The European Communities (Iron and Steel Employees Re-adaptation Benefits Scheme) (No. 2) (Scheme Termination) Regulations 1994

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The European Communities (Iron and Steel Employees Re-adaptation Benefits Scheme) (No.2) Regulations 1988 (S. I.1988/538) (“the 1988 Regulations”) provides a Scheme for the payment of benefits to certain steel workers who are made redundant or transferred to new work at lower rates of pay as a result of events which fall within the terms of Article 56(2) of the ECSC Treaty.

On the 29th October 1993, the Government announced its decision to terminate the Scheme with appropriate transitional arrangements. These Regulations implement that decision.

Regulation 3 terminates the Scheme, subject to the transitional arrangements set out in regulation 4.

These provide that, subject to the other provisions of the Scheme, payments may still be made to any redundant or transferred steel employee—

(a) where the Commission has already approved the provision of aid in respect of that employee;

(b) who is or becomes redundant or transferred as a result of a closure, capacity cut or change in activities of the steel company where he worked which has been accepted by the Commission as justifying payments under the ECSC Treaty before the Regulations come into force and, on or after that date, the Commission approves the provision of aid in respect of that employee;

(c) where his redundancy or transfer occurs before or on 1st May 1994, provided the events referred to in (b) above have occurred before the date the Regulations come into force, the Commission after that date accepts that these events justify payments under the ECSC Treaty and approves the provision of aid in respect of that employee.

Regulation 4(2) states when a steel employee shall be regarded as having been made redundant or transferred for the purposes of paragraph (c) above.