Strike threat's guidelines call

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The union representing coastguards has called for clearer guidelines on compensation following an accident or injury in the wake of a strike threat.

Members of the Fishguard search and rescue team have said they will not respond to many emergencies next week.

The part-time team, which covers 30 miles of Pembrokeshire coast are angered over the amount of compensation awarded to an injured colleague.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said cases were assessed individually.

The part-time team, which covers 30 miles of the Pembrokeshire coast, have said they will not respond to all call outs from next week unless the insurance row with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is resolved.

The team is one of about 400 around the UK and although members have full-time day jobs, they are on-call around-the-clock, every day of the year.

We will not carry out duties involving risk of personal injury until we are satisfied that our families will not suffer unnecessarily in the event of an injury Anthony Rogers

They support full-time coastguards and volunteer life-boat crews in emergencies such as finding and rescuing missing people.

Former coastguard rescue officer Brian MacFarlane is classed as 25% permanently disabled, because of a knee injury sustained in a cliff rescue more than four years ago.

Unable to continue his full-time career as a residential social worker, the benefits the 38-year-old now receives leave him and his family around £8,000 a year short of his previous earnings.

He was recently told he did not qualify for permanent injury benefit but would get temporary payments.

Team member Anthony Rogers said the rest of his colleagues were worried that they would lose out financially if they were also injured.

There are about 400 MCA search and rescue teams covering the UK

"We have said we will not carry out duties involving risk of personal injury until we are satisfied that our families will not suffer unnecessarily in the event of an injury," he said.

"It is not a decision we have gone into lightly and the reason we have given the MCA 10 days notice is we hope to resolve this before then."

The Public and Commercial Services Union which represents MCA workers said the agency needed to make its policies clearer, so rescue officers understood the financial risk they face.

"The issue for me is that it is important that all of the coastguard rescuers understand what they are entitled to if they do get injured," said Paul Smith from the union.

In a statement, the MCA said it could not release information about individual employees but said the service provided by rescue officers was "valued highly".

It added rescue officers were covered under the Civil Service Injury Benefits Scheme.

"Under this scheme all cases are assessed on an individual basis by the Government medical officers," it said.

The MCA added Mr MacFarlane was currently receiving payments under the scheme.