Page 2256 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 31 October 1989
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That the following new clause be inserted in the Bill:
Page 25, line 13 -
"Actions in bad faith
47A. A health and safety representative shall not take any action that would render the representative liable to disqualification under section 47.
Penalty: $10,000.".
This is a very important clause. Clause 47 refers to disqualification of a safety representative who does not do the right thing and who contravenes this particular legislation. It does not provide any penalty for so doing. There are very few penalties applicable to safety representatives, or indeed anyone else except employers, in this legislation, making it somewhat slanted.
This clause adds some balance in the most appropriate places where a safety representative can be disqualified. According to this legislation, for a person acting in bad faith, and in accordance with this clause, this is the most severe penalty that can occur. Perhaps in certain situations there may be no penalty at all because a safety representative may be quite happy not to be one any more.
At present clause 47 indicates:
The Registrar shall not disqualify a health and safety representative unless the Registrar believes on reasonable grounds that -
(a) action taken by the representative in the exercise or purported exercise of his or her powers under this Act or the regulations was taken -
(i) with the intention of causing harm to the employer or to an undertaking of the employer; or
(ii) unreasonably, capriciously or otherwise than for the purpose for which the power was conferred on the representative; or
(b) the representative has intentionally used, or disclosed to another person, for a purpose that is not connected with the exercise of a power of a health and safety representative, information acquired from an employer.
I think members can read subclauses (4) and (5) of clause 47 for themselves in relation to other matters to be taken into account. Mr Speaker, I will just read through the clauses where there are penalties imposed on employers for not biding by certain requirements of this Act. They are clauses 27 to 34, 37 to 41, 44, 51, 52, 58, 76 to 78, 84, 85, 91 and 92. Penalties in relation to safety representatives or employees not abiding by the Act are in clauses 30, 47 and 50. In clause 47 there is no fine, as I have mentioned, at present; and in clause 50, a paltry fine of $100. That relates to provisional improvement notices.
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