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Payments under Brexit scrappage scheme for trawlers do not replace statutory redundancy, WRC rules
Summary
The Workplace Relations Commission has determined that compensation paid under the State's Brexit scrappage scheme does not satisfy statutory redundancy obligations. Seven migrant fishermen employed by Millbay Fishing Company Ltd challenged the company's refusal to pay redundancy entitlements after their vessels were decommissioned in 2022. The company had received €2 million in public funding for scrapping the St Clair and St Rose trawlers and provided the workers with €1,000 per year of service under the scheme's terms. The company argued such payments constituted redundancy compensation and that additional statutory payments would unfairly advantage non-EU workers over Irish and EU fishermen paid through catch-sharing arrangements. Adjudicator Jim Dolan found no scheme documentation supported this interpretation and upheld all seven complaints. Millbay Fishing Company Ltd must now pay the workers combined statutory redundancy totalling €42,000. The case was heard at the Workplace Relations Commission.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Payments under Brexit scrappage scheme for trawlers do not replace statutory redundancy, WRC rules. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- 21 September 2022 Other
- October 2021 Other
- January 2023 Other
- 2024-03-19 Publication
Why: Mr O'Flaherty said Irish and EU fishermen are not entitled to a "second bite of the cherry" and if the seven were successful, he said, "we could face a slew of cases" where Irish and EU fishermen will say they were discriminated against because they received only one payment "based on their nationality". CNI source report
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