The union representing textile clothing and footwear (TCF) workers in Australia is calling on Border Force to lift their game to stop Australia from being flooded with dodgy medical Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

An overnight report on a leak from an anonymous law enforcement official claiming that hundreds of thousands of dodgy masks started arriving in Australia three weeks ago is alarming.

This revelation follows reports of a global spike in the production of fake PPE products mislabelled with brand names of well-known medical supply companies.

“Border Force needs to step up and protect Australians from these dangerous fakes” said TCF Sector National Secretary of the Manufacturing Division of the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union, Jenny Kruschel.

“For dangerous imports to be stamped out we need to re-establish control of our borders”

“We don’t need a repeat of the Ruby Princess debacle by ignoring this dangerous problem”

Products used in medical settings which do not comply with requirements under the Therapeutic Goods (Medical Device) Regulations 2002 could do health professionals and the public effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 more harm than good.

Local manufacturers are diversifying their operations in order to ramp up the supply of critically in demand PPE including masks, gowns, eye protection and gloves, “In fighting COVID-19 our health professionals need quality PPE and that’s what local TCF companies are committed to supplying, they have the capability to manufacture the products to the standards required and are ready and waiting for government orders.”

“We must ensure that demand for medical grade PPE is met by quality, up to standard product – not dodgy imports and Border Force must play their role”