UCATT welcomes Daily Mirror’s asbestos campaign and demands government action on Pleural Plaques

Construction union UCATT have welcomed today’s launch (Monday 2^nd March) by the Daily Mirror of a major campaign on asbestos and have renewed their call for the Government to restore compensation to victims of pleural plaques.

Alan Ritchie, General Secretary of UCATT, said: “I am delighted that the Daily Mirror has launched a major campaign about the ongoing dangers of asbestos. It marks a welcome commitment to popular accessible campaigning journalism on subjects which directly affect the lives of working people.”

Mr Ritchie, added: “I believe that the Mirror’s campaign will provide fresh pressure on the Government to reverse the Law Lords decision and reinstate compensation for victims of pleural plaques.”

Pleural plaques are scarring of the lung caused by heavy and prolonged exposure to asbestos. Some of the scars can be the size of a dinner plate. Plaques cause some physical symptoms but victims experience severe mental distress. People with pleural plaques have a greatly increased risk of developing the incurable lung disease mesothelioma.

UCATT also welcome the Mirror’s support for the creation of a Employers Liability Insurance Bureau. The creation of a bureau would mean that asbestos sufferers who could not trace their employer’s insurer would still be compensated.

A premium from each employer liability insurance policy would be placed in a separate fund. If an asbestos victim could not trace the appropriate insurer then compensation would be paid from that fund.

UCATT raised the issue of the creation of an ELIB at last year’s Labour conference and are using the party’s internal policy making procedures to get the policy adopted.

There are only two forms of compulsory insurance in Britain, motor insurance and employers liability insurance, creating a captive market. There is already a bureau for the motor industry, paying compensation to victims of uninsured car drivers. However the Government has indicated it may oppose the creation of an ELIB because it would be “an unexpected charge on business and the insurance industry.”

Mr Ritchie, further added: “The creation of the ELIB would guarantee justice for victims of the most severe forms of asbestos disease. Everyone of these workers deserves justice regardless of whether an insurer can be identified”

Full details of the Daily Mirror’s campaign are available at http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/asbestos-campaign/.

In the UK over 2,000 people die every year from mesothelioma. The number of mesothelioma deaths is not expected to peak until 2025.