Construction Industry Leaders Back Tradie Health

Some of Australia’s biggest companies across construction, mining and agriculture have announced a funding partnership with medical research charity The Common Good to create the Tradie Health institute.

Companies such as BESIX Watpac were invited to become founding partners of this world-first initiative due to their commitment to health and safety programs on their work sites.

“We wanted to work only with great companies who clearly valued the health of their tradies” said Michael Hornby CEO of The Common Good. “Companies who take health and safety seriously, understand the problems and have the capacity to help other trade businesses and contractors”.

The recruitment of industry leaders will provide the base funding of the Tradie Health Institute – with the Institute’s first priority to tackle silicosis, a lung disease which may be impacting more than 600,000 current and retired tradies.

BESIX Watpac’s Mark Baker said they accepted the offer to be the first founding partner based on their health and safety priorities.

“We set up our BESIX Watpac Community Fund last year which includes supporting community health. We now have an opportunity to not only emphasise our commitment to the health of our staff and contractors, but to make a meaningful difference to the lives of those tradies across Australia who have been diagnosed with a trade related lung disease. Sadly, there are many out there who have not taken the right precautions or simply weren’t aware of the risks. I now call on other CEO’s to stand with BESIX Watpac and support The Tradie Health Institute in this battle against silicosis and other occupational lung conditions.”

The Tradie Health Institute is a collaboration with one of Australia’s largest lung hospitals and health services and is the only institute dedicated to powering medical discoveries to help tradies, companies across construction, mining and agriculture are being invited to partner.