CODE 2, VOL 37, NO 2 : 25 january 2023

UFUQ PUSH TO INCREASE NUMBER OF DISEASES COVERED BY PRESUMPTIVE WORKCOVER LAWS

Today the UFUQ state office held its first meetings with representatives from the Queensland state government, Workcover Queensland and other public sector unions, where discussions about the just announced review of Queensland’s workers’ compensation laws were held.

The UFUQ put forward that we intend to provide submissions to the review relating to evidence now widely available that not only are many more types of cancers and other diseases now more prevalent amongst firefighters, but also that the World Health Organisation, in mid-2022, made the historic decision to list the firefighter profession as carcinogenic.

Your union will put forward the best data we have available to work to convince the current Palaszczuk government to increase the number of diseases covered by the presumptive workers’ compensation laws from 12 to 20.

As the process of the review of the workers’ compensation laws continues, I will update you regularly.

John Oliver - General Secretary