lump sum

Research essay sample on International Criminal Court Workers Compensation

Writing service prices per page

  • $18.85 - in 14 days
  • $19.95 - in 3 days
  • $23.95 - within 48 hours
  • $26.95 - within 24 hours
  • $29.95 - within 12 hours
  • $34.95 - within 6 hours
  • $39.95 - within 3 hours
  • Calculate total price

Our guarantee

  • 100% money back guarantee
  • plagiarism-free authentic works
  • completely confidential service
  • timely revisions until completely satisfied
  • 24/7 customer support
  • payments protected by PayPal

Secure payment

With EssayChief you get

  • Strict plagiarism detection regulations
  • 300+ words per page
  • Times New Roman font 12 pts, double-spaced
  • FREE abstract, outline, bibliography
  • Money back guarantee for missed deadline
  • Round-the-clock customer support
  • Complete anonymity of all our clients
  • Custom essays
  • Writing service

EssayChief can handle your

  • essays, term papers
  • book and movie reports
  • Power Point presentations
  • annotated bibliographies
  • theses, dissertations
  • exam preparations
  • editing and proofreading of your texts
  • academic ghostwriting of any kind

Free essay samples

Browse essays by topic:

Stay with EssayChief! We offer 10% discount to all our return customers. Once you place your order you will receive an email with the password. You can use this password for unlimited period and you can share it with your friends!

Academic ghostwriting

About us

© 2002-2024 EssayChief.com