FRIDAY 31 DEC, 2004

£37M COMPENSATION WON OVER YEAR AS WORK INJURIES CONTINUE TO RISE

UNISON, the UK's largest union, won a record £37,388,262 over the past year in compensation for members injured at work - £3m more than the previous year. £2.6m of these payments were in Scotland.

Figures for each region are as follows: Region £ Eastern 2,070,259.40 East Midlands 3,240,880.55 Greater London 4,335,347.63 Northern 2,390,362.99 Northern Ireland 831,897.92 North West 4,453,071.78 Scotland 2,600,074.90 South East 4,669,094.97 South West 2,206,844.13 Wales 3,340,541.39 West Midlands 3,370,854.16 Yorkshire and Humberside 3,879,050.22.

Injuries commonly include broken bones, cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, asthma or allergies caused by prolonged exposure to harsh chemicals, needlestick, RSI, back, head, neck and stress-related.

UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said: "This £37m compensation represents an awful lot of pain, injury and suffering for a lot of UNISON members. Ask any one of them to choose between the compensation or their health, each would choose not to have been injured in the first place.

"The majority of these injuries are preventable. Employers know this, but many refuse to act or find it cheaper to pay out compensation to anyone injured rather than improve safety at work. Employers must take seriously their responsibilities for the health, safety and welfare of their staff. They should examine in their workplaces why these injuries happen and take steps to prevent repeats"

Compensation awards include the following Scottish cases: £191,825 to the widow and family of a City of Edinburgh employee who died from mesotheliomia (asbestos cancer), £40,500 to an ambulance technician with the Scottish Ambulance Service for a back injury caused by lifting a patient.

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For Further Information Please Contact: Mary Maguire, (Press Officer) 0207 338 6609(w) 07771 548 957(m) Matt Smith (Scottish Secretary): 07771 548 997(m) Chris Bartter (Communications Officer): 07715 583 729(m) yours Chris 0141-342 2877(w) 0141 342 2835(f) 0771 558 3729(m)

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