DEPARTMENT FOR
BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM News Release (2008/306)
issued by COI News Distribution Service. 11 December 2008
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
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