A.C.C. proposals ‘a breach of faith’

Press, 30 August 1980, Page 3

A.C.C. proposals ‘a breach of faith’

PA Wellington Union spokesmen and employers were sharply divided in reaction yesterday to proposed changes to the Accident Compensation scheme designed to cut costs by more than $2O million a year.

The proposals were, a “serious breach of faith” with New Zealanders, who had been required in 1972 to give up common-law rights to damages, said the assistant secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen, Mr R. Wilson.

The assertion that costs were too high was absolute nonsense, he said. In Australia premiums for workers compensation alone were 2 per cent of wages, compared with 1.07 in New Zealand, which provided cover for non-work accidents. Motorists in New South Wales were paying sAustl2o a year—eight times as much as in New Zealand —for third party accident insurance. An assertion in the Government press release that there would in future be more emphasis on the seriously injured was “ver-, bal deception.” What is really meant was tills would be ’achieved by removing compensation for the less seriously injured, Mr Wilson said. The executive director of

the Employers’ Federation, Mr J. M. Rowe, said employers would have some reservations but would probably. concede that the package was a balanced review of the accident compensation scheme after six years growth.

“One reservation employers will clearly have is the proposal that employers should meet the cost of compensation for the second week of work accidents.

"Although employers will face greater costs, the savings to the Accident Compensation Commission will pave the way for a significant reduction in levies. The eventual conversion to a pay-as-you-go system should achieve a further reduction,” Mr Rowe said.

Employers had been concerned about the drain of nearly a half of the outgoings from the earners’ fund to compensate employees for non-work accidents. The acting chairman of the

Accident Compensation Commission (Mr L. Fahy) said he could hardly comment on the proposal that his job and the jobs of the other two commissioners be disbanded. “One has to wait and see what develops. I do not know what plans the Government has for me.” The chairman of the commission. Mr K. Sandford, is overseas for several weeks. The third commissioner is Mr H. J. Walker. The chairman of the Combined State Unions (Mr D. H. Thorp) said: “The cuts in accident compensation benefits announced by the Government amount to economies in the scheme which have little regard to social consequences.”

The Government commit-' tee examining this scheme had terms of reference that merely related to saving money and no doubt it had produced the result the Government had hoped for, Mr Thorpe said.