Call to stop the plan to axe electrical licences

The electrical industry will become less safe and the risks of fires and electrocutions will increase if plans to dump existing licensing and eligibility requirements for electrical workers go ahead, says The Electrical Trades Union. The ETU said the national licensing steering committee - the body responsible for developing the Decision Regulation Impact Statement - was undermining existing protections that ensure all workers are appropriately trained and skilled.

ETU representatives from around Australia this week met in Wollongong to discuss the national licensing plan and develop a campaign against its proposed reductions to standards and safety. The union has joined with key industry stakeholders, including the National Electrical and Communications Association, Master Electricians Australia, Energy Networks Association, and industry skills council E-Oz Energy Skills Australia, to formulate an industry-wide response to the proposed National Occupational Licence. This includes direct representations to all state and territory governments by the organisations, voicing their concern that the proposed model will mean many specialist electrical workers will no longer need to be licensed.

ETU national secretary Allen Hicks said industry groups had worked hard to develop a proposal that ensured no cut in standards.

“We fully support a uniform, national licensing system, but only if it maintains and improves safety standards, not cuts them,” he said.

“The industry had worked hard to develop a model that would do that, but unfortunately it has been gutted by the bureaucrats driving this process who are pushing ahead with a proposal that will eradicate the current licensing, accreditation and eligibility requirements that exist across the country for electrical workers.

“This plan forces a ‘one size fits all’ model on each state and territory that moves to the lowest common denominator, rather than maintaining existing safeguards and seeking to improve on them. Our union has been actively supporting the development of a national licensing program for more than three years, but with these proposals we have no choice but to withdraw our support and urge the federal government to abandon the plan altogether. The threat posed to Australian workers and homeowners is just too great.”

Hicks said unions, employer associations, industry skills councils and regulators are all broadly agreed on the need to retain existing licences and eligibility requirements.

“That is because we all know the dangers involved in the electrical industry and the potentially deadly impact of having inadequately trained, unlicensed people carrying out these essential jobs,” he said.

“It is an absolute disgrace that the national licensing steering committee representatives - a group of treasury boffins and economists - seem determined to completely disregard the unanimous advice of industry representatives that have worked tirelessly to protect and enhance current safety standards.

“This committee thinks they can save money by making these changes, but they have completely ignored the huge social and economic impacts from a likely increase to incidents, accidents and fatalities.

“During the last decade there have been 321 electrocution deaths in Australia. This alarming number of electrocutions is exactly why no one in the sector wants to see a reduction in safety standards.

“Decisions like this are part of a race to bottom which will allow untrained, unlicensed workers to carry out dangerous work on electricity infrastructure and electrical installations that will have an immediate and ongoing impact on public safety.”

Hicks said the move appeared to be part of an attempt to deregulate the electrical industry by stealth. “There are inevitably significant risks posed to public safety when you actively attempt to deregulate an inherently risky industry like this one,” Hicks said. “Not only will a lowering of standards have impacts on safety, but it risks creating a more unreliable electrical industry, which will cause major damage to the economy.

“The ETU is determined not to let safety standards drop in the sector. That is why our union will be working with other key stakeholders to contact all state and territory governments to seek their support for the industry’s efforts to stop the proposed reductions to electrical safety and standards.”