22 April, 2010Under the global theme adopted by the Global Unions for 2010, "Unions Make Work Safer," metalworkers across the world commemorate the 15th international commemoration day for dead and injured workers this April 28.
GLOBAL: Unions play a crucial role in education and prevention of injury and ill health at the workplace. Unions take local and national action to press for government responsibility to create a framework for workers' health and foster public awareness of hazards. Unions the world over also take international action to make sure that your job does not kill you whether in the advanced, industrialized world or the developing world.
The March 31, 2010 death of 23 year old Jiyeon Park, she was the latest loss in a cluster of leukemia cases of workers who were employed at Samsung, has highlighted the urgent need to provide collective solutions to workplace exposure. The Korean Metal Workers' Union will hold a rally event this April 28 to grieve her death but also to combat the misperception that cancer is an individual problem and fight for recognition of occupational cancer.
This year, the IMF calls on its affiliates to take up the issue of occupational exposure, in particular, to increase awareness and mobilize to stop death and suffering from asbestos-related diseases. As part of IMF and Building Workers' International cooperation in Asia to prevent asbestos related disease, IMF and BWI affiliates in Delhi will jointly mobilize workers for a day-long hunger strike to draw the central government's attention to the urgent need to ban the use of asbestos and ensure its safe disposal.
While many workers in the industrialized world have succeeded in bringing about a ban on asbestos, the production and distribution of asbestos has to the contrary been on the rise, in part owing to the massive export of asbestos to the developing world. In Australia unions will visit the Canadian embassy and call for an end to the production and distribution of asbestos.
IMF calls on its affiliates to take action this April 28 and remember that when it comes to occupational disease, prevention is the only cure and union action makes all the difference, as "Unions Make Work Safer".
IMF affiliates taking action on April 28 are asked to inform IMF by sending an email to Hyewon Chong.
RESOURCES:
- Unions interested in pressing their government to develop a National Programme for the Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases (NPEAD) can download the ILO/WHO model NPEAD with sample National Asebestos Profile here.
- Even the World Bank has issued a good practice guidance note forbidding the use of asbestos in WB funded projects; see guidance note here.
- Download the ITUC leaflet explaining Workers' Memorial Day here.
- See how workers around the world are remembering 28 April at the Hazards' 28th April website.
- Join the Workers' Memorial Day Facebook page.