In 2016, 178 Australians were killed at work and we’ve already lost another 45 workmates this year. One death at work is one too many. No one should go to work to die.
Unions have been fighting for over 200 years for safe workplaces in Australia. We outlawed dangerous shortcuts, brought in work cover insurance and raised fines on companies that endangered working people.
But lately, corporations have been working with conservative governments to attack our health and safety laws. They do this so they can bring back deadly shortcuts and make bigger profits, no matter the consequences.
This is wrong and we are fighting back. We are rebuilding our unions and renewing our fight for safety at work.
I’m asking you to forward this email to a friend to ask them to join their union.
Unions can only protect workers from unsafe practices and worksites if we have the numbers to back it up. And it’s never been more important to stop the carnage out there.
I am angry about the workers who were killed at work in this last year. I am angry Marianka was killed, falling to her death on a construction site in Perth after being told to climb a lift without safety gear.
I am angry we lost Josh, who was put on a Work for the Dole scheme in Queensland and told to ride on the trailer of a tractor that threw him to his death. I am angry his family didn’t even have support for the funeral.
These stories feel like they are becoming more frequent. Just last week a concrete worker was crushed to death by a pylon in Townsville. The killing is senseless and for nothing – these are workers who made the mistake of getting up in the morning and going to work. Work they expect – we all expect – to be safe.
But from our anger there is hope. For example, right now there are hundreds of local Unions and international Unions in Geneva fighting at a big chemical conference to list asbestos as a prohibited substance worldwide. While the toxic material might be illegal here in Australia, corporations in China and other countries continue to produce the stuff and allow its entry into Australian workplaces, hospitals and schools.
We are fighting to make Australia and the world asbestos free. (You can follow the fight in Geneva here).
I hope when I email you next year there will be less to be angry about and more to be hopeful about. I am confident that together we will make our workplaces safe. Together, we will build a country where there are no deaths at work.
Ged Kearney
ACTU President
