The AMWU has been joined by other unions in calling on the Federal Government to launch a national asbestos inquiry.
The call came on Monday 28 April which is International Workers’ Memorial Day – a day to remember those who have died through work related injury or disease.
AMWU National President Julius Roe said Australia still has the highest rate of recorded mesothelioma in the world with exposure to asbestos the only known cause of the disease.
“The Federal Government needs to launch an inquiry into asbestos – looking at elimination from workplaces and homes along with compensation, treatment and cure for those affected.”
“There needs to be an urgent improvement in asbestos regulation and tougher enforcement of laws surrounding asbestos.”
British cancer research specialist Professor Julian Peto, who is visiting Australia says that 30,000 Australians will die from mesothelioma between 2000 and 2050.
Professor Peto has conducted research into the lifetime occupations of 600 mesothelioma patients and an analysis of international trends in mesothelioma mortality.
Unions across the country marked International Workers’ Memorial Day with services to remember the 2 million workers around the world who have died in the last 12 months.
“Workers' Memorial Day is an opportunity for all Australians to consider how important it is to have healthy and safe workplaces.
"It is also a day for thinking about the families who have lost a loved one and the children who have lost a parent through an unnecessary workplace accident or an industrial disease.”
It is estimated that around 6,700 Australians die every year from a workplace injury or work-induced disease.
In Victoria alone, six workers have already lost their lives in a traumatic workplace incident so far this year.
National figures show a 10% rise over the past five years in the number of workplace fatalities in Australia that are covered by compensation.
This year unions will focus on raising awareness of the risks posed to Australian workers by occupational cancers – cancers caused or contributed to by work.
Approximately 1.5 million Australian workers may currently be exposed to occupational carcinogens.