Document yk8943zB9o68Qb3qyV6JGv7J4

FILE NAME: Colonial Sugar Refinery (CSR) DATE: 1948 Apr 19 DOC#: CSR015 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letter from Australian Workers' Union to Perth Mining Dept RE Asbestos Workers without Access to Workers' Comp ' / r O o 6 ( AUSTRALIAN WORKERS' UNION . WESTRALIAN BRANCH----------MINING DIVISION c. aouoiNQ, m *rCM SCCHCTAAV 1 7 .1 J a m , A fM T M O rn e ... .. 372 S tC A lt A M V M c tto tN C U 23 t t rbAA***C ' U N I O N " M N T H 0lVI< O AV * tC A T A Y M in in o C T. O U V C R . W O M I ' MAbb. lOW bOfM Tu m h o n i r.o. ox to Attinti* BOULDER.. 3 W.A. 19th A p r i l . 1Q,, 3 . Ur. J . Foxall^ ~t?.te Uinin,* Engineer, Un ir*.es ~iJeo a rts ie n t, Dear S ir , I an r e q u e s t e d by the members of ay Union employed by the A u s tr a lia n 31ue Asbestos at Wittenoo.m Gorge to b rin g the fo llo w in g n a tte r s to your n o tic e . i . O b jection is token to a d ie s e l locomotive bein-t worked underground in haulage o p e ra tio n s. The o p in i o n o f my members i s t h a t the a i r i s s u f f i c i e n t l y v i t i a t e d by p o ll u t i o n with fumes from the exhaust as to menace t h e i r h e a lt h . 2. The p ro cess of e x tra c tin g asbeitos from the q u a rtz ite rode is a dry process which is the cause o f excessive dust. So adequate provision has been made by t h e management to e f f e c t i v e l y c o n t r o l th e dust in th e treatm ent p l a n t . The resu lt is that heavy clouds of dust are d r iftin g through the p la n t, in c lu d in g the engine room, f i t t i n g shop and o f f i c e s , in f a c t the whole atmos phere i n th e v i c i n i t y o f th e tr e a tm e n t p l a n t , when in o p e r a tio n , i s dust la d e n . There can be no doubt that employees occupied in the process are exposed to serious danger from a health point o f view. 3. s t r o n g e x c e p t i o n i s ta k en to men b e in g engaged in P e rth fo r employment at Wittenoom Gorge on the a u t h o r i t y o f a P r o v i s i o n a l C e r t i f i c a t e Form Ho. 13. A worker engaged under these circum stances has no o r o t e c t i o n under th e T h ir d S c h e d u le o f the W orkers1 Com pensation A c t , nor i s ne p r o t e c t e d by the Uine Workers' R e lie f A ct. F a c ilitie s are available at the Perth P u b lic H o s p i t a l f o r X-Rays to be taken and records kept which give the worker complete p ro tectio n under t h e A c t s . Vie f e e l t h a t t h e s e f a c i l i t i e s sh o u ld be ^t/ori -i PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT / Q f i yj g I C 2 ) a v a i l e d o f by t h e em plo yer -.-hen e n g a g in g l a b o u r , and trie o r a c t i c e o f a llo w in g * t h e '.vor/.er t o proceed to employment at V/ittenoo.n Oorge o n 'th e a u th o rity of a P r o v is io n a l C e rtifica te discontinued. i A t t h e d a t e o f my v i s i t to V Jitte n o o a o rg e 5k a t o t a l o f 117 p e r s o n s were employed, or. the a u t h o r i t y >S o f P r o v i s i o n a l r i c h e t s . Yours f a it h f u lly , /2 ^ 2.C -'Y -V ? i r x/C^SSWECIaSTSJ.'IiPt.VY U. W. U. lin in g Division } ^ <d t e * * j / 4 ' (s'/ ! ai M a/* Asbestos ?Pee &^co^piei (Ci to08889'' g f t r i F. S ^ s-