Asbestos Activists Take Campaign To Cabinet Ministers’ Constituencies

Tomorrow (July 18) members of construction union UCATT and other asbestos activists will take their campaign for justice for pleural plaque sufferers directly to the seats of two prominent Cabinet ministers.

The two constituencies being targeted are the Barrow-in-Furness seat of Business Secretary John Hutton, which has the highest rate of asbestos deaths in England and the South Shields constituency of Foreign Secretary David Miliband, which has the fourth highest number of asbestos related deaths in the United Kingdom.

The campaigners are disappointed that a recently published consultation paper on pleural plaques has said that the Government “is not minded” to overturn a Law Lords decision last October to deny pleural plaques victims compensation for their injuries.

UCATT campaigners will be in:

KING STREET

SOUTH SHIELDS

FROM 9.30am to 12pm

A separate group of UCATT activists will congregate in:

SPIRIT OF BARROW STATUE

DALTON ROAD

BARROW

11.45 onwards

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.

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.”

The demonstrations in the Cabinet minister’s home constituencies, is likely to be just the first part of the union’s campaign to get the law Lords decision overturned in England and Wales. The seats of other Cabinet ministers are expected to be targeted before the consultation ends in October.

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

For Further information on the South Shields activity contact Barckley Sumner on 0780 2329235 or John Scott  or 0789 4414615

Or for Barrow contact Jim Kennedy on 07894414606 or George Guy or 0789 4414625

Activists will be available for interview and photocall