ANROAV Annual Meeting 2008

The struggle for better OSH rights has been going on in Asia for over two decades and has been led by occupational accident and disease victims groups. The Kader fire in 1993 and Zhili Fire in the same year that together killed more than 260 workers (predominantly young women), formed a turning point in the grassroots OSH movement in Asia. These incidents led to the cementing of various victims groups from different Asian countries like Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand, to form an Asian alliance of the Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational Accident Victims (ANROAV). ANROAV is a unique solidarity group and rights based organisation which works towards making Asian workplaces safe and works for the OSH rights of the victims and workers in the region. ANROAV combines the OSH rights struggle in different Asian countries into a one united struggle and demands better health and safety for the workers across the region

 

ANROAV annual meeting is the highest decision making body for the network where future plans and direction of the network are discussed and the past activities are reviewed. In this years meeting the main focus will be on the critical issues in occupational health and safety in Asia and devising strategies towards them and also strategies to strengthen the ANROAV as a network and how to enhance fruitful partnership with similar networks across the globe.

 

This year’s ANROAV meeting will also have simultaneous thematic skill share workshops to make discussions more focussed and strategic. Labour Occupational Health Program (LOHP) of University of California at Berkley will facilitate one of the skill share workshops on Electronics and Chemicals.

 

The key objectives of the 2007 annual meeting are as follows:

 

                                    Noel Colina – IOHSAD

                                    Earl Brown- Solidarity Centre

                                    Sanjiv Pandita- Asia Monitor Resource Centre 

                        Gem polishing produces lit of silica dust that has been killing thousands of workers in many Asian countries. This session will highlight the struggle of silicosis victims in China and India and the joint strategies they are developing.

                        .

                        Cadmium poisoning among the battery workers has been a serious problem in China especially in GP factories who are spread in several provinces in China. In this session victims will provide update about their struggle.

`                       This session will highlight different initiatives and struggles in different Asian countries towards banning asbestos in Asia.          

                        Unilever’s Thermometer factory in a beautiful South Indian city poisoned workers and the community. They have been struggling to get compensation; the organisers will provide update on their struggle.

                        This is the first time Bhopal Victims might attend the ANROAV meeting and will present an update of their struggle

 

                        Mining is the most dangerous occupation in Asia and this session will provide an update on ANROAV’s campaign on Safe mining in Asia.

 

 

2:00 pm           Thematic Workshops (These will be held simultaneously and participants can chose to attend the appropriate workshop)

 

Electronics is one of the most hazardous industries in Asia. This workshop intends to provide information about the hazards in the industry and how to deal with them. Participants are expected to develop a strategy at the end of the skill-share. The workshop will be conduced by Labour Occupational Health Program (LOHP) of University of California at Berkley.

Resource Persons

Betty Szudy – LOHP

Valeria Velazquez- LOHP

Ted Smith – ICRT

Melody Kemp- ANROAV

 

 

Dust related diseases are a major problem for the working population in Asia and every year they kill more workers than industrial accidents and many thousands are diseased. These diseases many a times fatal are caused due to silica dust (causing silicosis), cotton dust in textiles (causing bysinosis), asbestos dust (causing asbestosis and cancers) and coal dust in mines (causing coal miners pneumoconiosis). This session will focus on the present campaigns in ANROAV to deal with these issues and future strategies. 

Resource Persons

Jagdish Patel, from Peoples Training Resource Centre (PTRC) and coordinator of ANROAV

Shek Ping-kwan from Labour Action China

Somboon Srikumdokkare from WEPT Thailand.

Sugio FURUYA, Ban Asbestos Network Japan (BANJAN).

Paul Jobin

Victims organising is critical for the success of any OSH campaign, ANROAV is itself a victims’ network and promotes victims organising in the region. Taiwan Association for Victims of Occupational Injuries (TAVOI) and the Association for the Rights or Industrial Accident Victims (ARIAV), Hong Kong have been in the forefront of victims organising in the Asia. In this skill share they will share with groups the concrete strategies for victims organising.