Save COVID protections for essential workers

The protections ensured that for the first 21 days, a sick worker didn’t have to go through bureaucratic hoops to prove they contracted the disease at work. This is critical because we know essential workers are most likely to contract COVID-19 at work.

Imagine being hospitalised with COVID, even put on a ventilator, and then during your recovery having to go back and jump through bureaucratic hoops to prove you deserve income support.

Now, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet wants to repeal section 19B of the Workers Compensation Act which provides this protection.

It’s an awful way to treat people. The Government says it’s cheaper but any savings will be tiny compared to the impact on individuals who are already suffering.