A TAYSIDE group fighting for the rights of workers affected by asbestos has welcomed government moves to make it easier for sufferers to claim compensation.

Asbestos Action Tayside chairman Ian Babbs said new legislation proposed by Secretary of State for Work and Pensions John Hutton was a “huge step forward.”

Asbestos was commonly used in shipyards and in the construction industry because it was cheap to produce, strong and fire retardant.

However, it was banned after medical evidence began to emerge of a link between its fibres and cancer.

Thousands of Scots have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma—a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen—many of whom were employed at Robb Caledon shipyard at Dundee harbour.

Currently only people who receive Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit are eligible for state compensation under the Workers Compensation Act of 1979.

However, under new legislation proposed by Mr Hutton yesterday, all sufferers would be eligible for payment provided they had not already received compensation through a previous claim.

This legislation would mean that once diagnosed, every sufferer should receive a substantial payment within six weeks of making a claim instead of waiting years for compensation.

“That’s a good thing because the quicker people get their compensation through the better,” said Mr Babbs, after yesterday’s mesothelioma summit in London.

“HM Revenue and Customs will now trace employer records in 10 days, as opposed to 25-30 days. That’s one of the biggest moves because applications can now be fast-tracked.

“When you have mesothelioma you have to find the insurance firm of the company you worked for. The insurers as a body are trying to smooth the way forward so that people can find those insurers a lot quicker by doing their own research and that’s a huge step forward.”

Mr Babb believes too many barriers to compensation remain but said he was delighted that Mr Hutton is taking on board calls for a more slimline claims process to be adopted.

Mesothelioma is associated almost exclusively with asbestos. The condition is invariably fatal—some 1800 Britons died of the disease last year and the figure is rising annually—and the average time between diagnosis and death is just nine months.

Fergus Whitty, director of legal services with the Transport and General Workers Union, said, “It is vital that sufferers of mesothelioma receive payments speedily as the disease can develop rapidly, so we welcome the government’s proposals.

“We want to see immediate lump sum payments of compensation rather than a weekly amount that is paid to sufferers of this disease.”