Unite’s intervention sees the Government put in to place legislation today (Monday) that will benefit hundreds of sufferers of the fatal asbestos cancer, mesothelioma, to the tune of thousands of pounds in compensation. The people affected were exposed to asbestos by Turner & Newall (T&N) the UK’s largest asbestos company which went into administration in 2001.

The former Secretary of State, John Hutton, exempted T&N’s claims from compensation recovery provisions of the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997. This was because Federal Mogul's (T&N’s new owners) Chapter 11 bankruptcy exit plan resulted in T&N asbestos claimants receiving only a small fraction of their entitlement to compensation, in many cases as little as 17%. This exemption came in to force in 2006.

At that time it was also understood that T&N claimants were entitled to the state payment under the Pneumoconiosis 1979 Act. It was further understood that the sum of both payments fell well short of the total amount claimants should have received. The Government gave a clear intention not to penalise T&N claimants twice.

Unite the union with Terry Rooney MP acted swiftly to bring to the attention of the Government a consequence of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008 and related legislation which ran contrary to an agreement the union had brokered in 2006 to exempt T&N victims from the requirement to repay DWP benefits from their compensation. Due to the uniqueness of the T&N asbestos victims’ position, special measures were needed to ensure that they were not unfairly penalised under the new legislation. The decision today reinstates the exemption for T&N claims from the Government’s Compensation Recovery Unit.

Derek Simpson, Unite Joint General Secretary, said:

“We are delighted that the Government has put this right. Had it not been for Unite’s prompt intervention this problem would have remained unchecked to the disadvantage of many mesothelioma sufferers and their families. This decision will benefit our members and countless other T&N asbestos victims who have suffered serious pain and loss of life, and it will aid their families who have to care for them.

“The union stepped in because it was wrong that workers condemned to an agonising death and their grieving loved ones were facing their compensation being so drastically cut. It was an important point of principle which Unite was committed to getting resolved.

“The new legislation was intended to benefit people with mesothelioma but it also resulted in compensation payments to victims from the T&N Trust being drastically reduced or extinguished altogether. The determined action taken by Unite was instrumental in raising this issue at the highest possible level and achieving a fair and just political solution.”

ENDS

For more information contact Brian Gallagher on 07957 995947 or John O’Regan, Unite Political Officer, on 020 7420 8950 or Ashraf Choudhury in the Unite Press Office on 020 7420 8914 or 07980 224761.

By Nick Sommerlad on Jul 10, 09 09:21 AM in Campaign updates

Bad news from our political editor Bob Roberts. Here's the exclusive story he's written for today's paper:

Asbestos victims last night accused Gordon Brown of betrayal as it was revealed the Government will do a U-turn over promises to help them.

Senior Government sources admitted that campaigners pushing for the right of pleural plaques sufferers to get payouts from insurance firms would be "disappointed".

Pleural plaques causes a scarring of the lungs and is an early sign of lung cancer linked to asbestos. Thousands of workers, mainly in the construction industry, have been affected by the symptoms.

But a Law Lords ruling says they cannot get insurance compensation until they develop full-blown lung diseases and sometimes only have weeks to live.

Overturning that ruling is one of the five demands of the Mirror's Asbestos Timebomb campaign.

The PM has repeatedly promised justice for the workers but a senior Government source said giving compensation payouts before a disease develops would be crossing a line. Reports also showed just having pleural plaques was not harmful.

The senior Whitehall source added: "The problem is the Chief Medical Officer and the Industrial Injuries Advisory Committee have both concluded more firmly than ever before that pleural plaques are not harmful.

"They have both advised us against restoring compensation. That makes it much harder to overturn the Lords ruling.

"But we want to do as much as we can to help people who are suffering or who are likely to suffer from exposure to asbestos."

The Government is expected to offer pleural plaques victims £5,000 payments, funded by the taxpayer, instead of compensation from insurance companies.

An online research centre into asbestos-related diseases is also expected to be set up.

But Alan Ritchie of builders' workers union UCATT said: "This is a complete betrayal of working-class people. Compensation for pleural plaques is not only about the medical evidence.

"The point is that workers were negligently exposed to asbestos, have been told that their lungs have been damaged as a result of that exposure and now have to live with the fear of developing a fatal asbestos disease."

Tony Whiston of the Manchester Asbestos Support Group said: "It's disastrous news. It's a windfall for insurers. If the Government refuses to change the law it must look at other means to compensate sufferers."

The £5,000 payments are expected to go to all 6,500 pleural plaques victims whose cases are on hold. But there will no compensation paid to anyone who develops pleural plaques in future.

Earlier this year Gordon Brown promised legal action. He said: "Asbestosis is a terrible disease. Those who suffer it deserve the best help from public authorities." Justice Secretary Jack Straw is expected to make an official statement next week.

CASE STUDY 1

Richard Robson only worked with asbestos for two years but it has scarred him for life.

The 79-year-old explained: "I've been coughing up phlegm day and night for about five years now. I can't walk far without stopping for breath.

"Seven years ago I started to lose my breath. I was told it was pleural plaques and since then it's got worse."

He added: "I never thought about pleural plaques. I did not even know what they were. The only place I ever worked with asbestos was the Swan Hunter shipyard in Wallsend.

"I worked in ships' engine rooms and we used to see the asbestos rain down from above like silver."

CASE STUDY 2

Alex Stewart was 16 when he began work as a shipwright on the Clyde. At 69, the legacy of his trade is pleural plaques. He was surrounded in the shipyards by asbestos used to lag pipes.

Alex said: "They would come in with this stuff and just slap it on the pipes next to us with their hands.

"Nobody told us it was dangerous or gave us special clothing."

Alex, diagnosed four years ago, added: "My throat is raw. My nose runs. I've trouble breathing. A few of my workmates have it.

"I was at another's funeral six months ago. People should be compensated when exposed to this stuff through no fault of their own."