KILLER CONDITIONS Silicosis, a disabling and deadly lung disease, is rife in India’s gem polishers. And if the dust doesn’t get them, dangerous machinery with no guards and substandard wiring just might. The most basic safety measures are often lacking.

WOMEN’S BURDEN In Asia, women – like this Indian construction worker (right) and these Thai spoon grinders (above) – frequently do the dirty, dangerous, heavy, unskilled, informal and worst paid work.

FINDING SOLUTIONS AAWL believes effective information exchange, union safety reps and accessible, participatory techniques like body and risk mapping, are key to securing improvements. Manrico Moro said: “We want to work towards a major conference of health and safety activists in the region, to compare notes and to share strategies. We want to discuss the promotion of campaigns that will improve conditions for all workers in the Asia Pacific region.”

MAKING LINKS
Australia Asia Worker Links

Making links Hazards 97 Jan-March 2007 Order the photospread

MAKING LINKS
Hazards 97 photofeature, January-March 2007

Australia Asia Worker Links has been organising solidarity visits between worker activists in the Asia Pacific region since 1979. AAWL’s Manrico Moro describes the Melbourne-based organisation’s groundbreaking regional health and safety project.

Australia Asia Worker Links works with genuine unions and genuine labour movement non-governmental organisations (NGOs). We say “genuine” because there are many “yellow” unions, set up by companies or governments to prevent workers from organising.

Even among genuine unions, there is a tendency to consider health and safety as something workers will fight for only after obtaining better wages and better contracts. We formed the AAWL regional health and safety project because we think health and safety is a priority issue. Workers need to stay alive and healthy to the end of the day, or any wage increase is meaningless. Health and safety should focus on prevention. Compensation for injury and disease and punishment of negligent companies are necessary, but it is better to organise against dangerous workplace condition.

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Further information

Jiselle Hanna, Coordinator
Australia Asia Worker Links
PO Box 264 Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia
Tel: + 61 3 9663 7277
Email: aawl@aawl.org.au
Web: www.aawl.org.au

AAWL body mapping guide http://mapping.aawl.org.au

Regional health and safety project coordinators

Cathy Butcher, Director
Victorian Trades Hall Council Health and Safety Unit
Web: www.ohsrep.org.au

Gwynnyth Evans,
National occupational health and safety officer,
Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union
Web: http://vic.amieu.asn.au

Hazards issue 97contents • More photofeatures