The World Federation of Trade Unions which represents 92 million workers all over the globe, has always firmly supported the workers’ demands for health and security measures in workplaces. We have been also steadily denouncing ever monopoly which, in the seek of profit, doesn’t hesitate to sweep under the carpet any work-related disease.
The global monopoly of General Electric is not an exception concerning the lack of protection measures for its workers. The case of Peterborough GE plant in Ontario, Canada is typical; many of its workers, during the last decades, have been dying of work-related terminal diseases due to carcinogenic factors of their workplace. According to investigations carried out, the presence of more than 42 prohibited items such as arsenic, asbestos, lead, and cadmium had been verified in the past.
Furthermore, government reports had repeatedly warned about poor housekeeping, shoddy ventilation, and lack of persona protective equipment even if the company’s officials have been denying it. The impacts are also severe on the environment, given that the province has a high percentage of contamination.
The WFTU stands by the workers suffering from these diseases as well as by the families of those who have lost their lives, uniting its voice with those who seek justice. We support the GE workers demands about compensations and the creation of a system able to track, monitor, and prevent occupational diseases.
Once more, we are determined that the monopoly profits are stained by the workers’ blood and sweat and we will not stop until the abolition of man by man exploitation; for the protection of working people’s lives and a safe environment to live in.
The Secretariat