[Intl-tobacco] Australia: Union seeks casino smoke ban (fwd)

[Robert Weissman]

Union seeks casino smoke ban
Smoke barrier: A Crown croupier is protected from patrons' smoke by
an air curtain blown from the table.
by MEG MUNDELL
Source: The Age, 2001-10-01

Crown Casino and other gaming venues will be the first target of a trade
union campaign to extend Victoria's new ban on smoking in dining areas to
hotels and all hospitality workplaces.

The campaign, to be launched this month by the Liquor, Hospitality and
Miscellaneous Workers Union, will encourage staff at Crown and other
gaming venues to keep diaries monitoring exposure to passive smoke and any
subsequent health effects.

Some staff will take medical tests developed with the Australian Medical
Association.

Crown is a target because it has close to 3000 employees, and "it's
probably one of the smokiest places in Melbourne", said Brian Daley, the
union's state secretary. The union estimates 70 per cent of Crown
employees are members.

The union will create a register of staff at Crown and other workplaces to
"lay the framework for future litigation", Mr Daley said.

The union, which will present the register to insurers and WorkCover,
warns that venues that do not introduce a smoke-free policy may face
higher insurance premiums.

Lawyers say that a landmark passive smoking case in New South Wales in May
has paved the way for further legal action by employees. The Port Kembla
RSL was ordered to pay $466,000 to former employee Marlene Sharp after the
court ruled that passive smoke had led to Ms Sharp developing throat
cancer. Several patrons have also successfully sued hospitality venues for
exposure to smoke.

A Crown spokesman said the casino had been negotiating with the union for
some time over the issue. He said progress was being made.

"Crown has invested millions of dollars in a state-of-the-art smoke
extraction system and, as far as it is technologically possible, has taken
steps to minimise smoke in the environment."

The spokesman said that while smoking was banned in the casino where food
was prepared and served, smoking in gaming areas was legal.

In July, employee occupational health and safety representatives issued
Crown casino with provisional improvement notices claiming that passive
tobacco smoke posed an unacceptable health risk to gaming staff.

On July 21 WorkSafe Victoria ordered Crown to carry out air quality tests.
Dealers have to wear monitoring devices to measure nicotine and carbon
monoxide in their breathing space. The tests will conclude in two weeks.

David Moody, a lawyer with Slater and Gordon, which is acting for the
union, said "insurers and employers should be on notice that the number of
workers coming to lawyers with complaints about passive smoking will
inevitably increase as people become more aware of the issue. (They) would
be wise to get in first and eliminate it from the workplace."