Asbestos Unions have campaigned for decades about the dangers of asbestos and have successfully helped secure long term compensation for people affected by asbestos-related disease. Australia had the highest per capita use of asbestos in the world from the 1950s until the 1980s.  About every third domestic dwelling built before 1982 is thought to contain asbestos. Australia’s union members have been hit hard by the asbestos epidemic. Many have lost their lives through their exposure in the workplace. Miners of asbestos have been badly affected but also many other tradespeople, workers and even family members of workers. Waterside workers who loaded asbestos onto ships, mechanics that worked on asbestos-filled brake pads, electricians and technicians in power stations that used asbestos, as well as builders, carpenters, roofers and other tradespeople that used ‘fibro’ building products. After many years of concerted union campaigning, the use of asbestos in Australian workplaces was banned in 2004. Asbestos-related disease The inhalation of asbestos fibres can lead to asbestosis, a severely disabling respiratory disease, and to asbestos mesothelioma, an incurable form of lung cancer. Mesothelioma is a disease that occurs in the lining of the lung and causes extreme pain and breathlessness.  Australia has the highest per capita incidence of mesothelioma in the world.   There are no cures for mesothelioma and it is fatal within about 9–12 months of diagnosis. Up to 18,000 Australians are likely to die from mesothelioma by 2020 and historical figures suggest that for each diagnosed case of mesothelioma there are as many cases of lung cancer and non-malignant asbestos-related disease.   James Hardie Until the mid-1980s James Hardie was Australia’s largest manufacturer of asbestos-containing products particularly asbestos cement sheet or fibro, as well as brake and clutch linings. There is evidence that James Hardie had knowledge of the dangers of asbestos from at least the 1930s but no warnings or directions were placed on the company’s asbestos fibro products until 1978.   In October 2001 the James Hardie company moved to The Netherlands and set up as a Dutch company taking with it $1.9 billion in assets from its former Australian companies. Following campaigning by unions and asbestos groups, in 2004 David Jackson QC conducted a Special Commission of Inquiry into the adequacy of funding for James Hardie asbestos victims. Justice for asbestos victims In September 2004, tens of thousands of Australian unionists held rallies under the banner Make James Hardie Pay in capital cities around Australian to coincide with the company’s Australian shareholder briefing meeting in Sydney. Unions in the United States rallied in support of Australian asbestos victims outside James Hardie's US headquarters in California taking union protests into the US market where the company earns more than 80% of its income. The Jackson Inquiry found James Hardie had seriously under-funded its liabilities to asbestos victims and recommended charges against company directors and officers for making misleading and deceptive statements. Under pressure from all sides, James Hardie agreed to negotiate a settlement. On 21 December 2004, the ACTU, Unions NSW, asbestos groups represented by Bernie Banton, and the NSW Government signed a Heads of Agreement with former asbestos products manufacturer James Hardie for what is believed to be the largest personal injury settlement in Australia's history. Unions continue campaign In August 2009 the New South Wales Supreme Court handed down fines and penalties for former James Hardie directors and executives, including a 15 year ban and $350,000 fine for former CEO Peter Macdonald. In August 2009, owing to the downturn in the US housing market, unions sought assurances from the company that it would be able to meet its obligations to the Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund over coming years. “Over the longer term, it is essential that the company is not let off the hook over its obligations to maintain a fully-funded compensation scheme, and unions will pursue James Hardie over any failure to fulfil those obligations,” said ACTU secretary Jeff Lawrence. Call for National Asbestos Authority In June 2010, the ACTU, AMWU and the Cancer Council Australia convened a national summit calling for the national coordination of asbestos removal, and the establishment of a National Asbestos Authority. The summit also devised a set of strategies for an asbestos free Australia. In late October, the Gillard Labor Government announced the establishment of the National Asbestos Management Review to develop a plan to improve asbestos awareness, management and removal. The review will be headed by former ACTU Assistant Secretary, Geoff Fary. Australian unions have also joined a unions globally in the condemnation of the planned opening of an underground mine in Quebec. The proposed mine could export 200,000 tons of asbestos per year for the next 25 to 50 years to developing countries, mostly in Asia. What's next The union movement has identified these priority issues for dealing with asbestos in Australia: 1.   A National Strategic Plan must aim for the elimination of all Asbestos Containing Material from the built environment by 2030. 2.   The Federal Government needs to establish a stand-alone National Asbestos Authority. 3.   A national audit identifying the location and condition of all ACM in the built environment must occur. Government owned buildings and workplaces, as well as asbestos dump sites, are the priority areas for an audit. All privately owned residential properties must obtain an ‘Asbestos Safety Certificate’, (auditing asbestos) when a property is sold or leased. 4.   ‘Prioritised removal’ is necessary to get rid of asbestos, starting with government – owned buildings. 5.   Education and awareness is an important component of an asbestos strategy – but not the only thing that must be done. 6.   Asbestos must only be removed by licensed removalists Asbestos Register survey An Asbestos Register is important in your workplace so that workers can identify if there is an asbestos issue, and how bad the issue is. This quick survey asks whether your workplace has an Asbestos Register and whether it’s accessible to you.   More information Asbestos and James Hardie Factsheet Penalties for ex-Hardie directors are not enough National Declaration for an Asbestos free Australia National Strategies for an Asbestos free Australia