Social Security begins to pay compensation to asbestos victims 4 years later than deliberate | Economy | EUROtoday

AGG, 72 years previous, died on December 14 in Legazpi (Gipuzkoa) on account of pleural mesothelioma acquired on account of his publicity to asbestos throughout totally different jobs as an electrician and head of the water community since 1970. In his obituary it was clear underneath his identify: “victim of asbestos”. It could be very doubtless that this employee would be the final to die from this trigger earlier than the Spanish State, a few years behind different European nations, begins to compensate the tens of hundreds of individuals affected by ailments associated to asbestos, which is harmful to well being. However, the households of the hundreds of people that have already died from publicity to asbestos won’t be able to learn from these compensations.

In latest days, Social Security has begun to inform the subsequent fee of compensation to a number of recipients of everlasting incapacity pensions derived from skilled contingencies brought on by a number of the pathologies derived from publicity to asbestos. Predictably, earlier than the top of the yr the fee of about 5 compensation funds may have been notified, in accordance with sources from this group. In this fashion, the Compensation Fund for Asbestos Victims has simply been activated, nearly 4 years after its creation and first allocation in 2022.

On September 18, three months in the past, the laws that develop the fund for compensation for asbestos victims got here into power. This regulation arrived late: two years and eight months after what was offered for within the regulation that created this fund in 2022. In idea, with the approval of the regulation they might have been in a position to begin compensation for the almost 700 employees who already obtain the everlasting incapacity pension for occupational ailments brought on by asbestos. But this didn’t happen, and these employees have needed to wait till mid-December to obtain notifications that they are going to now obtain their compensation. The motive for this new delay is that the regulation required a collection of recent bureaucratic necessities which have as soon as once more prevented the approval of compensation till now.

Specifically, this regulatory textual content decided that with the intention to obtain compensation, future beneficiaries, along with having a acknowledged everlasting incapacity pension brought on by ailments derived from their publicity to asbestos, will need to have a certificates of pathologies brought on by this motive. These certificates are issued by particular administrative models that the autonomous communities should create for this objective. The Interterritorial Council of the National Health System (CISNS), depending on the Ministry of Health, authorized on November 12 the process for the issuance of those certificates and the creation of those models. Currently there are communities which have already fashioned them and are processing the certificates and others which are nonetheless within the course of.

As a consequence of all these delays, for 3 consecutive years the fund has been misplaced as no compensation was paid (in 2022, 2023 and 2024); and in 2025, it would barely be used within the remaining days of the yr, to pay lower than a dozen beneficiaries (one thing that may require the usage of about 300,000 euros from this yr’s fund, in accordance with the associations of these affected). However, and to proceed with the fee of compensation, the foreseeable automated price range extension beginning subsequent January 1 will as soon as once more present this fund with 25 million euros.

In any case, and on condition that the unused quantities of this fund usually are not gathered, all of the delays in its implementation have meant that virtually 100 million euros, which have been budgeted within the final 4 years, haven’t gone into the pockets of the sick as a result of they’ve been uncovered to asbestos of their workplaces.

Affected and beneficiaries

According to the figures collected by the regulatory affect report of the royal decree that regulates this fund, ready by the General Directorate of Social Security Regulation, “taking into account the fractions of cancer attributable to occupational exposure to asbestos (mesotheliomas and lung and bronchial cancers), it is estimated that the number of deaths in one year attributable to exposure to asbestos has been 4,582, 92% of them being men.”

However, the variety of victims probably vulnerable to receiving one in every of these financial compensations could be decrease. According to estimates by the spokesperson for the Federation of Associations of Asbestos Victims (FEDAVICA), Jon García, it could be restricted to the lower than 700 employees who’ve acknowledged everlasting incapacity brought on by pathologies on account of publicity to asbestos and who’re nonetheless alive. Precisely, García denounces “two major contradictions between the law that created the fund in 2022 and the regulations that develop its operation, which came into force last September.” For this motive, it calls for modifications on this rule.

It refers to the truth that, on the one hand, “the spirit of the law stated that the coverage of the fund was universal for those affected and their families, but now, according to the regulations, the requirements to collect these compensations limit it to a very small group of people.”

Likewise, this spokesperson for these affected assures that the unique rule additionally aimed to make sure that the fund’s compensation was ample to discourage claims for compensation in court docket. And, in García’s opinion, that’s one thing that has not been mirrored within the laws both. In reality, in accordance with the associations of these affected, the present compensations that the courts are recognizing in Spain usually triple these offered by the fund (which have been stipulated 96,626 euros for these recognized with mesotheliomas; 64,414 euros for many who have contracted lung most cancers; 44,310 euros for laryngeal most cancers; and 32,207 euros for many who undergo from asbestosis).

Another main grievance from these affected has to do with the taxation of compensation. As the fund is at the moment legislated, these are taxed to the Treasury, so the web quantities can be lower to even half their quantity, the federation of victims’ associations denounces. “In this matter there is already discrimination because the Basque and Navarrese Provincial Treasurys have already approved or are in the process of approving that these compensations are exempt,” they clarify.

It could be a matter of giving them the identical tax remedy as different forms of compensation whose quantities are bigger and usually are not taxed. This is the case of these acquired by victims of terrorism, which quantity to as much as half 1,000,000 euros; victims of AIDS on account of blood transfusions (126,000 euros) or these of thalidomide (396,000).

However, and though Social Security assures that they’re having a proactive perspective, even contacting, by means of the INSS, with potential victims to request compensation, they don’t assure future modifications within the regulation to increase the group of beneficiaries. The resolution on whether or not these quantities are taxed or not will rely upon the Ministry of Finance.