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Low Turn Out For Pleural Plaques Demo Attending the demonstration, the Co-ord's Derek Maylor reports: On a beautiful sunny London day an admittedly disappointing crowd of nearly a hundred attended a demonstration at Westminster on 28th October to lobby Parliament, demanding justice for asbestos victims and the restoration of compensation for victims of pleural plaques. However, there was a great response from the Unite sponsored PM's, and those in attendance are committed to continue. It was a long day for those who travelled down specifically such as the Co-ord, but we have been consistent in campaigning against the House of Lords decision last October which ended the right of asbestos victims suffering from this disease to compensation. Within hours of that announcement the Co-ord had raised a petition for it to be reversed which was signed by over 500 people and presented to the Prime Minister. Workers contacting pleural plaques are victims of employer negligence and face the twin blows of knowing they have a very high risk of developing an asbestos related disease that will kill them, and the denial of the compensation they and their families rightly deserve. The Co-ord therefore supports Unite in the attempt to persuade the government to over-turn the Lords' ruling and reinstate compensation for victims of pleural plaques. We agree with the creation of an insurance scheme, similar to that established to protect drivers and pedestrians against the action of uninsured drivers, to help the thousands of asbestos victims. Employers must not be allowed to injure and walk away with the profits whilst leaving workers to die.
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