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Published:
April 22, 2007
Burnham
Coastguards return to service as compensation protest ends
 Burnham-On-Sea
Coastguards have ended their four-day protest over insurance compensation
payments.
Burnham-On-Sea.com
was first to report last
Tuesday that five officers in the town had switched off their
emergency pagers in support of a fellow Coastguard from Wales
who had lost his job after suffering serious injuries during a
cliff rescue. The volunteer was left partially disabled during
the rescue of an animal down a steep cliff face and claimed he
had not been awarded fair compensation.
Burnham-On-Sea
Coastguard station operated at 50 per cent manpower for four days,
while Weston and Clevedon stations were both unmanned as the officers
expressed their concerns about "inadequate" insurance
cover.
However,
a meeting of Coastguards was held late in the week when the Maritime
and Coastguard Agency addressed all of the key issues.
"Our
list of concerns was addressed satisfactorily, so we were able
to return to full service on Friday," said Burnham-On-Sea
Coastguard Station Officer Steve Bird.
"Temporary
insurance cover unwritten by the government has been issued for
now and full insurance cover will follow later in the year."
"We're
delighted to be back on full service again," he added.
RELATED LINKS:
Burnham-On-Sea
Coastguards join protest over compensation
Burnham-On-Sea
Coastguard official website
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