The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) has accused the Federal Government of bowing to industry pressure by leaving thousands of workers at risk of developing the deadly lung disease silicosis.

It says that preliminary reforms recommended by the Federal Government’s National Dust Disease Taskforce will only provide extra protection for stonemasons, leaving the construction industry, miners, quarry workers and tunnellers out in the cold.

“It took two decades to make James Hardie pay and for the truth to come out about asbestos. It would be a disgrace if we allow history to repeat itself,” AWU national secretary Daniel Walton says.

“The lives of tens of thousands of workers – miners, tunnellers, tradespeople and more – are being put at risk by companies who put profit ahead of worker safety and get away with it.

“We know what’s needed to prevent people from dying from this horrific disease. But the Federal Government just wants to tinker around the edges.

“What’s currently on the table makes no sense. If we can make workplaces safer for one group of workers, why not make it safer for everyone?”

The AWU has also launched a new campaign, Silica Kills, which calls for tougher national regulations with minimum benchmarks that protect all workers exposed to the deadly silica dust, warning that unless action is taken now Australia will be hit with a tsunami of workplace deaths.

It also calls for stronger enforcement of regulations and tough penalties for breaches of minimum benchmarks alongside a comprehensive health monitoring program and compensation fund.

The AWU says interim recommendations from the taskforce currently fall criminally short of what is needed and must be strengthened before its final report is published in June this year.

“It’s an outrage that a country like Mexico has stricter laws in relation to workplace silica dust exposure than Australia, and it’s no exaggeration to say that unless we act now more people will die and more families will be torn apart,” Daniel adds.

It’s estimated around six per cent of all Australians are exposed to silica dust each year. Last year more than 350 people were diagnosed with silicosis.