Industry news
Unions challenge pleural plaque ruling
Posted Wed, 28 Oct 2009
A fresh appeal will be made to the Government by unions campaigning to have a Law Lords ruling on compensation for asbestos victims overturned.
Unite, GMB and Ucatt are pressing MPs to back current rules that prevent claims by people with pleural plaques - a lung scarring that can lead to lung cancer or mesothelioma.
The group also warns that many victims will not live to see "justice down" while the Government delays any action.
Tony Woodley, Unite joint general secretary, said: "These men and women went to work healthy but came home carrying a ticking time bomb and a high risk of full blown lung cancer.
"Compensation, while it will not restore their health, goes some way towards easing the anguish for them and their families. It is scandalous, then, that we must continue to fight for justice when the chief worry for them and their families is whether they're going to live long enough to benefit from it.
"Three unelected Law Lords, who I'm willing to bet have never witnessed a member of their family suffering from this evil disease, decided that pleural plaques is no longer a compensatable disease.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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