Media release: 17 March, 2004 (St Patrick's Day)
Bar
workers, musicians and entertainers are calling on NSW Minister for Commerce
John Della Bosca and WorkCover NSW to take action urgently over tobacco smoke
poisons in pubs and clubs - where legal obligations for safe workplaces continue
to be denied.
Mr
Della Bosca, as the Minister responsible for WorkCover NSW, has not used
existing WorkCover powers to order the introduction of indoor smoking bans.
Instead, these complaints have been passed onto Health Minister Morris Iemma -
whose responsibility for a voluntary “Share the Air” policy in licensed
venues does little to protect workers from passive smoking exposure.
Bar
workers wearing face masks today held a St Patrick’s Day protest outside
Scruffy Murphy’s Irish pub in Sydney, against their continued exposure to
secondhand smoke in their workplaces. They pointed out that while Ireland’s
pubs would be indoor-smokefree from March 29, there was no end in sight for
smoky pubs and clubs in NSW after ten years of agitation.
Said
Stafford Sanders, spokesperson for the SmokeFree Australia coalition and a
former pub musician and entertainer: “This
is very clearly an Occupational Health and Safety issue, seriously affecting the
health of thousands of bar attendants, musicians, entertainers and other pub and
club workers.
“Yet
Mr Della Bosca has so far passed all questions, letters and complaints about
smoky pubs and clubs to the Health or Assistant Health Ministers – when it is
in fact Mr Della Bosca’s responsibility to protect workers from workplace
harm.
“It’s
quite clear in the Smoke Free Environment Act 2000 that nothing in that Act
negates an employer’s responsibility under Occupational Health and Safety laws
to provide a safe workplace. So our question to Mr Della Bosca is: when will he
instruct Workcover to enforce the OH&S law consistently in all workplaces,
including licensed venues?
“Secondhand
smoke contains at least 40 known carcinogens – any one of which would be
enough to support a Workcover complaint were tobacco not involved. Based on a
solid consensus of independent research from all over the world, there is no
doubt that secondhand smoke
exposure causes cancer, heart disease, respiratory and other serious health harm
in non-smokers – and especially in workers exposed to them on a regular basis.
“Yet
we’re seeing many pubs and clubs continuing to expose their employees to
conditions which seriously endanger their health.
“We
would like some answers from Mr Della Bosca – as a matter of urgency.”
Comment:
Stafford Sanders (SmokeFree Australia)
ph. (02) 9334-1823
SmokeFree Australia coalition
for clean safe workplaces:
Liquor,
Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers’ Union; Musicians’ Union of Australia; Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance; Australian Council of
Trade Unions; Action on Smoking and Health Australia; The Cancer Council
Australia; National Heart Foundation of Australia; Australian Council on Smoking
and Health; Non-Smokers’ Movement of Australia; Australian Medical
Association.