“Good Occupational Health for all workers”
On April 28, International Workers Memorial Day, unions stood with bereaved families and supporters to highlight the true cost of the hundreds workers killed and the thousands of lives lost to work in Australia each year - and called for a greater focus on the impact of cancer in the workplace.
Victorian Unions today welcomed the national campaign initiative – Zero Occupational Cancer Campaign. In conjunction with the ACTU, the VTHC announced this during proceedings commemorating IWMD outside Melbourne Trades Hall. This campaign will be part of the continuing Your Rights At Work campaign and will also run during the important move towards national OHS and Workers Compensation systems.
Victorian unions will be strongly participating in this national campaign. The VTHC is active in the development of the campaign and will take the message to:
- Union Members in workplaces,
- Employers (particularly those breaking the law)
- WorkSafe (who should be enforcing the law)
- The State and federal government.
Australia has the world’s highest recorded rate of mesothelioma. 30,000 Australians will die from meso in the first half of this century. In 2004 there were 569 new cases of meso diagnosed in Australia. Victoria accounted for 127 of these. In 2005 there were 522 deaths nationally due to meso. 118 Victorians died that year from meso. Occupational cancer is relevant to all areas of work.
Unions are not only confined to prevention issues. The union movement is also concerned about compensation. Victorian unions are urging the state government to fix loopholes in compensation legislation that potentially robs asbestos related disease sufferers from just compensation. The VTHC is urging the State government to quickly announce amendment to the Wrongs Act and the Administration and Probate Act.
Nationally, the ACTU today called upon the Federal Government to launch an inquiry in to asbestos. An inquiry is needed to facilitate a national approach to asbestos – in workplaces, homes, compensation, research, treatment and cures. An inquiry would also identify best practice in dealing with this hazard.
Many Victorian workplaces have also acknowledged the day by observing 1 minutes’ silence at 11:00am
The International Workers Memorial Day is an important date in the union movement’s annual calendar.
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Read more about International Workers Memorial Day and the trade union Zero Occupational Cancer Campaign.