Menu - English

Pioneer Divers in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea


The Official Response from the NORWEGIAN MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND INCLUSION – Plus My Commentary

THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM THE NORWEGIAN MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND INCLUSION – Plus My Commentary

The Ministry is responsible for Labour market policy, Working Environment and Safety, Poverty and Welfare, Integration and Diversity, Sami and Minority Affaires and Migration.

News story published 31.01.2008

     The pioneer divers

This story can be found on the official Government web site: Click here

 

The following is a point by point answer to the government news release. Please note that the views expressed here are mine (Tom Wingen) they are not necessarily the views of the NSDA as a whole.

Updates to this will be made as more information becomes available.

As background to the case you will also find on their web site:

1) A Summary in English of the Lossius Commission Click here

The central issue in the commissions report, in so far as this web site is concerned is:

2) Tabell 4.1 Dødsulykker under dykking i Nordsjøen 1965–1990 – norsk sektor Fatal accidents diving in the North Sea 1965-1990 – Norwegian Sector Click here

This table lists confirmed fatalities in the Norwegian sector. It shows that 76% of the fatalities were foreign nationals. I think it should be easy to extrapolate from this that approximately 75% of the injuries would also be foreign divers. Also very important is:

3) 7.8 Liability issues Click here

These three points are the official findings of the Lossius Commission. The government “press release” begins:

The Norwegian government has taken responsibility for the pioneer divers at a moral and political basis, but has not acknowledged any legal responsibilities for the damage that has been inflicted upon the pioneer divers. Whether or not one is legally liable in accordance with compensation law regulations is a question for a court of law to decide. As of today, several divers have chosen to take their cases to court. The Norwegian government has taken several actions regarding the pioneer divers: • In 1999 there was agreed upon a contract with the hospital of Haukeland regarding an examination of the pioneer divers. The hospital are providing expertise from the most important expert groups, including professions from neurology, neurophysiology, ear- nose- and throat as well as specialist within the field of lung medicine.

This is true in part as far as it goes, what it fails to mention is that the vast majority of foreigners were and still are excluded from the tests. Further it should be noted that the tests are a prerequisite to applying for compensation. Even for Norwegian divers, it took several years to get on a waiting list before being able to schedule the tests. Once the tests were given it took six months to a year to get the results. When comparing the test results, it can be shown that the official recommendations based on those results varied widely even when the test results were nearly identical.

• During 2000 to 2002, The Ministry of Health and Care Services paid up to 200,000 Norwegian crowns to 123 pioneer divers with permanent health failure, and therefore reduced income possibilities.

This was only available to Norwegian Nationals, not to the foreign divers or their surviving families who constituted the majority of divers in the Norwegian Sector.

• In addition, there has been established an immediately help arrangement to assist divers that are finding themselves in a difficult situation regarding their finances. The establishment has authorities to distribute as much as 300 000 Norwegian crowns to each diver.

As above, this help was only available to Norwegian Nationals and not available to foreigners.

• The Contact for divers was established in 2003. This is an establishment where the divers can get help with financial planning, as well as health- and social questions. These services are free of charge.

This organization, called Dykkerkontakten, has been helpful to Norwegian nationals, but very little help has been received by foreign nationals. It has been pointed out that this was due to budgetary constraints. It also seems to be out of place to claim credit for the establishment of Dykkerkontakten when it was established by the Norwegian Seaman’s church.

For further information please contact;

Biskop Ole D Hagseæther,
styreleder Petter Skants, nordsjøprest,
Daglig leder Dykkerkontakten
Nedre Slottsgate 4
0157 OSLO
Tlf: 22 47 86 86
Fax: 22 47 86 80

post@dykkerkontakten.no

http://www.dykkerkontakten.no

• The Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) has passed a motion regarding a particular compensation arrangement. Every pioneer diver may attain a compensation of 2,500,000 Norwegian crowns, and an additional 200,000 Norwegian crowns for damages for non-economic loss. This is a significant higher amount than any other groups have received as a nonrecurring payment. The compensation has as of today been given to more than 200 divers or surviving relatives of deceased divers. There has not been demanded any extensive evidence or documentation from the divers precede the disbursement of funds.

For me this is the most outrageous statement in the Press Release; especially the last sentence. In theory, all of the families listed on the government list of diving fatalities should have received survivor’s benefits from the Norwegian Government. If this was the case, it would follow that the government would have current addresses for all of the families as they would be sending out payments monthly.

This proved not to be the case as all of the departments contacted could not identify the particular party who would be in a position to do this. After extensive discussions with many and varied departments; in person, by telephone and e-mail.

The response given by Dag Melleby at the Trygdeetaten was: - Due to mixed information systems etc. it is difficult to identify the actual group you want us to inform.

A full copy of this E-Mail is provided at the bottom of this page.

Keep in mind that Mr. Melleby is one of Norway’s representatives at the: European Forum Of Insurances Against Accidents At Work And Occupational Diseases

The goal of the Forum is to promote and safeguard the principle of a specific insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases; moreover, it monitors actively the process of convergence between the systems in place in Europe against occupational accidents and occupational diseases. The Forum commits itself actively to improving the situation of workers in Europe who have suffered an accident or an occupational disease and therefore is playing a significant part in creating a Europe of the future that is socially just.

It would seem that if anyone would know how to contact the families, then it would be Mr. Melleby.

After years of work we were able to track down some of the families of divers who were killed in the Norwegian Sector and whose names appear in the official list. In each case we were presented with creative stumbling blocks by the bureaucrats.

In the case of David Hoover, it was decided initially, that he was killed in a fjord and therefore not actually in the “North Sea”. This is despite the fact that all of the official reports for the “Deepwater Hyperbaric Welding Program” clearly state that this hyperbaric welding test was crucial to the development of Norwegian Oil. His widow did receive the bare minimum allowable pension from the Government of Norway however, and his death was listed in the Governments own official list so after one year of heartbreaking delays the Nemnd for pionerdykkere (Arbitration Board for Pioneer Divers) ran out of excuses and did eventually pay out the compensation.

In the case of William Carr, the Nemnd became even more creative in their demands for documentation required and when, after several months, they ran out of excuses on why they could not to pay, they delayed payment for many months while they vainly tried to figure out how to transfer the funds.

We are still working with several families and hope to have them considered by the Nemnd at some point in the future. There are more major stumbling blocks to overcome. First, even before the families can apply they must have the following information:

A) Birth /Identity Number (11 numbers)

B) Was the diver a member of the Norwegian Health System during the period 1965 to 1990?

C) Was the diver a member of the Norwegian Health System at another time?

D) (If so, please attach confirmation from the Norwegian Health System) This seems relatively simple except when you take into account the government policy at the time which excluded foreign divers from the Norwegian Health System.

Many divers and their families have now discovered that despite paying what they were told was full tax; the 2.5% Health System portion was not deducted. This point, the lack of a Norwegian National Number, automatically disqualifies anyone from applying for the compensation which the Government has claimed to offer.

If that was not enough, it can be shown that not all of the families of divers who were killed were even informed of their rights to a pension. Those families who did not receive benefits are automatically disqualified from receiving benefits because they are not members of the Norwegian Health System.

This may sound absurd, but as one example when Michael Brushneen was killed on the third of May 1971, his young wife and three children were immediately bundled up and returned to England. They never received the pension they were entitled to despite the fact that at the time they were Norwegian residents and in fact the two youngest children were born in Stavanger.

There is in fact so much wrong with the Governments “Press Release” that rather than go through each point I have asked that the survivors write out there story and so that I can include it on this web-site.

• The Norwegian government has in addition paid approximate 8,500,000 Norwegian crowns to those who have assisted the pioneer divers in forwarding their demands. The Norwegian Parliament has, as mentioned, decided to grant compensation to the pioneer divers on a political and moral basis. As a number of cases as of today are under consideration by the courts, The Ministry will not give any further comments on these cases until the judgments are delivered.

If you are interested in trying to find more information, here is there contact information:

The Press and Communications Division

The Ministry of Labour and Inclusion

Ministry Link

Send e-mail postmottak@aid.dep.no

Telephone: +47 22 24 84 28

Address Postboks 8019 Dep

0030 Oslo

Visiting address

Einar Gerhardsens Plass 3 (S blokk)

EUROPEAN FORUM of Insurances against Accidents at Work and Occupational Diseases European Forum

FULL E-MAIL From:

From: Dag Melleby [dag.melleby@trygdeetaten.no] Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 9:43 AM

To: pt.wingen@online.no

Subject: Nordsjødykker Alliansen

Follow Up Flag: Follow up

Flag Status: Red

We refer to your mail 28.05. 06 to Chistina Bergmeister. In order to find the widows and families to let them know that they may be qualified for the actual compensation you want us to send out noticification to those widows or families receiving pensions from our office.

Due to mixed information systems etc. it is difficult to identify the actual group you want us to inform. The information conserning the actual compensation granted by the government has earlier been published in newspapers, official documents etc. International information on the actual issue is also published on the website of the Ministry of foreign affairs www.dep.no.

We therefore regret to inform you that we are not able to give you the assistance you want.

Best regards Dag Melleby senior adviser

-----Opprinnelig melding-----

Fra: to-winge [mailto:pt.wingen@online.no] Sendt: 28. april 2006 09:55

Til: Christa Bergmeister

Emne: Nordsjødykker Alliansen

Dear Ms. Bergmeister

After out telephone conversation today I am writing to explain my request.

As you know there was a commission set up to investigate the problems involved with the divers who worked in the Norwegian Sector from 1965 to 1990. Based on the information they decided to award compensation to divers who were killed or injured during this time period.

The commission published a list of the divers killed that can be found on:

http://odin.dep.no/fad/norsk/dok/andre_dok/nou/002001-990719/ved004-bu.html

My problem is how to find the widows and families to let them know that they qualify

for the compensation granted by the government. As we discussed what I would like

is that if you could send a letter out to the widows and their families to tell them about the compensation. If you could include my contact information then they could

contact me if they want.

In other requests of this type there has been a misunderstanding;

· I know that your office is not allowed to give me any information.

· I only want your office to send out notification to those widow

s or families receiving pensions from your office.

· I would like you to include my contact information so that I can help these people with the application process.

You will want to check me out to see that this is a sincere request so I suggest you look at

http://www.dykkerkontakten.no/

Petter Skants who is the daglig leider can confirm who I am and what I'm doing

This request is very urgent so I would greatly appreciate it if you could spare some time as soon as possible for a meeting in your office.

I greatly appreciate your help in this. Sincerely

Tom Wingen

Pb 115

N-3290 Stavern

Norway

 

Tel: (+47) 959 444 85

pt.wingen@online.no

 

If any one out there is serious and can help to find the families, or who just wants more information please contact me directly:

Tom Wingen
Brunla Gård. N-3294 Stavern, Norway
Tel: (+47) 959 444 85 | E-mail: mail@pioneerdivers.org