Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
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Former Trawlermen to Net Compansation
The Government has launched a new scheme to compensate former Icelandic-water trawlermen who lost their livelihoods following the Cod Wars of the 1970s.
From today, all trawlermen who fished in Icelandic waters during the Cod Wars will be able to claim for additional payments. They will have nine months to submit claims, with the first payments expected in the autumn.
Employment Relations Minister, Lord Young of Norwood Green said:
“This new scheme will mean that trawlermen who received less than they expected through the previous compensation scheme will be able to apply for extra payments. We expect payments under the new scheme to total £5-10 million.
“Around 1,000 trawlermen should benefit, based on the time served on vessels that fished in Icelandic waters in the last twenty years of their career. We have removed the breaks rule from the previous scheme. This scheme will give trawlermen a fair deal.”
The breaks rule in the previous scheme that ran from 2000 to 2002 was found to be unfair by the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Following a review, the Government decided to run a new scheme based on aggregate service on vessels that fished in Icelandic waters, rather than continuous service, as before. This follows a government consultation where around 450 people had their say on how the scheme would work.
The Government has decided to add the Thessalonian to the list of Icelandic vessels eligible for the new scheme and will also consider the case for adding further vessels. It hopes to finalise the list of vessels in November, and the first payments will be made shortly after that.
For more information or to request an application form call the dedicated helpline on 0845 604 3477 or visit www.bis.gsi.gov.uk.
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 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 waters fishing industry. Under this scheme, a further £43 million was paid to 4,400 former trawlermen or their dependents.
5. In 2007 the Parliamentary Ombudsman 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, in the last twenty years of his fishing career. Where this calculation produces a higher payment than that already made under the previous schemes, the Government will pay the difference. The Government will not of course be claiming payments back where the reverse is the case.
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is building a dynamic and competitive UK economy by: creating the conditions for business success; promoting innovation, enterprise and science; and giving everyone the skills and opportunities to succeed. To achieve this it will foster world-class universities and promote an open global economy. BIS - Investing in our future.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Joe Upton
Phone: 020 7215 5959
Joe.Upton@berr.gsi.gov.uk
