Asbestos: compensation for former shipyard workers: from 28,000 to 260,000 euros
Access to the Fund is not automatic: it requires an enforceable judgement or a settlement agreement — whether issued by a court or signed in a confidential setting — filed in 2024 or 2025, depending on the financial year for which the claim is made
The Ministry of Labour, in consultation with the Ministry of the Economy, has updated the payment tables for the Fund for Asbestos Victims in Shipyards for the years 2024 and 2025. Eligible recipients include workers employed by publicly owned companies — and those who worked as contractors, subcontractors or agency workers on their behalf — who have contracted asbestos-related diseases in accordance with Article 13 of Law 257/1992, as well as their heirs.
Two audiences
The tables attached to the measure distinguish between two categories of recipients. For workers suffering from asbestos-related illnesses, the compensation increases according to the recognised degree of disability: 28,000 euros for up to 20 per cent, 68,000 euros for between 21 and 40 per cent, €120,000 for a disability level between 41% and 60%, €184,000 for a disability level between 61% and 80%, and up to €260,000 for disability levels between 81% and 100%.
For the heirs of deceased workers, however, the amounts are fixed and based on the number of beneficiaries, not on the severity of the condition: €168,250 for one heir, €235,550 for two, and €329,770 for three or more.
Access to the Fund
Access to the Fund is not automatic: it requires an enforceable judgement or a settlement agreement — whether reached in court or signed in a confidential setting — filed in 2024 or 2025, depending on the financial year for which the claim is made. In the event of the worker’s death whilst the proceedings are pending, with the heirs having continued the case, Table 1 applies; if, on the other hand, it is the heirs who have brought the proceedings after the death, Table 2 applies. In any event, the compensation paid by the Fund may not exceed the amount already awarded in a judgment or settlement, and only one payment may be made for each established event.
The decree also allows publicly owned companies without original indemnities or insurance guarantees to access the Fund; such companies may claim reimbursement of sums already paid to workers by way of compensation, provided they produce proof of payment. Claims from workers whose asbestos-related illness has not been recognised by INAIL are excluded: such a refusal, in the event of death, also extends to the heirs.
