Boycott hits Hardie profits

Selena Black, Sydney

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union said on November 22 that a 9% decline in James Hardie profits showed that the community boycott campaign against the company is having an impact.

According to CFMEU NSW secretary Andrew Ferguson, the campaign in support of asbestos victims is growing across the country. "No longer can the board of James Hardie hide; they have ripped off the innocent victims of their deadly asbestos products long enough, and the people of Australia are going to punish their hip pockets until they provide funding for all their victims into the future."

Ferguson also lashed out at the enormous payouts provided to former James Hardie CEO Peter Macdonald, who was paid $6.5 million for leaving, and is now set to receive more than half a million dollars in consultancy fees from James Hardie.

"How can the board of James Hardie sleep at night when they are rewarding Peter Macdonald, a man who deliberately misled victims and the community to maximise profits, while claiming they can't afford to pay the victims compensation?"

From Green Left Weekly, December 1, 2004.

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From GLW issue 608