UCATT sends Straw a postcard

Unions are stepping up their efforts to reinstate the system of compensation for workers with pleural plaques — a scarring of the lungs caused by prolonged and heavy exposure to asbestos.

UCATT construction union launched a postcard campaign outside the Ministry of Justice last month, in protest at the Law Lords’ decision last October to withdraw compensation payouts to sufferers (see Labour Research, December 2007).

The Lords upheld the Court of Appeal’s view that pleural plaques are not a compensatable medical condition — a ruling described by UCATT general secretary Alan Ritchie as “a major injustice for thousands of workers ... who, through no fault of their own, have had their health damaged”.

He said: “The only crime committed by victims of pleural plaques was the crime to go out and earn a living.”

The union is urging all trade unionists to send lord chancellor Jack Straw a postcard demanding new legislation to overturn the ruling, as has been promised by the Scottish Parliament. It is organising a series of regional launches of the campaign, featuring local MPs and asbestos groups.

UCATT’s initiative comes in the wake of a successful lobby and rally by unions including Unite, the GMB and the CWU at Westminster in January.

The UCATT postcard can be downloaded and printed off from www.ucatt.info/images/stories/Pleural_Plaques_Postcard_Feb_08.pdf