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Asbestos: SNCF condemned on appeal to compensate 119 former railway workers for prejudice of anxiety

2021-12-21T19:48:31.188Z


SNCF will have to pay 10,000 euros in damages to each of the 119 former employees. SNCF was ordered last week by the Paris Court of Appeal to compensate 119 former railway workers for anxiety damage, after exposure to asbestos at their workplace, we learned from their lawyer on Tuesday. . Read alsoAsbestos is present in most schools The court ordered the SNCF to pay 10,000 euros in damages "in compensation for the prejudice of anxiety" to each of these 119 former employees, "a


SNCF was ordered last week by the Paris Court of Appeal to compensate 119 former railway workers for anxiety damage, after exposure to asbestos at their workplace, we learned from their lawyer on Tuesday. .

Read alsoAsbestos is present in most schools

The court ordered the SNCF to pay 10,000 euros in damages

"in compensation for the prejudice of anxiety"

to each of these 119 former employees,

"all retirees now"

, told AFP Me Xavier Robin, confirming information from the Norman media

Le Poulpe

and the SUD-Rail union. Asked by AFP, SNCF replied that it would not make

"any comment on this subject"

.

There are

"119 favorable and identical decisions"

, in

"similar cases"

, and

"25 unfavorable judgments"

for cases which had

"not been sufficiently supported with testimonies of relatives or colleagues"

, explained the lawyer. . These former railway workers

“mainly

worked

in maintenance, in workshops,”

he said. This procedure was launched

"in 2013 before the industrial tribunal"

, he added. In 2019, the court made a first decision in favor of another former employee, ordering SNCF to pay him

“7,000 euros”

in damages, reported Me Robin. The court then had

"Forgot to hear the other files,"

he said.

In the case tried in 2019, the railway group had not appealed to the cassation, said the lawyer.

At the start of the procedure, there were

"162 files"

, but since then

"some employees have died and others have given up",

according to Dominique Malvaud, of SUD-Rail.

"Effective anxiety"

In one of the 144 judgments handed down on December 16, consulted by AFP, the court noted that the former employee concerned

"intervened on materials containing asbestos, by brushing or cutting them"

. The prejudice of anxiety is

"established"

and it is about an

"effective anxiety"

, underlines the court. Hired in 1980, this former technical agent worked

"throughout his career"

in an equipment maintenance workshop in Rouen, according to the judgment.

"Former colleagues"

of work were

"affected"

or are

"for some died of diseases linked to exposure to asbestos"

, adds the court. This complainant,who provided

"the testimony of his relatives",

is

"the subject of regular radiological monitoring in a difficult context, as soon as the link between exposure to asbestos and the development of cancer is known"

, notes the court.

Against the SNCF, the court held a

"contractual fault"

, because the company

"does not demonstrate to have made available to its employee suitable protective equipment, or even to have informed him of the dangers that he could incur ”

.

However, the employer must

"ensure the safety and protect the physical and mental health"

of its employees, recalls the court.

In a press release, the SUD-Rail federation believes that this judgment

"does not put an end to the asbestos problem"

at the SNCF, where

"even today, there are serious breaches of safety obligations"

, accuses the union.

Source: lefigaro

All business articles on 2021-12-21

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