To the honourable the President and members of the Senate assembled in Federal Parliament:

The petition of certain employees of the Commonwealth draws the attention of the Senate to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2000 and the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Amendment Bill 2000.

The Bills contain proposals that would:

· disadvantage injured and ill employees; and

· unravel current workplace health and safety consultative arrangements and committees. There is no evidence that current arrangements are working poorly.

Your petitioners therefore ask the Senate to reject both bills in their current format (May 2001).