CCOO, UGT and victims' associations demand the "immediate" processing of the asbestos compensation fund
"It can't be delayed any longer." It is the clamor of the State Federation of Associations of Victims of Asbestos (Fedavica), UGT and CCOO on the compensation fund for victims of this carcinogenic agent. Yesterday, February 16, representatives of the unions and associations held meetings with the parties of the Government coalition in Congress – the socialist and United We Can parliamentary groups – to demand the "immediate" processing of the proposal for the Law creating of the fund, which they consider to be suffering from an "unjustified" delay in Parliament.
The faces of asbestos victims fighting for compensation
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The trade union organizations and the delegation of victims explain in a statement that in the meetings they reminded the political groups "of the commitment reached" to start processing the bill in the Parliamentary Labor Commission within two months after approval of the General Budgets, in which an amendment was included to finance the Compensation Fund with an item of 25 million euros.
Since Congress definitively approved the General State Budgets for 2022 on December 28, "the term ends on February 28," they warn in the joint note, "which practically coincides with the end of the period for presenting amendments currently Effective February 23.
They warn of mobilizations
The representatives of FEDAVICA, CCOO and UGT have informed the parliamentarians that, "if on February 23 the Table of Congress extends the period for presenting amendments again, the three organizations will announce the call for joint mobilizations".
The proposed law to create this compensation fund for victims "accumulates, since April 13, 28 extensions of the period for submitting amendments to the Congress, which unjustifiably delays the start of their processing in the Commission Parliamentary for Labor, Inclusion, Social Security and Migration", lament those affected and the union organizations.
The three actors have reiterated the need to clarify the beneficiaries of the fund, which would be those affected by exposure to asbestos from work, domestic (relatives of exposed workers) and environmental (neighborhood of facilities in which asbestos was used), "thus as the financing structure of the Fund, similar to that of the Compensation Fund for Asbestos Victims in France, and which would have items from Social Security funds, the General State Budget, the penalties imposed on companies for lack of prevention measures in relation to asbestos and for the subrogation in favor of the Fund of the right to litigate against the companies responsible for damage to health," they add in the statement.
