Spanish seamen lost against the Norwegian state
Spaniards who have not received a pension after working on Norwegian ships, lost their lawsuit against the Norwegian state.
The Norwegian state was sued in the Oslo district court by 212 Spanish seamen and their heirs through the Longhope interest organization.
12,000 Spanish seamen, who in the post-war period and until 1994 worked on Norwegian ships, were paying income tax, but not national pension contributions to Norway. Therefore they did not earn neither Spanish nor Norwegian pension points.
In the verdict from the Oslo District Court, the state was represented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
– According to the court’s judgment, the Norwegian and Spanish sailors who worked on Norwegian ships were not in comparable situations.
Although both groups of people worked on Norwegian ships for shorter or longer periods and although both groups paid seamen’s tax on the salary they received from work on Norwegian ships to Norwegian authorities, there are so many differences between the groups of persons that the condition of comparable situations is not fulfilled, District Court judge, Jørgen Monn, writes.
– The Court attaches particular importance to the fact that the Spanish sailors (and their employers), unlike the Norwegian sailors (and their employers), have not paid contributions to the National Insurance Scheme and the Scheme for Sailors, he said.
According to the verdict, the parties must cover their own costs.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
