Unions Tasmania congratulates AWU

Date: 12 December 2008

Mr Cocker also called on other Tasmanian employers to take note of the significant site mitigation work undertaken by Cement Australia.

Unions Tasmania recently surveyed 326 workplaces across Tasmania finding that 43% of the sites surveyed contained asbestos and a further 38% of employers did not know if there was asbestos present in the workplaces they are accountable for. Only 51% of the sites surveyed had an asbestos register or management plan as they are obliged to do under the Regulations.

Unions Tasmania Council Secretary Simon Cocker said:

"This is a day we have all been waiting for and I want to congratulate the AWU and Cement Australia on the hard work they have done to get this research project off the ground."

"The prioritised asbestos removal program undertaken by Cement Australia represents a significant shift in thinking when it comes to removing asbestos from our places of work."

"Every piece of asbestos is a time bomb and it's time we stopped talking about risk assessment and started planning prioritised removal of this carcinogen from our worksites."

"We were truly shocked by the recent survey results which show how much work is still to be done by employers in Tasmania to comply with asbestos regulations."

"I hope these employers will use the Cement Australia project as inspiration to step up to the plate and take their responsibility to protect their employees from asbestos exposure much more seriously." said Mr Cocker

Media Contacts

For further information

Contact:	Simon Cocker
Union:	Unions Tasmania Council Secretary
Contact Mobile:	0419 402377
WWW:	http://www.unionstas.com.au/

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