A case concerning 28 Russian sailors who were employed on tugboats at Fehmarn without a Danish work permit may be headed for the Supreme Court. The prosecution has decided to apply for permission to bring the case before the country’s highest court. The authority informs Ritzau.
Concern in the trade union movement
The question of the seafarers has caused concern in the trade union movement. Here it is believed that the outcome of the case could have a major impact on the conditions of the employees during the construction of the large offshore wind farms and energy islands.
It was one day in March 2021 that the Russians were arrested by the police. They worked on two tugboats off the coast of Lolland. The boats hauled material for the future Fehmarn connection.
The authorities deported all 28 men because they lacked a work permit, but since then the Court in Nykøbing Falster and later the Eastern High Court have removed the basis for the deportation.
The acquittal is due to murky legislation
The High Court thus writes in the judgment from April this year that it is unclear whether the Russians’ work actually required a work permit. Or whether they were covered by an exemption from the requirement for a work permit, which applies to employees on at least certain types of ships and sailing in Danish waters.
The sailors were constantly on the water. They were only ashore when enlisting and disenrolling.
Hadn’t asked the authorities
Before then, the seafarers and their employer had not asked the Danish authorities whether they could work on Danish maritime territory without a work permit.
This would otherwise have been a natural thing to do, note the judges in the high court.
But the lack of clarity about the basis of the rules still means that there is not “the necessary secure basis for punishing” the 28 Russians.
Whether the case should proceed to the Supreme Court will be decided by the Procedural Licensing Board.
Can set aside agreements
After the high court’s verdict, Palle Bisgaard, who is vice-chairman of 3F Byggegruppen, expressed fear for the prospect.
Danish collective agreements and Danish regulations on the working environment can be put out of force for large offshore projects, he has told Fagbladet 3F.
– It is completely unsustainable in a Danish context that just because you send internationally flagged ships into our area, you can work as a construction worker without any requirements whatsoever, including no Danish collective agreement, Palle Bisgaard has stated.
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28 Russian sailors acquitted in the High Court
