Issue 118, 31 August 2001

An out-of-court settlement reached with widows of Aust waterside workers who died from asbestos exposure has recognised the economic value of work the women’s husbands did at home.

Slater & Gordon lawyer Suzanne Sandford said "waterside widows" would benefit from the breakthrough, which saw 11 widows settle their claims with the Federal Govt’s Stevedoring Industry Finance Ctee, James Hardie and CSR in Melb this month. The settlement amount was subject to a confidentiality agreement.

Previously, widows’ claims were rejected if their husbands were over 65 when they died, or earlier if they were not working at the time of diagnosis, as compensation was partly based on earnings at the time of diagnosis.

"Until these cases, the courts and the defendants had not recognised the substantial contribution that non-working men made at home - mowing lawns, home maintenance, driving, painting and gardening," Sandford said.

Hundreds of women had suffered hardship since their husbands’ deaths up to 20 years ago, she said.

"Since their husbands’ deaths, many widows have seen their houses fall into disrepair because they cannot manage them, or they are under financial strain because they have to pay others to do the work their husbands previously did," Sandford said.

"Their contribution was substantial: according to the Aust Bureau of Statistics, men over the age of 65 spend an average of 19.5 hours per week on domestic services.

"Now the widows of waterside workers whose lives were tragically shortened by dangerous workplace conditions will not suffer further hardship after prematurely losing their husbands."

http://www.thomson.com.au/

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