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Asbestos Activists Take Campaign To David Miliband’s Constituency

Members of construction union UCATT will this week extend their campaign to win justice for victims of pleural plaques by campaigning in the South Shields constituency of foreign secretary David Miliband.

South Shields has the highest number of asbestos deaths in the northeast and the fourth highest number in the United Kingdom. Many deaths were traditionally associated with shipbuilding and other heavy industries. Construction workers are now at greatest risk from asbestos, due to the material’s heavy usage in buildings.

UCATT campaigners will be in:

KING STREET

SOUTH SHIELDS

From 9.30am to 12pm

Pleural plaques are scarring of the lung caused by heavy and prolonged exposure to asbestos. The scars become visible on x rays following calcification. Pleural plaques cause limited physical symptoms, however victims suffer severe mental distress. Pleural plaques sufferers have a greatly increased chance of contracting the incurable lung disease mesothelioma.

Compensation for pleural plaques is a relatively low financial amount. However if a pleural plaque victim then develops the fatal lung cancer mesothelioma, the relevant insurers will have already been identified, meaning that compensation will be paid in a victim’s lifetime. If the insurers have not already been identified this is unlikely to occur.

Last October the Law Lords overturned over 20 years of common law and ruled that pleural plaques should no longer be a compensational illness. Their decision is understood to be worth £1.4 billion to the insurance industry.

Since that judgement asbestos campaigners led by UCATT have been attempting to get the Government to overturn the House of Lords decision. UCATT organised a highly successful postcard campaign, with thousands of people writing to the Ministry of Justice to get the ban overturned.

Last Wednesday (July 9) the Government released a consultation document on pleural plaques. While UCATT was pleased that the Government was actively considering the issue, they were disappointed that the document says the “Government is not minded” to overturn the Law Lords decision. This potentially places the Government at odds with the Scottish Parliament, who have already brought forward a Bill to overturn the Law Lords judgement. UCATT fears that a postcode lottery could be created with pleural plaque victims in Scotland receiving full compensation, while those in England are given less recompense.

Rather than overturn the Law Lords the Government appears inclined to create a scheme for asbestos victims. Such a scheme would not identify liability and the most severe cases would not receive adequate recompense.

In an attempt to place further pressure on the Government to overturn the Law Lords ruling, UCATT have decided to campaign in the seats of Cabinet Ministers where there is a high level of asbestos illness. On July 18 UCATT will be targeting the seats of David Milliband and also the Barrow-in-Furness constituency of business secretary John Hutton.

Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, said: “While I welcome that the Government is seriously examining this issue, it would be unfair and intolerable if pleural plaque victims north of the border received compensation, while those in England did not.”

Last year other 2,000 people died of mesothelioma the figure is set to increase further in future.

For Further information contact Barckley Sumner on 0780 2329235 or John Scott on 0789 4414615