Workers’ compensation claims cost WA $101 million

The number of stress related claims in WA has increased by 25 per cent in the last four years.

Community Public Sector Union/Civil Service Association WA secretary Toni Walkington said the figures were a direct consequence of staff and funding cuts within agencies.

"There's significantly more pressure to do a lot more with a lot less,” she said.

“It's not a surprising outcome. It's something we have observed anecdotally. We have a membership service centre and the most frequent inquiry is around bullying and people feeling that they are being pressured by managers in an unreasonable way.”

"People don't feel they will be heard if they raise the matter so the situation deteriorates until people are in a situation of being ill, that might be physically ill or mentally ill and that's when you get your workers' compensation claims,” Ms Walkington added.

She said a lot of those suffering the most were frontline workers who had to deal with members of public who were angry because services had suffered from cutbacks.

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