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amendment will be to extend it to about 87% of all cases. It

will still be open to either the employer or the employee to

appeal against the Labour Department's assessment if they wish.

The other amendments proposed in the Bill are

intended to make the working of the Compensation Board System

more flexible and efficient. At present employees' claims are

sometimes prejudiced by breaks in sick leave arising from purely

technical reasons, such as a gap of a few days between the expiry

of sick leave and the next appointment with the doctor. The

Bill proposes to give Assessment Boards the discretion to

certify such periods as periods of temporary incapacity for

compensation purposes.

Under the present law the Labour Department

representative on the Ordinary Assessment Board has to be a

Labour Officer. It would sometimes be convenient for a Senior

Labour Officer to fill this role. The Bill provides for this.

At present Board decisions can only be reviewed on

appeal by employer or employee.

The Bill provides for a Board to

review its assessment on its own initiative or on the application

of the Commissioner for Labour.

The proposed amendments have the full support of the

Labour Advisory Board and I am confident that they will be

welcomed by both employers and employees.

Sir, I move that the debate be now adjourned.