CRIMINAL COMPENSATION SCHEME UNDER ATTACK

www.rmt.org.uk :: february 2006 :: RMTnews 21 In the wake of the London bombing last year, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS) was heavily criticised for delays in payment and the small size of compensation to those caught up in the carnage. In response to this criticism, the government has produced a Green Paper “Rebuilding Lives, supporting victims of crime”. However, the Green Paper is little more than a re-jigging of a consultation paper that was produced two years ago. Moreover, it proposes to scrap financial support for “less serious” crimes, and instead replace it with “practical and emotional support” provided by a new Victim Care Unit. CRIMINAL CUTBACKS The Green Paper implies that the ‘less serious’ crimes are ones which had previously been awarded a compensation payment of less than £5,500 and which account for nearly 90 per cent of awards provided by the CICS. This reform would remove the vast majority of claims presented to the CICS by the union including almost all assaults on staff. Through the CICS, thousands of pounds have been secured by RMT on behalf of members to give recognition to the pain and grief that crime has directly caused in their lives. If enacted, these proposals will almost completely remove the right to compensation for the kind of claims put in by members. One cutback that particularly worries the union is the “removal of awards made to train drivers who witness suicide in front of a train or who deal with the immediate aftermath”. This covers train crew and track staff member that have to deal directly with the physical and mental trauma of a suicide. For RMT, the threat to remove such compensation from the most traumatised of our members is callous and a cut too far. The Green Paper contains some welcome proposals, such as removing the cap on financial awards, helping secure interim payments and speeding up the whole process. The emphasis on emotional support tailored to the needs of the victim is well-meaning although RMT would ask that counselling is handled sensitively and at the victim’s request. MAKING EMPLOYERS RESPONSIBLE? Whilst the union argues that employers should be responsible for the health and safety of its employees at work, putting the onus on them for compensation for a criminal act whilst at work would remove the security provided by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). It is also likely that employers will deny liability. Therefore, instead of a clearly identifiable table of compensation centrally run by the government, an employer- based scheme would lead to a lottery, creating further bureaucracy and increased uncertainty for the victim. Ultimately, the CICS was established to give a practical expression to a communal sense of responsibility and sympathy to innocent victims of crime. Yet, while the statistics say that the number of people who are the victims of crime has fallen by 40 per cent in the last ten years, the government is clearly more concerned about the costs of the scheme. The government is justifying a programme of substantial cuts on the basis that the scheme pays out more compensation than all the other schemes in the EU put together (ignoring their more generous benefit systems) instead of being proud that this country supports its victims of crime in a real and practical way. The union will be making its representation to the government on these and other causes of concern in the Green Paper, to defend the right of innocent victims of crime to be given compensation for how they suffered. CRIMINAL COMPENSATION SCHEME UNDER ATTACK RMT resists government plan to scrap financial support for 90 per cent of victims of crime who apply for compensation A CASE IN POINT RMT member Mark Harding was attacked two years at Whitechapel station while in uniform on his way home from work. He received serious injuries after assailants beat him with a baseball bat. RMT helped him reach a settlement with the CICA for £2,500. He donated much of the compensation to the union’s widows and orphans fund and the RMT dispute fund. “I would like to thank the union for their assistance and it just goes to show the importance of this compensation scheme,” he said. As Hammersmith and City branch secretary Mark has also assisted other members who were caught up in the London bombings on July 7. This included a claim settlement for RMT member John Boyle, who received an MBE for services to public transport for his actions following the London bombings. COMPENSATION: Mark Harding benefited from payments following assault