London protest challenges Russia on Asbestos
Russia's support for global asbestos trade has been exposed by Putin-masked protesters in a union-backed action outside its London embassy. Russia is the world's largest asbestos exporter, accounting for 75 per cent of all exports worldwide. With Zimbabwe, another producer, it is expected to block new rules on chrysotile asbestos exports when they are discussed by government representatives on 7 May. Both Russia and Zimbabwe signed up to the Rotterdam Convention last year, given them each the power to veto a proposal to list asbestos under the 'prior informed consent' requirements of the treaty. Listing would not ban asbestos, but would place a duty on the exporter to provide information on the risks posed by the cancer-causing fibre. The 26 April protest in London, coordinated by the union GMB and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, was part of global events for Workers' Memorial Day. It saw a large crowd of construction workers, dockers, asbestos widows, trade unionists, health and safety and human rights campaigners wearing Putin maskings and hazmat suits noisily condemn the global trade in the world's biggest ever industrial killer. GMB head of safety John McClean said: 'We are outside the Russian embassy in wealthy Kensington to protest Russia's deadly sale of asbestos to the Asian continent.' Calling for an end to asbestos use combined with financial investment to enable a 'just transition' for asbestos-dependent communities, he concluded: 'We are here to remember the dead and fight for the living not just in the UK but across international borders.'
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