Slate Workers Compensation

Campaigners who have campaigned for compensation for slate mine workers who have lung disease now have fears that the UK government many not act on the plans which the previous Labour government put in place. The former government had considered providing a compensation fund and also an agency to administer the fund, insurers of former slate quarry firms were also going to be traced. The former slate workers located in north Wales have stated that they have not been treated in the same way as coal miners. The coal miners have been able to claim from a large compensation fund which was set up to compensate miners who received lung disease and also vibration white finger. The Department of Work and Pensions has stated that it will analyse and respond to the previous governments plans in due course. The campaigners fighting for the compensation say that they have hindered in the process due to the majority of the employers no longer existing. Many slate workers now display lung disease of a very serious kind and can at the moment not claim compensation; this has angered many people who believe that they are entitled to it. The proposed UK quarry compensation scheme was created by the former Labour government has been put in comparison to the compensation scheme set up for people hit by uninsured drivers. The Labour government is believed to have invested large amounts of time and resources in to constructing this fund in order to compensate the workers and also the families who have lost individuals due to illnesses resulting from their work in the slate industry.