AMWU members in Sydney have joined with the Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia to protest outside the Canadian consulate in opposition to Canada’s export trade in asbestos.
With around 100,000 people dying annually worldwide from asbestos diseases, the protest called on the Canadian Government to stop producing and exporting asbestos.
Australian victims of asbestos diseases and their families met with the Canadian Consul General to voice their concerns over the asbestos trade and describe the deadly consequences it has for workers.
AMWU National President, Paul Bastian, said it is illegal to sell asbestos in Canada, yet the Canadian government continues to produce asbestos and export it, mainly to developing countries in South East Asia.
“The Canadian Government knows the risks of exposure to asbestos, because it has imposed very strict occupational health and safety regulations that limit the exposure of Canadian workers,” he said.
Australians know the short term fix provided by cheap asbestos sheeting can result in misery and death for anyone exposed to its deadly fibres and asbestos sheeting has been banned in Western countries.
But Mr Bastian said asbestos is still being sold to the impoverished peoples of newly developing nations, such as Thailand, China and Bangladesh as a cheap way to provide housing for their families.
In these countries workers there have little knowledge of the dangers posed by asbestos, there are weak industry controls, poor OHS regulations and no compensation system for victims of asbestos diseases.
“While Canada can proudly claim to be at the forefront in many areas of social and economic responsibility, it is certainly a very dark stain on the country’s reputation that the Canadian asbestos industry, supported by their Government, has been aggressively targeting the world’s most vulnerable people for its poisonous products.”
Bans on asbestos imports were planned for introduction in south East Asian at the beginning of 2004, but these were postponed following intense lobbying by the asbestos industry, led by Canadian exporters.
Mr Bastian said it was no exaggeration to say that the Canadian asbestos industry “has demonstrated the worst excesses of corporate greed in its predatory targeting” of countries such as Thailand, and other developing nations, which are struggling to house hundreds of thousands of their impoverished people, many still suffering the effects of the Tsunami.
“It’s high time to end export of the deadliest workplace hazard ever,” he said. “We are calling for a ban on all asbestos exports.”
As the rally in Sydney was taking place, news broke in Canada that widespread contamination had been discovered in towns surrounding the areas where asbestos is mined.
You can watch a news item about asbestos contamination in Canada below.