Last week, Work Health and Safety (WHS) Ministers made a big decision: they will ban the use of engineered stone starting in July 2024.
This significant win comes after a lot of effort from the union movement, public health groups, and the safety professionals who campaigned for it.
The CFMEU ran their 'Stop this Killer Stone' campaign, and the ACTU supported banning engineered stone on worksites.
These actions were crucial in influencing the decision and although it's a good step, there's more work ahead to ensure the ban is put into action and rules changed for people exposed to silica dust beyond the engineered stone industry.
In a subsequent media release the ACTU said 'the ban on engineered stone is a direct result of workers and their unions, like the CFMEU, and public health organisations who have demanded that we take the strongest possible action to keep workers safe.'
