Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
 Printable version
|
 E-mail this to a friend
|
New compensation for `cod war' trawlermen
The Government will run a new scheme to compensate trawlermen that lost their livelihoods following the `Cod Wars' of the 1970s.
Announcing the scheme, Employment Relations Minister, Pat McFadden said:
"The Parliamentary Ombudsman found last year that the breaks rule in the previous scheme was unfair, and recommended that the Government review the eligibility criteria and scheme rules, to ensure they were consistent with the policy intention underlying the scheme. We have now completed that review and have changed the breaks rule.
"The new scheme will make payments based on each trawlerman's total service on vessels that fished in Icelandic waters. This means that the impact of any breaks from the industry will be sharply reduced. Around 1,000 trawlermen who received less than they expected under the previous scheme should get extra payments."
The Government will consult on the details of the new scheme in the New Year. This should enable the new scheme to be launched by the middle of next year. It is expected to cost less than £10 million.
Around £43 million was paid out to 4,400 former trawlermen and their dependants under the previous scheme, which was open to claims between 2000 and 2002.
Notes to Editors
1. The origins of the trawlermen scheme lie in the collapse of the distant water fishing industry in the wake of the 'Cod Wars' during the 1970s. These fishing disputes between the UK and Iceland were brought to an end by an agreement in 1976. Under this agreement, the UK recognised a 200 mile fishing limit around Iceland, with the result that many UK distant water trawler men lost their livelihoods in the following years.
2. At the time the trawlermen were regarded as being self-employed, which meant they did not qualify for redundancy payments.
3. Following developments in employment case law, the Department for Employment paid £14 million to 9,000 trawlermen under an ex-gratia scheme between 1993 and 1995. This scheme was criticised by the industry because payments were made on the basis of length of service for each employer.
4. A second compensation scheme was open to claims between October 2000 and October 2002. This was a quasi-redundancy scheme under which payments were calculated depending on the length of each trawlermen's continuous service in the Icelandic fishing industry. Under this scheme, a further £43 million was paid to 4,400 former trawlermen or their dependents.
5. The Parliamentary Ombudsman last year recommended the Government review the criteria and rules of the 2000-02 scheme. She found in particular that the breaks rule in that scheme meant that some trawlermen with long careers in the industry had received smaller payments than they might reasonably have expected.
6. Under the new scheme, the Government will calculate payments for each trawlerman on the basis of his aggregate service on vessels that fished in Icelandic waters. Where this calculation produces a higher payment than that already made under the previous schemes, the Government will pay the difference. We will not of course be claiming payments back where the reverse is the case.
7. The Government will also be consulting on a number of other aspects of the new scheme. We are also proposing that:- the qualifying test should be amended to require successful claimants to have at least two years aggregate service on Icelandic vessels during the period of the Cod Wars; interest should be added to the additional payments; consolatory payments of £200 should be made to successful claimants under the new scheme; the Thessalonian should be added to the list of Icelandic vessels for the new scheme; and the new scheme should be limited to existing claims only.
Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory
Reform
7th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET
Public enquiries +44 (0)20 7215 5000
Textphone +44 (0)20 7215
6740 (for those with hearing impairment)
http://www.berr.gov.uk
.png)
