|
No.
145/08
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Ref
P8
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Date:
26 February 2008
|
To:
All Branches
Dear
Colleagues
Law
Lords Asbestos Ruling - CWU Asbestos issues and Pleural Plaques
Campaign
This
report is to update Branches, Safety Representatives and Regional
Health and Safety Forums on the work undertaken and currently being
undertaken by the Health, Safety and Environment Department on
Asbestos related issues and in particular nationally promoting and
supporting the current Pleural Plaques Campaign.
The
Officer has been speaking recently to a number of our own
CWU members who are victims of Pleural Plaques and who now have the
"time-bomb" ticking away inside them BT Engineers and Romec
Ltd Engineers, both former and current employees can and are victims
of Pleural Plaques. We can only hope for them that their condition remains
dormant and asymptomatic.
Recently
a Pleural Plaques lobby and rally meeting was held at Westminster
on 29 January which was very well attended and had a big impact in the
Commons with CWU members and reps attending.
The
CWU H,S&E Dept is fully involved in campaigning on Asbestos issues
including the Pleural Plaques issue. Literally dozens of LTBs and
BOB paragraphs on these matters have been issued in recent years.
In
summary the CWU Health, Safety & Environment Department has done
the following:-
We
are involved and affiliated with OEDA and ELMS - two Asbestos
Campaigning groups
 | We
support the Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group
| We
support the London Hazards Centre & CSC Asbestos Support Group
| We are
long standing supporters of the Spodden Valley Asbestos Campaign
Group
| We
were involved with others campaigning for changes which led to the
revised 2006 Control of Asbestos Regulations
| We
were involved in the Campaign to get Mesothelioma drug Alimta
licensed for use by NICE
| We've
been involved in pushing for the Scottish Pleural Plaques
legislation which looks as if it will be successful and reverse
the Lords decision.
| We
support "Action Mesothelioma Day"
| We
fought for more stringent controls on "Asbestos Samples
in the Post" operated by cowboy sampling companies
| We
campaigned to get British Gas sending Asbestos Bags returns via
the post stopped
| We
were involved in a revision of BT's Asbestos Policy affecting our
BT Engineers
| We
were heavily involved in revised procedures on Asbestos controls
and policies in Royal Mail
| We
circulated thousands of the "Asbestos in Your Home"
leaflets to Branches for members
| We
supported the introduction of the Mesothelioma treatment framework
to speed up treatment for victims
| We
were involved in the campaign to get rid of the "occupational
link" giving all mesothelioma sufferers the right to
claim under the Pneumoconiosis (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979.
| We
supported the campaign which led to the Government overturning
a controversial court ruling stopping widows from receiving
full compensation for their husbands' Asbestos deaths.
| We
were involved in the successful lobbying which led to the Government introducing
an amendment to the Compensation Bill which overturned the
House of Lords judgment in Barker v Corus(UK) which said that
where an individual worked for several companies and could not
identify which one was the caused the asbestos disease,
damages should be divided between all employers who possibly
exposed the victim to asbestos and the ruling meant that victims
would be stopped from claiming full compensation from just one
of several negligent employers.
| We've
supported a number of EDMs on Asbestos related diseases and
Pleural Plaques.
| We've
supported and promoted No 10 Downing Street Petitions on
Asbestos related diseases and Pleural Plaques. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Our
12 CWU Sponsored MPs and 2 supported Lords have been well briefed by
the HS&E Department and will be receiving another communication
shortly to join the latest round of the campaigning to pressurize the
Government to follow the Scottish Parliament lead and legislate to
overturn the Lords ruling.
The
CWU Editor of Voice is planning to run a feature article on
Pleural Plaques also in order to get the membership and Branches fully
up to speed and involved and to ask 2 or 3. This will be part of
a CWU awareness Campaign and as part of our work with the TUC and the
other major Unions UCATT, Unite, GMB etc. The Article will appear
in a future edition of Voice to highlight the problem.
I
would remind you of LTB 944/07 and the Petition which
has been submitted to the to the Prime Minister's 10 Downing
Street Web Site by Derek Maylor CWU Safety Rep and Reps,
Officers and members can add their name to the petition on the
following link: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/pleuralplaques/
The Petition reads:-
We
the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to address the decision by
the House of Lords on 17th October where they rejected claims of
asbestos victims deeming that they had not suffered a "compensatable"
injury. This decision will concern many people who are affected by
pleural plaques.
Please
support the Petition.
Yours
Sincerely
Dave
Joyce
National
Health, Safety & Environment Officer
