Kuswoyo, a 48-year-old father of two, worked at an asbestos factory in Cibinong, Bogor, Indonesia, for 28 years. Each day, he would mix sacks of raw asbestos and polymers with his bare hands to create asbestos insulation thread. “We didn’t wear gloves, and we had no masks, even though a notice on the wall said to, they were not provided,” he said.
Following a historic win in the Indonesian Supreme Court earlier this year by the Indonesian ban asbestos network, which resulted in a court order for all asbestos materials to display health warning labelling, asbestos roof sheet manufacturers in Indonesia are suing all those who brought the case to the Supreme Court for damages.
Unionists and civil society groups across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) came together last week in a powerful movement for democracy, human rights, freedom, justice, and climate action.
Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to asbestos exposure due to their socio-economic conditions. They often work in high-risk sectors, such as construction and demolition, under unsafe conditions that others might avoid. Known as the “3Ds”—Dirty, Dangerous, and Demanding—these jobs often come with lower pay, longer hours, and complex, risky tasks.
In Australia, we are aware of the suffering many workers have endured, which is why we’ve joined forces with our brothers and sisters in Laos and Vietnam to improve diagnostic capacity.