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Wage Compensation Fund in derogation (CIGD) - fishing sector

Publication: 17/02/2022

From 2008, due to the crisis which struck the fishing sector, the use of the Wage Compensation Fund in derogation is provided, with current legislation, as a means of income support for periods of suspension from work.

In particular, with inter-ministerial regulations, for the implementation of government agreements, the CIGD shall be granted to the sector in question and shall be annually funded by resources allocated by the Stability Law.

The CIGD is paid, according to the provisions on the matter, to personnel on board, dependent workers and working members, as referred to in Law no. 142 of 03 April 2001, of fishing companies affected by the sector’s state of crisis, with statistical contribution code 1.19.01, 1.20.01, 1.21.01.

On the other hand, shipowners on board the vessel they manage are not entitled to be treated as such, as there is no employment relationship.

The CIGD shall be granted subject to verification of the presence of the ‘guaranteed minimum wage system’ clause in the beneficiaries’ relevant employment contracts.

Access to income support measures may be granted on the basis of specific agreements, including lists of beneficiary workers, signed by the local maritime authorities (port authorities). It should be noted that it is not only the agreements signed by the port authorities in which the vessels are registered that must be considered valid, but those signed at the port authorities where the vessels carry out their business activities as well.

As regards the flow of management and CIGD claims of the fishing sector, in relation to the year 2015, INPS has issued specific instructions and operational instructions with announcement no. 5313 of 13 August 2015, concerning Inter-ministerial Regulation no. 91411 of 07 August 2015.

Wage subsidy benefits are granted in all crisis situations in the sector (including those related to biological rest periods) in which work activities must be suspend for reasons that cannot be attributed to the employer.

As for the service periods for 2016, INPS Circular no. 177 of 13 September 2016 provides operational instructions.

For the purposes of the maximum eligibility period for the CIGD, reference is made to the number of days paid to the worker during the previous year.

The Wage Compensation Fund in derogation is financed on an annual basis with resources allocated by the stability law. Within the limits of these financial resources, the income support benefits shall be paid by INPS directly.

If the CIG is used, the companies are only required to pay the additional contribution and are exempt from paying the regular contribution.

The employee is entitled to compensation equal to 80% of the payment, including any additional monthly instalments, which the employee would have received for the hours not worked between zero hours and the contractual maximum, and therefore for no more than 40 hours per week.

The benefit amount may not exceed the maximum monthly limit established each year.

Requirements

As provided for in the minutes of agreements signed by the government and in the relative decrees, the CIG is paid to personnel on board, employed and working members, as referred to in Law 142/2001, of fishing enterprises affected by the sector’s crisis and benefiting from a remuneration system with the minimum guaranteed monetary value. This is subject to possession of at least 12 months’ seniority in the enterprise at the reference period’s start date, as provided for in Article 2, paragraph 1 of Inter-ministerial Regulation no. 83473 of 01 August 2014.

It should be noted, therefore, that the disbursement of the CIGD by INPSis subject to minutes’ verification of the presence of the minimum guaranteed monetary value clause in the beneficiaries’ employment contracts.

Access to the income support measure shall be granted on the basis of specific agreements, including lists of beneficiary workers, signed by the working members at the local port authorities.

The general requirement laid down in Article 7-ter, paragraph 6, of Decree-Law no. 5 of 10 February 2009, converted, with amendments, by Law no. 33 of 09 April 2009, and by Article 2, paragraph 139 of Law no. 191 of 23 December 2009, shall apply in a particular way. It takes the specificity of the fishing sector, for which there is a special “limit on the number of days paid to each worker during the previous year” (INPS announcement no. 4497 of 26 February 2009) into account, where “paid days” means all days spent in the relevant sector, even if under different employers (INPS announcement no. 6885 of 09 March 2010).

How can I claim?

As regards the 2016 intervention periods, the company must submit claims (SR100) relating to the year 2016 to INPS online by using the dedicated service (Digiweb procedure) by 30 January 2017 at the latest.

Claims must take the concessionary deadlines provided for by Article 1, paragraph 2 of Inter-ministerial Regulation no. 1600069 of 05 August 2016, which is equal to three months, into account. For the purposes of both monitoring and liquidation, INPS will consequently not take claims that exceed the aforementioned concessionary limit into consideration.

For the particular operating flow, please refer to circular no. 177 of 13 September 2016.

Finally, it should be noted that, for the purposes of monitoring and compliance with the financial resource limit, income support benefits are expected to only be paid directly by INPS.