Doctor who won steelworkers' battle with BHP over fumes dies at 80
Dr Ben Bartlett helped steelworkers force BHP to cut toxic coke oven emissions. He has died at age 80.
Dr Bartlett died in August from cancer treatment complications. Dr Bartlett was remembered as a champion for worker safety and justice.
In the 1980s, he gave health advice to Illawarra workers and unions. Illawarra workers and unions were fighting BHP over harmful emissions from the Port Kembla coke ovens.
A strike by more than 1,000 steelworkers in 1980 forced the company to invest in pollution controls. That campaign led to the NSW Occupational Health and Safety Act 1983.
It was a landmark law that widened workplace safety to include long-term disease prevention. Bartlett also worked in Aboriginal health in Alice Springs.
He supported East Timor's independence cause and helped adult literacy programs in remote communities. His memorial service will be held October 12 at Wollongong Lawn Cemetery.
- 1980
- Year of strike
- More than 1000
- Steelworkers involved
- October 12 at Wollongong Lawn Cemetery
- Memorial date
Why it mattersHis legacy shaped modern workplace health law. It showed that workers can hold giant corporations accountable for toxic exposure.
AustraliaAustralian industrial safety standards and worker protection laws rest on victories Bartlett helped steelworkers win against polluting industry decades ago.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 2 h ago
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