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Silent killer
Unite urges workers exposed to potentially fatal fibre asbestos to come forward
Hajera Blagg,
Monday, January 19th, 2015
Although banned in 1999, asbestos, fibre crystals previously used in building insulation, is a silent but deadly killer that claims more than 5,000 lives per year, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as a direct result of corporate negligence.
Unite launched a campaign in October, Banned but not gone, in order to raise awareness about asbestos and today (January 19) urged workers who may have been exposed to join the union’s register.
The register now has more than 11,000 details of Unite members who may have been exposed to the poisonous fibres and who’ve developed an illness as a result.
Unite developed the register in order to discover patterns of asbestos exposure as a result of working for the same company or on the same site. Discovering these patterns has helped support victims’ personal injury claims.
“Asbestos may be banned from being used in buildings, but it hasn’t gone,” said Unite national officer for construction John Allott.
“The impact of this silent killer is on the rise, which is why we are urging members who think they have been exposed to asbestos to get on the register,” he added.
Allot condemned employers whose negligence has lead to so many thousands of deaths each year, even more than a decade after asbestos has been banned.
“Employers have a duty to prevent exposure of their employees to asbestos and members who have developed an asbestos related disease should get in touch with Unite legal services,” Allot said.
“Raising awareness about how to safely handle this killer substance is equally important. That is why our campaign is also about prevention and why we are issuing new guidance to our health and safety representatives to help ensure that employers protect their employees from exposure to asbestos at work.”
Unite members can receive free legal advice from the union, and if a claim for an asbestos related illness is successfully won, members are entitled to 100 per cent of any compensation.
