Amazing about face on ACC experience rating

The Government's new ACC's regulation to punish businesses with poor workplace safety records is an experience rating system of the sort Ministers Ruth Dyson and Margaret Wilson said they were dead set against, the Employers & Manufacturers Association (Northern) says.

"Yesterday's announcement is a blinding about face on experience rating," said Paul Jarvie, EMA's Manager of Occupational Safety and Health.

"Unfortunately it will cause consternation amongst employers who were certain Government had said it would never re-introduce across-the-board experience rating.

"But the 50 per cent increase in ACC levies planned to punish employers who don't improve their accident records from next April is clearly an experience rating system.

"So if it's ok to coerce employers into improving their workplace safety, why not use it also to reward employers with better than average workplace accident records?

"Only 0.7 per cent of employers (1300) have been able to get a discount on their ACC premiums from participating in the ACC Audit Schemes.

"Also if poorly performing employers are to be targeted in this negative way, for equity's sake Government should also target motor vehicles users who have repeated road accidents.

"Despite what ACC Manager Darrin Goulding says, I don't recall these proposals ever surfacing for public discussion.

"Along with the huge pool of funds being accumulated unnecessarily by ACC, Government appears focused only on punishing poor workplace safety.

"This is despite the fact that ACC's own records (1992 - 1998) show the best way to ensure safe workplaces is through allowing some form of no-claim 'accident-free' bonus scheme as a reward for safe practice."

© Scoop Media