One question that continues to baffle us in the Asian labour movement is why any talk about occupational safety and health always seems to meet with a muted response in Asia.One would think there is something wrong in the manner that governments in Asiaworks,when about 1.1 million deaths, out of a global death toll of 2.3 million remain surprisingly un-noticed, except for their ritualistic mention in ILO reports.¹

Exposure to work hazards is one of the leading causes of preventable death, injury and sickness in Asia. Yet, the dead, injured and sick people and their families remain hidden behind a thick veil of invisibility as almost no country maintains the correct data on these deaths, injuries and diseases and the ILO figures are mostly conservative estimates. The real figure, if ever known, would be much higher. This ‘silent massacre’ remains one of the best-kept secrets –in no small part because of a dreadful acceptance among both workers and policy-makers: i.e. workers dying at work is part of the development and the price that society has to pay.

Workers have paid the ‘ultimate price’ all along the history of industrial growth. The year 2011, is the centenary anniversary of the infamous ‘Triangle Fire’ which engulfed the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York in March 1911, killing 146 garment workers, most of them being women. It was and continues to be one of the worst industrial disasters. In similar manner thousands of workers have died due to exposure to harmful substances, mothers have passed these hazards to unborn children in electronics factories from Silicon Valley in California to Scotland; and fathers have clogged their lungs with asbestos fibers and even brought it home in their clothing, devastating whole families. The effects of these past exposures are reverberating even now in these countries, even though many of the harmful chemicals have either been nationally banned or reduced, including asbestos which is banned in over 90 countries worldwide.

In spite of so much death and destruction around the world in the past, the reality at the ground depicts few lessons learnt, and only continuing tragedies, in Asia. In 1992, Kader factory fire, also known as the Triangle Fire of Asia, killed more than 188 workers mostly women and like the Triangle factory, doors were locked in Kader factory also. Factory fires in Bangladeshcontinue even now to kill hundreds every year; on 14 December 2010, a fire in a multi-storied garment factory in Dhakawhich produced for major brands like the GAPkilled about 25 workers and injured 100 more. Asiaalso continues to use hazardous substances as part of manufacturing processes, even when those substances have been banned in the West for consumption and production, like asbestos. Asiais the largest consumer of asbestos in the world (accounting for 45% of world demand for it).

China, which is noted for being the ‘factory of the world’, also holds the infamous distinction of having the most unsafe workplaces in the world. China accounts for the majority of the global death toll due to work, with an estimated figure of about half a million.²The number of workers exposed to occupational hazards and at risk of injury or disease number about 200 million. The gloss of economic growth does not reflect the price that is quietly absorbed by the Chinese society in its quest of manufacturing for the world, in terms of both damage to the fragile environment and the health of its people. If all the victims were to be compensated, by even very conservative estimates, all the foreign reserves held by China’s elite would vanish in no time.

This issue is a continuation of AMRC’s effort to raise awareness on the critical issue of occupational safety and health in Asia, and to promote the voices of victims who are demanding justice and rights, including the democratic right to be part of decision-making. The contributions of this issue are reflective of their problems and struggles and, most interestingly, the alliances that are being built not only in Asiabut around the whole world to demand a just society where workers can exercise their fundamental right to work in safe and healthy workplaces. We have contributed features from victims and networks in Indonesia, South Korea, India, as well as Hong Kong, Taiwanand China. There is also increasing recognition of combining the occupational and environmental health movements – which in principle represent different faces of the same coin.

In October 2010 in Bandung, Indonesia, at one of the largest gatherings of Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational Accident Victims (ANROAV), a historic declaration was adopted – the Bandung Declaration on Occupational Safety and Health. Inspired by the spirit of Bandung Conference, where more than five decades ago, leaders of the non-aligned movement vowed to uphold the dignity of the people in the Third World, the declaration was based in principle on a similar declaration passed by our partner network in Europe, the European Work Hazards Network, during their conference in September which ANROAV members also attended.³Most of this issue’s articles are based on or related to struggles that were shared in the ANROAV meeting.

Among the developments reflected in this issue as well as in ANROAV, there has been increased collaboration between the grassroots movements of Asia, Europeand the US. As marked by Ted Smith in his article, this collaboration is very important in building a strong campaign for the rights of occupational and environmental health around the globe. Lack of information on hazards, inept regulation and their implementation, improper diagnosis and complicated compensation procedure affect workers, victims and their families all around the world, and sharing of struggles is vital.

There have been victories in all parts of Asia, ‘even’ China, where victims have led the fight for justice. These victories, though small, are very vital in the long struggle for rights. They also emphasize the importance of victims’ empowerment in the attainment of rights. As history shows,OSHrights were attained after a long struggle by victims. Black, white and brown lung associations in the USepitomized those struggles. Historically and even now, it is the power of collective organizing that brings justice. At the workplace, workers need a union; in the community, what is needed is a unity of residents together with those who have been worst affected. At all times, victims and their families should be given priority in representation, and avoid having their concerns and standpoints drowned out by experts and lawyers, who should keep their roles as supporters and not representatives.

Victims’ organizing in Asiais truly as critical now as ever. We hope that history does not need to repeat itself. There have been enough needless deaths, not only in centuries past, but even now. We need to learn from the past and realize that even the gains and lessons of the past can be unraveled without constant vigilance and struggle.

Furthermore, these needless deaths are not mere accidents but willful murders, as states and business, fully aware of the consequences, put the lives of millions of workers in danger – often even withholding the critical information from them about the dangers they face at work.  These are crimes against humanity, where nation-states colluding with business are responsible for killing their own citizens and the number of dead is more than any war anywhere. Why is the International Court of Justice in the Haguenot issuing warrants?
 

Endnotes
1. Sameera Al-Turaijri et al., International Labour Office. XVIII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, June 2008, Seoul, Korea– Introductory report – Beyond death and injuries: The ILO’s role in promoting safe and healthy jobs, Geneva: ILO, 2008. From http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/publ...

2. Ibid. The recording of occupational accidents and illnesses in Asiahas not improved since the time of our last issue on OSHin Asia(Issue 61-62), but continues to remain very spotty and inaccurate.

3. See the declaration of the European Work Hazards Network at www.ewhn.eu