Saturday 15 February, in the Lacaita room of the Taranto Government Palace, experts and institutional representatives will discuss the bill to reopen the access conditions to social security benefits for employees who are exposed to asbestos. A crucial theme to guarantee justice to those who have suffered irreversible damage
Protection and Rights of Employees: In Taranto the comparison about asbestos
Asbestos remains one of the most serious health and social emergency situations in Italy, especially in Taranto, a city that paid a very high price because of industrial history. Long exposure to the asbestos has left a dramatic legacy in terms of public health, with an increasing number of employees suffering from professional pathologies. For this reason, the National Asbestos Observatory (ONA) has organized a meeting of primary importance, which will be held on Saturday 15 February at 10:00 in the Lacaita room of the Taranto Government Palace.
The event will see the participation of experts and institutional representatives who will analyze the progress of the bill that is aimed at reopening the conditions for access to social security benefits for employees who are exposed to asbestos. To open the debate, the lawyer’s interventions will be Ezio Bonanni, President of the National Asbestos Observatory and the lawyer Giovanni GentileProvincial coordinator of the A ONA Taranto. The interventions of the senator will follow Maria Noccomember of the V Budget and Economic Programming Committee, From the EuroDepututato Michele Picaroof the honorable Giovanni Maioranofrom the I Constitutional business committeeof the prime minister and the interior, the most important promoter of the legislative proposal that is being discussed.
A struggle for recognition of rights
In the center of the meeting, the need to take concrete measures to guarantee justice to employees affected by disabling diseases caused by asbestos. The recognition of social security benefits is an essential step for the victims and their families, who often notice that they have to face complex bureaucratic procedures to achieve what is entitled to them.
With determination, the lawyer Bonanni repeated the importance of a rapid and effective legislative action. “Our work work with the institutions and with the territory continuously remains recognized the rights of employees, in particular of those who have experienced the asbestos problem on their skin. We welcome the proposal of the Maiorano representative with satisfaction and we have trust in a rapid passage to the rooms and an equally rapid approval. For us, the protection of the health and safety of employees is primarily “.
The bill for reopening social security conditions
The meeting is an important moment to discuss the proposal of Add n.Presented to the Chamber or Representatives on October 22, 2024 by the honorable Giovanni Maiorano together with a group of parliamentarians. This legislative initiative is intended to fill the inequalities and injustice that have punished many employees who are exposed to the dangerous mineral, giving them access to the social security benefits provided for in Article 13, paragraph 8 of the Act, 257/1992whose conditions for submitting applications in 2005 were proceeded.
In particular, the rule had proposed in the termination of the use of asbestos in Italy, which forbade the production and marketing of this very harmful substance. Over the years, however, many employees who have undergone a long -term exposure have not been able to submit the application for access to social security services in the established conditions, or only have the ten -year compliance needed to take advantage of the benefit achieve built up.
To respond to this need, the new account offers:
1) the reopening of the conditions for submitting applications for access to social security benefits for employees who have been exposed to the silent murderer for more than ten years within a maximum limit of twenty -four months after the entry into force of the law;
2) the application of a revaluation coefficient of 1.5 for the period of exposure to the pathogen, with the aim of building the right to pension, without this affecting the calculation of the pension quantity;
The issue of an implementing decision by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, within sixty days of the approval of the law.
The costs of the measure are estimated at 4 million euros per year, financed by a reduction in the social fund for employment and training.
Asbestos: a still present threat
Although asbestos has been forbidden in Italy for more than thirty years, the deadly effects of fiber victims have continued to claim. The Pleuric mesotheliomaOne of the most aggressive diseases caused by inhaling asbestos can also take place for decades after exposure. This means that many employees who have operated in environments that were infected between the 80s and 90s only develop very severe and often fatal pathologies.
Taranto, with its industrial past linked to steel production, is one of the most affected cities. Many former steel factory and industrial factories have fallen due to the lack of protection at work and are today in a situation of economic and healthwulability. The bill that was discussed in the meeting is intended to guarantee fair access to social security benefits for these people, thereby offering concrete support.
A dedication to the future: Justice for the victims of asbestos
This meeting is crucial to bring the need to accelerate the legislative process to the center of the political agenda and to guarantee a concrete response to the thousands of employees affected by asbestos.
The city of Taranto, a symbol of the struggle for health and safety at work, remains the protagonist in this battle for civilization. The aim is to raise awareness among the settings so that the bill is quickly approved, without further bureaucratic delays, so that employees are exposed to asbestos to ultimately obtain the recognition of their rights.