Comcare claims 'expected' National Secretary of The Community and Public Sector Union, Nadine Flood. Photo: Rohan Thomson Australia's main public sector union says workplace pressure is leading to more workers' compensation claims from federal public servants citing psychological injuries. The Community and Public Sector Union said on Monday it was not surprised a review of the federal workplace insurer Comcare found a 30 per cent increase in mental stress claims and that those cases were four times more common in the public service than with other employers. In his sweeping review of Comcare, Melbourne barrister Peter Hanks, QC, suggested government-enforced efficiency dividends, constant performance evaluations and changing workplaces were placing more stress on the nation's bureaucrats. The barrister said poor management could also be to blame in the rise of psychological injuries, many of them related to accusations of bullying and/or harassment. CPSU national secretary Nadine Flood said the increase in mental health claims was to be expected. "We are not surprised the numbers show a jump in mental health injuries," Ms Flood said. Mental health issues in the workplace are affecting many industries, and all employers are struggling to deal with it. Public sector workers are under greater pressure from staffing cuts and an increase in workloads. They are often the targets of workplace aggression; for example the number of incidents where Centrelink workers are forced to press the duress alarms is on the rise. Mr Hanks and co-author Allan Hawke, a former Defence Department chief, made 147 recommendations to effectively rewrite Comcare's legislative framework, the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act, and Ms Flood said her union also supported reform. "We support sensible reform and will be carefully working through the 147 recommendations," she said. Serious issues such as these demand a serious and considered response. We don't support people losing their rights and entitlements. We fully support a bigger focus on rehabilitation and getting people back into the workforce. The union leader also warned against focusing on isolated examples of compensation claims that attracted publicity. "I think it is worthwhile remembering that for every apparently wasteful example there are 10 cases of people being successfully rehabilitated and able to get back to work," she said. In his review, Mr Hanks noted research by West Australian authorities indicated a higher rate of mental injuries in the public sector than in private enterprise and offered several possible explanations. "In a discussion with the review, WorkCover Western Australia indicated that psychological injury claims were also more prevalent in the public sector than the private sector in that state," Mr Hanks wrote. It may be reasonable to suggest that a principal explanation for the increased incidence of psychological injury claims can be found in the increasing demands placed on employees through such mechanisms as efficiency dividends, constant performance evaluation and the restructuring of employment arrangements. A further explanation may be found in poor management practices, which might be said to reflect a low priority given to preventing or resolving workplace stress.