Unions united to reverse damaging asbestos compensation law

Trade unions GMB and Unite have rallied to reverse a House of Lords decision which dictated that victims suffering from the condition of Pleural Plaques would no longer be entitled to compensation.

The condition affects workers who have been exposed to deadly asbestos dust. For 25 years sufferers had been entitled to modest compensation from their employers insurance company when they were diagnosed with the condition.

A consultation on what GMB Union calls a 'perverse judgment' ended yesterday (Wednesday 1 October).

Both workers unions want the decision to be reversed as soon as possible.

John McClean, GMB National Health & Safety Officer, said: “The House of Lords decision was flawed in the extreme. The invasion of the body by a potentially deadly dust, the scarring of the lungs internally and the resulting anxiety, where many go on to develop more serious deadly asbestos related diseases all point to the need for a legal compensation system for all those diagnosed with Pleural Plaques."

GMB's stance has been backed by Rochdale's Labour Parliamentary Candidate Simon Danczuk.

He said: "The many asbestos-related deaths in Rochdale continues to cast a dark cloud over our town. I am pleased to see that my union - GMB - are looking to overturn the House of Lords ruling and I will be giving them my full support to help people suffering from asbestos-related diseases get fairly compensated.

"I am actively discussing this matter with people in Government and have already written to the Justice Minister, Jack Straw, encouraging him to overturn the House of Lords ruling."

If the law will not be reversed, Unite Union wants an employers' insurance scheme to be established immediately to provide sick workers with compensation, saving the pain of a court fight for financial help.

According to Derek Simpson, Unite Joint General Secretary: “The Law Lords’ ruling was a disaster for working people. Overnight, thousands of seriously wronged workers were plunged into a compensation limbo –knowing they had a 1 in 20 chance of serious injury and death through their employers’ negligence but now denied justice. This ruling must be overturned.

“There is only one cause of this disease and that is the widespread, indiscriminate use of asbestos throughout industry for years. No one protected our people from this exposure, and now they are suffering. Employers’ insurers simply want to walk away leaving workers, whose lungs are now full of asbestos, facing a lifetime of worry and not a penny in compensation. This is not right.

“Compensation must come from those who put them at risk in the first place, and from an insurance industry which made money from that risk.

“But it is clear that neither employers nor the insurance industry will do right by these workers so we need our government to make them.”