ACTU Secretary, Greg Combet said: The signing of todays agreement gives legal effect to the commitment that James Hardie made in December last year with the signing of the heads of agreement between unions, asbestos groups and James Hardie. Today's agreement balances the need to provide justice and proper compensation for the Australian victims of James Hardie Asbestos products with the need to ensure the company can continue as a commercially successful business. The deal secured an open ended and uncapped funding commitment from James Hardie, which will provide $4.5 billion dollars for asbestos compensation over the next forty plus years. To the best of everyones ability the agreement ensures that the compensation rights of Australian asbestos victims are protected in the event that James Hardie undergoes a further restructuring in the future. Under the agreement directors and officers of James Hardie will be released from action for compensation, but these releases will not affect ASIC from pursuing investigations or possible prosecution. The agreement will also provide funds for asbestos education and medical research. With the signing of todays agreement the ACTU is calling on all unions and others in the community to lift any remaining bans or boycotts of James Hardie products. The ACTU would like to thank the NSW Government, Bernie Banton and Asbestos Groups and all the unions and union members who have worked so hard to achieve justice for James Hardie asbestos victims.

Campaign for James Hardie Asbestos Victims Much Harder Under New IR Laws

Unions and workers who campaigned to achieve justice and proper compensation rights for James Hardie asbestos victims could be subject to crippling fines and damages if they wage similar campaigns in the future under the Howard Government's new industrial relations laws, ACTU Secretary Greg Combet also said today. Mr Combet said that the Australian community should be very concerned that the Government's new IR laws would make future campaigns like the one against James Hardie much more difficult in the future. Mr Combet said: "In partnership with asbestos victims groups Australian unions and union members have played a leading role in bringing James Hardie to account and achieving justice for asbestos victims and their families. "But the Federal Government's new IR laws and their repressive crackdown on the rights of workers and unions will mean that campaigns like this will be much more difficult in the future. "Many hundreds of thousands of Australian workers, especially those in the building and construction industry, have campaigned relentlessly to achieve this outcome from James Hardie. But in the future workers and unions who run these types of campaigns could be subject to crippling fines, damages and prosecution from the Federal Government. "Under the new IR laws workers who support campaigns like the one for James Hardie asbestos victims run the risk of being prosecuted and fined by the Federal Government and its Building Industry Task Force. "Individual workers in the building and construction industry could face fines of up to $33,000 from the Government for attending a rally like those held to support the victims of James Hardie asbestos. "The Government's IR laws are an attack on the democratic rights of Australian workers. While unions will not be intimidated by the Government new laws and will continue to stand up for justice and fight for the rights of working Australians, it is also important that the Australian public understands just how repressive these new IR laws will be." Mr Combet led the union campaign against James Hardie and negotiated the Heads of Agreement which secured the $4.5 billion compensation deal finalised today, 1 December 2005.