Industrial relations minister could terminate strikes under proposed Qld laws

Queensland's industrial relations minister would have the power to terminate protected industrial action in certain circumstances, under new proposed laws.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has introduced sweeping changes to the state's industrial relations laws that he said "mirrored as much as possible the Fair Work legislation".

This year Queensland Rail and seven unions spent months negotiating in the Fair Work Commission with protected industrial action and a maintenance backlog resulting in reduced services and frequent delays for commuters.

Mr Bleijie said he wrote to the federal industrial relations minister to intervene.

He said if the rail situation was a "state rail issue" and not under the Fair Work legislation, he suspected the state government would have "absolutely" intervened.

"There was too much disruption to commuters," Mr Bleijie, who also serves as the Industrial Relations Minister, said.

He said the proposed laws "essentially mimicked" federal laws introduced by Julia Gillard's government in 2009.

"But these laws are used in very limited circumstances … it would be extraordinary situations," Mr Bleijie said.

Three days' notice for strikes

Under the proposed changes, the minister could terminate protected industrial action if satisfied there is a sufficient public interest justification.

Protected industrial action could be terminated if it would threaten to endanger the life, personal safety, health or welfare or cause significant damage to the state's economy.

The bill would also require at least three working days' notice for protected industrial action.

"The striking ability is still there. We've kept arbitration. We've kept conciliation," Mr Bleijie said.

The state's industrial relations jurisdiction covers around 383,000 workers. The remaining estimated 2.66 million workers are covered by the Fair Work Act 2009.

The legislation followed an independent review of the state's industrial relations laws.

The reviewers received written submissions from 97 stakeholders, representing employers, unions, workers, insurers and other key interest groups.

The report made 104 recommendations, and the state government accepted 75 of them in full.

The proposed changes would also require employment to be the "major significant" contributing factor for psychological injury claims.

"Over the past decade, the number of accepted psychological injury claims has increased by almost 268 per cent, including an increase of more than 76 per cent over the past five years alone," Mr Bleijie told state parliament on Wednesday night.

Queensland's peak union body said proposed changes would make it harder for frontline workers to access support for psychological injuries.

Queensland Council of Unions General Secretary Jacqueline King said psychological injuries can have more than one cause.

"Requiring work to be the major contributing factor risks shutting workers out of compensation and access to the support they need," she said.

"These changes should not be rushed through parliament with all stakeholders needing sufficient time to consult and scrutinise their impact."

The bill has been referred to a parliamentary committee for examination before it is brought back for debate in the House.