The Role of the State and Agreement making

The Role of the State and Agreement making

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Introduction

This article indicates that a number of public servants did shed tears when the state along with the federal government in Australia reached an agreement so as to harmonize safety laws and work health. That was meant to achieve national uniformity. Though it was not clear whether they were shedding tears of sorrow, joy or trepidation. Those public servants had been living in an emotional state due to intense frustration that had been caused by negotiations and haggling to achieve the Work Health and Safety Act model.

Despite the fact that the act only had 196 pages, the regulations of Work Health and Safety Act was 671 pages long. According to the article, there were several delays in Tasmania and South Australia. Victoria had decided to review the regulation of the act as its early findings were unfavorable for being adopted in the state. As a result, Western Australia declined to be on board.

At the moment, the new act only covers over half of the employees. And that was short of the expected national uniformity. In fact, Paul McClintock, the chairman of the Reform Council, pointed out that if Victoria does not come on board, all the national approaches to regulate work health and safety will fail. As a matter of fact, the article states that the act was not aimed at improving the relationship of the employment. However, the Australian government moved in to defend the act’s broader scope. It affirmed that the act covers for all kinds of people like volunteers. Even people who work as volunteers have a right of working in safe environments.

The defense had various problems. In the first place, the act itself was overly prescriptive and so complex to manage the activities of volunteers. Secondly, the problem with the act missed the word control in its final draft. Hence it would not provide the duty of care by regulating work health and safety through instructing employers to ensure a safe working environment that can be reasonably controlled (2012 p.1).

Despite these challenges, the act has be.............