The Vietnam - Australia Asbestos Awareness and Disease Prevention Project has been launched in Vietnam with the backing of the AMWU.

The initiative has funding from the federal government through AusAID and is a combined effort of the AMWU, the ACTU charity APHEDA Union Aid Abroad, the National Institute of Labour Protection in Vietnam, the Asbestos Disease Research Institute (ADRI) and several other national and international unions.

The project will establish a dedicated National Resource Centre on Asbestos within the National Institute of Labour (NILP) in Vietnam.

The AMWU and will provide the centre with expertise in worker education and the Asbestos Disease Research Institute will provide technical, treatment and diagnostic expertise on asbestos related diseases.

While Vietnam has banned other forms of asbestos, it still imports around 60 000 tonnes of crysotile (white) asbestos each year to make cheap roofing tiles.

10,000 workers in 42 factories are exposed to the dangers of asbestos each day, as they produce over 80 million squares metres of roofing tiles that are used to build cheap houses in Vietnam.

AMWU National President Paul Bastian, who is also a board member of the Asbestos Disease Research Institute, said the AMWU will provide the centre with expertise on safe asbestos handling and removal.

“The AMWU’s hard won expertise in fighting the causes of asbestos disease will benefit the millions of Vietnamese people who are being exposed to asbestos in their homes and workplaces every day,” he said.

“From our experience in Australia we know that even if asbestos use in Vietnam were to end tomorrow, asbestos related-disease would continue to take a toll for generations to come, not peaking until 30 or 40 years from now.”

The project will investigate alternative roofing tiles that do not contain asbestos and will help Vietnam build a database of relevant and accurate information on this deadly fibre.

Awareness about the dangers posed by asbestos remains low in Vietnam, so Mr Bastian said the AMWU will provide information and training materials to educate Vietnamese workers and inform them about low-cost personal protective equipment.

“The AMWU is working to prevent the asbestos industry causing a public health tragedy in Vietnam. There is so much the AMWU can offer in terms of experience and knowledge on safe asbestos handling and systems of enforcement and inspection.”

The AMWU hopes the establishment of this centre is the first step to an asbestos-free Mekong and an asbestos free world.