There is a date for the implementation of the public fund with compensation for the victims of asbestos, dependent on Social Security, which has been delayed for more than two years. The president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, said Wednesday that he hopes that the regulation that will regulate the fund will be approved “before the first semester of the year”, to a question by the parliamentary group of EH Bildu in Congress.
Sánchez has thus placed a new horizon for the victims: the end of June of this year. “I hope that before this first semester of the year we can already have the approved regulation, which will allow us to serve the first affected,” said the president of the Executive. “Of course, our Government will comply with the victims of asbestos,” said Sánchez.
After more than a decade of struggle of victims and unions, in 2022, the law was approved unanimously with the public fund for asbestos, an initiative raised to Congress by the Basque Parliament. All formations recognized the “historical injustice” that had been committed with working people, their families and other environmental victims exposed to this carcinogenic substance. Despite its danger for decades, its use until 2001 was not prohibited in Spain.
The Government took three months to approve the regulations that regulate and launch the Fund, which ended in January 2023. But it is still pending, more than two years later, so the victims have not been able to access public compensation. Pedro Sánchez has argued that it is “a complex regulatory development” and that he has meant the collaboration and work of the government with the different autonomous administrations.
Victims and unions ask for higher compensation
The President of the Government recalled that there is already a budget item to launch the Fund for Amanto Victims, 25 million euros, which the Executive agreed with EH Bildu. The deputy of the Basque Independence Formation Mertxe Aizpurua has affirmed that “the 25 million euros item” is only “the beginning of a road” and has asked the government to take into account the requests of the victims and the unions to increase the compensation proposed by the Executive.
A few weeks ago, after the victims agglutinated in Fedavica and the CCOO and UGT unions asked the Ombudsman for the Defender of the Public Fund, the Ministry of Social Security reactivated the meetings with the affected persons and the representatives of the workers on the regulation.
After the meetings, victims and unions have affirmed that there are some “advances”, but they have insisted that in their opinion the amounts proposed by Social Security remain “insufficient”, compared to other aid, such as those for victims of Talidomide, for example. Those affected also claim that the compensation is exempt from the payment of taxes, a lawsuit that the deputy of EH Bildu has also transmitted on Wednesday.
The parliamentarian has urged the government to “activate the fund already”, to prevent the victims from waiting and that, even, some of them lack “without having seen their right to be compensated.” Aizpurua has urged the government to “get down to work” to avoid a “bankruptcy of trust” and reinforce “the value of doing what is said, of the credibility of politics.”
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