27/06/2008
A French court ordered on 26 June the former employer of 17 workers forced to retire early because of asbestos exposure to pay compensation of up to 85,000 euros ($133,800) for lost earnings, their lawyer said on Friday.

If confirmed by an appeal court ruling in September, the decision could add significantly to compensation costs for asbestos-related diseases, expected to total between 11.7-22 billion euros over the next 20 years, according to a report to parliament in 2004.

"It's an important decision because it potentially concerns several tens of thousands of people," said Jean-Paul Teissonniere, a lawyer for Andeva, an association representing asbestos victims. He said the ruling could also encourage other affected workers who had put off seeking early retirement for financial reasons to now do so. The labour court in the southwestern town of Bergerac ordered papermaker Ahlstrom Labelpack to pay the 17 between 9,000 and 85,000 euros each for the loss of 35 percent of their earnings up to the legal retirement age.

In addition, it ordered the company to pay 10,000 euros for stress and anxiety to the workers, none of whom has so far contracted an asbestos-related disease. The former employees already receive benefits equivalent to 65 percent of their salaries from Acaata, a government-backed fund set up to workers forced to take early retirement because of asbestos exposure.

Source: Reuters