According to a statement from Shine, 52-year-old Kevin Weekes is one of the long-standing employees alleging that Unimin was negligent by failing to provide a safe workplace at the factories.

“You could always see the silica dust in the air but we weren’t warned about the health risks despite that being something all workers needed to know,” Mr Weekes said, who was diagnosed with silicosis in 2019 after spending 28 years at the company.

“I’ll never forget coming home after the diagnosis and sharing the news with my wife, Debra, and our two daughters. The scary thing is I don’t know how much time I have left and I’ve been told to get my affairs in order.”

Commenting further, Shine Lawyers’ Roger Singh said many workers don’t realise the high-risk nature of their work.

“Sadly, we’re often the first to explain to workers the connection between silica dust exposure and autoimmune diseases like scleroderma, Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus,” said Mr Singh, who leads the firm’s dust & diseases litigation practice.

“Getting WorkSafe Victoria to accept these links hasn’t been easy but we refused to give up on our clients and have had success in securing for them no-fault compensation for silicosis and autoimmune diseases.”

Mr Singh said the next step in the legal process is to investigate the potential to bring lawsuits against Unimin on behalf of the seven workers to recover compensation for pain and suffering in addition to statutory payments.

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“What began with one brave worker speaking out has snowballed with seven former workers preparing to take court action against Unimin,” he said.

“This employer has been derelict in its duty by allowing so many of its employees to be exposed to hazardous silica dust with devastating impacts for them and their families.

“Employers can’t continue to turn a blind eye to the health and safety of hard-working people who are left to take the brunt of their neglectful and reckless conduct.”

Further to this, Mr Singh also highlighted the importance of the National Dust Disease Taskforce, established by the federal Health Minister Greg Hunt in 2019, which is due to hand down its final report this June.

Mr Singh said it was critical the report endorsed long-overdue reforms to workplace health and safety regulations.

“We need to see rigorous regulation of all silica dust producing industries, including a significant reduction in exposure levels within workplaces, and penalties against employers who do the wrong thing,” he said.