LUNG diseases are a legacy suffered by tens of thousands of former coal miners as a result of their time working in the industry.

Hard-fought agreements have been won by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) to compensate the families of former mineworkers who die from afflictions such as emphysema, bronchitis, pneumoconiosis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

But the Covid-19 pandemic is leading to compensation being denied to many families, because deaths are being attributed to the virus, rather than to underlying industrial diseases.

Former mineworkers are among those most vulnerable to the virus because of the decades they spent underground producing the fuel which powered Britain’s factories, hospitals and homes.

For their families to be denied compensation because they fall victim to Covid-19 is unjust.

From the start of the pandemic the NUM was concerned that former mineworkers would be at increased risk of a less than favourable outcome should they contract Covid-19.

Many former miners suffer from respiratory diseases caused by their employment.

When a former mineworker dies compensation for some of these diseases is available for widows and dependants — but only if there is official evidence that they suffered from the disease. The specific industrial disease has to be recorded on the miner’s death certificate.

For a number of years the NUM has experienced problems because the industrial disease has not been recorded on the death certificate. Sometimes the cause of death has been recorded as simply “industrial disease” which is a catch-all term.

There is no doubt that in some former coalmining areas the length of time since the closure of the last mine has something to do with this as the experience and knowledge of why to record such industrial diseases on the death certificate has been lost.

The coronavirus pandemic has made this situation worse for the families of former mineworkers whose loved ones have tested positive for Covid-19 as that is now being recorded as the cause of death with no mention of any underlying health issues.

We have taken up this issue with Members of Parliament representing former mining areas and with the chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Coalfield Communities Conor McGinn, MP for St Helens North.

Conor has jointly with the NUM written to the Justice Secretary on this issue and Stephanie Peacock, MP for Barnsley East, wrote to the Health Secretary in a letter co-signed by up to twenty fellow MPs.

For many former mineworkers the existence or confirmation and extent of industrial diseases is diagnosed only by post-mortem examinations. Many former mineworkers have been turned down for compensation in life or given an award that on post-mortem is found to be significantly less than it should have been.

The current coronavirus pandemic and special rules put in place because of Covid-19 are in some cases preventing a post-mortem taking place if the person tested positive for Covid-19.

It has to be remembered that these payments are not a benefit or handout but compensation for conditions that will have seriously reduced the quality of life for those suffering from them and will have shortened their lives.

This will have had an impact on the whole family. As serious as the current coronavirus pandemic is, it should not be used as a way of preventing families being able to claim the compensation they are entitled to.

There is no suggestion – although in the cases of some unscrupulous individuals, companies and employers it is probably the case – that this is a deliberate attempt to use the current coronavirus pandemic as a way to prevent widows and dependants from claiming the compensation that they are entitled to, but it should be recognised that it does make it harder.

For this reason, there should be a presumption in favour of the widows and dependants during these difficult times of loved ones of former miners who tragically pass away after testing positive for Covid-19, one which takes into account their work history.

As always the NUM is not asking for favouritism but fair and equal treatment for former mineworkers and their families, as will be the case on Saturday when the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign hosts a virtual Orgreave Rally due to the coronavirus pandemic to show that the case for a public inquiry into the policing at Orgreave and the wider strike has not gone away.