OHS REPS @ WORK

14 July 2004

Unions and asbestos victims' support groups today condemned James Hardie's announcement of a new scheme to fund compensation for victims of their deadly product as simply a drop in the ocean.

"No matter how they try to disguise it, this latest announcement by James Hardie is nothing short of an insult to the victims and families of people who have died or are dying from asbestos-related diseases," Leigh Hubbard, Secretary of Victorian Trades Hall Council said today.

"What Hardies wants to do is drastically limit the amount of money it will have to pay to its victims in future and strip away their basic rights. Hardie should repatriate all the money it secretly made off with, and its shareholders should demand that the current board resign," Mr Hubbard added.

At a media conference held today in the wake of James Hardie's announcement, Victorian Trades Hall Council Secretary Leigh Hubbard called on both state and federal governments to stand up to insurance interests and resist any moves that will weaken the rights of victims.

"It's high time that James Hardie recognised they have a responsibility to the thousands of workers who unsuspectingly used their deadly product, but to attempt to dictate the conditions under which these people will get compensation is outrageous and arrogant," Mr Hubbard said.

"Here we have a company that repatriated billions of dollars to the Netherlands in order to avoid their legal responsibility who are now calling on state governments to change laws to suit them. Not only should state governments not cave in to these demands, they should also write to the Federal Government urging them to change the Corporations Act which allowed James Hardie to siphon off the funds in the first place," Mr Hubbard went on to say.

"For James Hardie to now want the power to set the price of a person's life according to how much they are willing to pay after scheming to avoid payment is callous and a slap in the face of the 1,000 people a year who are diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases.

James Hardie knew of the carcinogenic properties of its materials and yet it kept using them. The question is if it shows such disregard for these victims even now, why should Australian consumers keep supporting this company through purchasing their product?

I will be holding discussion with numerous unions next week about how to put the maximum amount of pressure on James Hardie to face up to its full responsibilities and on governments to safeguard the rights of people dying of asbestos related diseases," Mr Hubbard concluded.