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I've worked for James Hardie, and in my experience they did take safety seriously: they provided safety gear, they took an interest in workers health and wellbeing and they work as a team, keeping the plant ticking over and keeping everyone involved as part of the factory. But I'm talking about a recent experience, long after asbestos was abandoned and the alternative formula (celulose, cement and wet-powdered silica) has become the norm. Naturally the Hardie factory is still a potentially dangerous place, there is still cement and silica dust, there are dangerous voltages and powerful pieces of machinery. Every workplace has its hazards, the point is that hazards can be addressed. Part of being human is to face danger and overcome it through teamwork and brainwork.
High voltage areas are caged off and locked. The dust is kept under control by keeping most processes damp and by constantly sweeping up. Everyone wears dust masks, hearing protection, etc, all provided by the company. They get cranky if you lose your safety gear but (after a lecture) they give you whatever you ask for.
The other point is that the modern workers are told about where the hazards are, what to do about it, and how to look after themselves. Yes I did see some people who took a few risks but most people knew that it was both their livelihood and their life that was at stake so they took safety seriously. Workers usually do take safety seriously when they get the option and when they have the information that they require.
So what about the past then? What sticks in my mind more than anything is that the people working with asbestos every day were not kept informed about the medical studies. Sure there was a time when nobody knew that asbestos could be dangerous... then they started to suspect but weren't really sure, gradually the evidence came in until no one had any more doubts. Let's get back to responsibility here, who is responsible for keeping this information available to the public at the time the suspicions are starting to form? In a word everybody is responsible, especially management... and in this case everybody failed, especially management.
The evil men do lives a long time after them. James Hardie have done a good job cleaning up their workplace and striving for a world beating safety record. How have they done cleaning up their management structure and making sure that critical information affecting the public good is made available to the public? Not so good it seems. The fact that dishonest and deceitful members of upper management can walk away with a fat payout and without a care in the world says loudly that our Australian corporate law is in need of reform.
The biggest weakness of Australia has been our leadership, particularly amongst the big business sector. Looks like that isn't going to change soon.
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