14 October 2009

ACC changes take us back to the 90s

Today’s ACC announcements that reverse improvements to ACC are a disastrous backward step, said Green ACC spokesperson Sue Bradford.

The Government's planned changes to vocational rehabilitation will allow injured workers to be forced off ACC into unsuitable work that pays far less than their pre-injury earnings.

“These changes are made worse by the already announced private case management of long term claimants. Private companies will now have the legal tool to force people into unsuitable work - or off ACC into no work at all.

“I am concerned that these changes take us back to the late 1990s when accident victims who needed support were pushed off ACC willy-nilly, often with tragic circumstances.”

For example, when this type of regime was last in place, we know that people were often forced to accept unsuitable employment – for example, an aircraft engineer being expected to work as a carpark attendant, and a merchant seamen being expected to work as a meter reader.

“ACC is already contracting out rehabilitation to private companies, beginning the ongoing process of partial privatisation.

“It is also very concerning that they want to roll back support for part-time workers. It is only fair that these workers get the same support as anyone else.

“These changes are the beginning of the National Government’s attack on New Zealand’s public no-fault accident insurance scheme that they ultimately want to privatise,” said Ms Bradford.

ENDS

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