On April 28 2008, International Workers Memorial Day, the ACTU and the VTHC will launch the Australian union campaign for Zero Occupational Cancer.
The campaign will highlight that
- Over 1.5 million workers are exposed to carcinogenic substances
- Over 13% of all cancer deaths in Australian males are caused by occupational exposures
- Governments at all levels can do more to prevent these exposures and diseases, including developing a comprehensive national cancer strategy and specifically doing more to address asbestos related issues
- Regulators, such as WorkSafe, can do more to improve the laws, whilst meanwhile better enforcing the laws that we have
- Workplace OHS Reps will be provided with information, training and tools to address these issues in their own workplace