The Government approves the decree that sets out the process for recognizing compensation for asbestos victims.

This Tuesday, the Government approved in the Council of Ministers , at the proposal of the Ministries of Inclusion, Health, and Digital Transition, the Royal Decree establishing the "requirements and procedure" for recognizing the right to financial compensation for asbestos victims.

"We know that much of the damage these victims face is difficult to repair, but listening to them and establishing this mechanism was, above all, a matter of justice for all of them, and in this way, with these measures, we are responding to a historic demand ," announced the Minister of Education and Vocational Training and government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría , at the press conference.

Spain is the European Union country with the fourth highest number of deaths caused by asbestos exposure, a situation that has led unions and victims' associations to call on the government to urgently launch the aid fund, which has been delayed for more than two years.

On October 5, 2022, the Law on the Creation of a Compensation Fund for Asbestos Victims was approved, which gave a period of 3 months to have a regulation governing the amount of compensation, the conditions for accessing the fund, and the procedure for submitting requests.

Last February, the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, met with the unions UGT and CCOO and with the Association of Asbestos Victims (AVIDA) and the State Federation of Asbestos Victims Associations (FEDAVICA) to discuss this regulation, which should have been in place two years ago .

Furthermore, in the summer of 2023, the Ministry of Social Rights presented a draft regulation that the unions rejected because the compensation awards were much lower than those granted through judicial channels and those established for other groups, such as victims of terrorism, HIV, or thalidomide.

This Tuesday, the Government approved in the Council of Ministers , at the proposal of the Ministries of Inclusion, Health, and Digital Transition, the Royal Decree establishing the "requirements and procedure" for recognizing the right to financial compensation for asbestos victims.