Sorry this post is not really craft related but it is something that is so close to my heart. I believe these men involved should be treated fairly and the government should stand up and help these men. As some of you know I lost my brother 'Alan Clark' to this horrible disease. He was one that has campaigned for all those men out there and their families to get compensation. Please read on
'GMB has been at the heart of the campaign to get justice for the victims of the work related disease Pleural Plaques. I’m writing today because I need your help in getting justice for sufferers of this terrible disease. A petition has just been launched which calls for victims of Pleural Plaques to be fairly compensated for their injuries – you can sign it at: http://unionstogether.org.uk/justicePleural Plaques are scarring of the lungs caused by heavy and prolonged exposure to asbestos. Employers have long known about the dangers of asbestos. But instead of providing the protection required to safeguard their staff, many simply decided to turn their backs on their workers, and hope they could get away with it.Until a few years ago, workers with Pleural Plaques were able to claim compensation. Crucially it meant that a company had admitted liability to exposing a worker to asbestos. But in October 2007, the law lords outrageously scrapped this precedent – meaning that thousands of people with Pleural Plaques would not be entitled to a single penny, whilst insurers profited to the tune of £1.4BN. A truly disgusting decision and a real abdication of duty. Now thousands of working men and women suffer from entirely avoidable disease, and those who are diagnosed today aren’t even entitled to compensation. The petition calls on the Government to do the right thing for victims of Pleural Plaques and restore the compensation. The Law Lords decision that the lung scarring caused by asbestos isn’t worthy of compensation is clearly wrong. The whole process was dubious – one lawyer on the payroll of the employers’ insurance companies had the audacity to claim that Pleural Plaques were a “good thing.” As if a lawyer knows the reality of suffering from lung disease caused by asbestos. The reality is that Pleural plaques are a sign of deep scarring to the lungs. Real physical injury, caused by long-term exposure to asbestos. And it causes significant mental anguish as well. Pleural Plaques victims have a dramatically higher chance of developing Mesothelioma – a lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Many victims describe this as a ticking time bomb that infects their lives with fear – imagine living with the knowledge that your lungs had been irreversibly damaged by asbestos and you might be diagnosed with terminal cancer at any time. And tragically, I know of at least one sufferer who couldn’t live with the fear and took their own life. You can make a difference. We want the Government take action to reverse the Law Lords’ judgement and restore justice to those who deserve it – whose only ‘crime’ was to work with or near asbestos. The Scottish Parliament and the devolved administration in Northern Ireland have already done this – with your help we’ll get Whitehall to stop dragging their feet and get this sorted in England and Wales too. We are calling for justice for these working people who need our help. Please sign the petition http://unionstogether.org.uk/justice – and then ask your family and friends to sign it as well. Together we’ll send a powerful message to the Government – justice now.
Thank you for reading!
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