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Asbestos Victims Support Groups Across UK Demand Cape Must Pay

Rotherham Event 16th August 2023

Derek Maylor, one of the Merseyside Asbestos Victims Support Group trustees, and former member of the NW BT Unions Health & Safety Co-ord and CWU Greater Mersey Amal Branch H&S Officer (T&FS); reports on the latest event outside the premises of Altrad in Rotherham:

The Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK is demanding that Cape, a former asbestos manufacturer now owned by Altrad, donate £10 million to mesothelioma research and campaigners gathered together at Altrad premises on the edge of Rotherham to further that demand.

The protest was opened by the event coordinator Nevyn Stevenson.

Nevyn noted that the date was the anniversary of a working-class struggle that went down in history, the Peterloo Massacre, and he gave a brief background of the £10m claim, naming supporters who have given their backing, he later went on to name all of the forty MPs who have signed the EDM.

Altrad are now profiting from contracts, some from our own UK Government, to remove the same asbestos that Cape were responsible for putting into our workplace and social environment.

Campaigners talked about workers who have been affected by mesothelioma, two joiners exposed having regularly used Asbestolux, an experienced builder diagnosed with asbestosis after working on fire doors fixing frameworks of office buildings, another joiner diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2018 and died less than one year later after being exposed to asbestos cutting Asbestolux sheets.

Other workers who routinely used Asbestolux during the 1960s and 1970s, unaware of the deadly effects of the product and developed mesothelioma, a worker who regularly fitted Asbestolux tiles developed pleural thickening leaving him struggling to breathe, and more and more.

Cape Must Pay!

London Asbestos Victims Support Group (above) talked about the many people they are currently working with and supporting.

Rob Rayner (right), Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group and Chair of the Asbestos Forum elaborated on the campaign “Cape must Pay” and where we are going next to take the case.

Cape, now owned by Altrad, wilfully withheld the then known true dangers of its asbestos products during the 1960s & 70s causing many workers to die from mesothelioma and other diseases as a result. No more UK government contracts should go to Cape/Altrad until they pay £10 million to mesothelioma research.

Mark Alan from Thompson Solicitors (left) said that the UK has the highest rate of asbestos in Europe and despite the ban 1000’s are still dying, he gave recent names affected he had to deal with and how poorly these workers were /have been treated.

Two mesothelioma victims spoke of their plight and hope to help others during emotional and concerning presentations.

Asbestolux (AIB) manufactured by Cape Asbestos from 1951 to 1980 but was used later as legacy stock and much of it remains in situ.

Supportive MPs (to date):

Ian Lavery, Jon Trickett, Christine Jardine, Jonathan Edwards, Jim Shannon, Neale Hanvey, Dan Carden, Kate Osborne, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Martin Docherty-Hughes, Mary Kelly Foy, Mick Whitley, Zarah Sultana, John McDonnell, Rachael Maskell, Marie Rimmer, Ian Mearns, Paul Blomfield, Chris Stephens, Beth Winter, Stephen Timms, Peter Dowd, Kim Johnson, Richard Burgon, Jon Cruddas, Ian Byrne, Andy McDonald, Hilary Benn, Barry Sheerman, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Julie Elliot, Stewart Malcolm McDonald, Margret Ferrier, Charlotte Nichols, Allan Dorans, Sharon Hodgson, Emma Lewell-Buck, Martyn Day and Caroline Lucas.

John Flanagan, MAVSG (far right) and group point to Altrad's logo sign

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