You have rights according to Danish law

if you

v have been subject to an industrial injury

and you are not fit for duty

v are an Indian citizen

v have been employed on a Danish ship

flying the Danish flag (DIS) read about
your RIGHTS
and how to get
HELP
Version India 003 Jul. 2021

Published by:
Danish Union for Seafarers
CO-Sea All the maritime Danish unions
are affiliated to the ITF
Abbrevations used in this booklet:
LMI Labour Market Insurance
DMA Danish Maritime Authority
DSAIA Danish Shipowners Accident Insurance Association
DS I Danish Shipping (collective bargain area I)
DS II Danish Shipping (collective bargain area II)
CBA Collective Bargaining Agreement
DIS Danish International Ship register

Guide and help

The purpose of this booklet is to guide and help
you in relation to assistance from Denmark, if HELP
you have been subject to an industrial injury from the Danish unions
from work onboard a Danish ship registered is free of all costs.
in DIS.
It is allready paid
for by the
Simplified information
It should be noted, that the information in this shipowners.
booklet has been simplified, especially the parts
relating to the LMI.

1
sektion

SICK PAY

The shipowner

The shipowner is obliged to pay the sea- According to existing NUSI/MUI CBA’s
farer during sickness for a maximum of 4 with DS I and DS II, the amount to be paid
months. This is under the condition that during sickness equals your basic wage.
the obligatory medical reports declare
you unfit for duty. When you are fit for
duty, the sick pay stops.
 2
sektion

SICKNESS BENEFIT

The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA)

If you are still unfit for duty after the 4 payment is actually carried out in India via
months of sick pay, the DMA is responsi- the Danish Embassy/Consulate.
ble for the payment of sickness benefit.
It should be expected that a new medi-
Sickness benefit will be paid until: cal report has to be presented every two
Either months. A request for this will come
1) A doctor declares you fit for duty through the Danish Consulate and will
Or normally be by referral to an ordinary
2) The Labour Market Insurance in doctor.
Denmark (see section 3) has come to a
decision regarding your case. It should be By the end of the 4 months with sick pay
noted, that the payment of sickness ben- from the shipowner, we recommend that
efit will also stop during an appeal case. – if you are still unfit for duty - you send a
report from your normal doctor declaring
The amount paid as sickness benefit is 90 you unfit for duty. This might contrib-
pct. of the basic wage at the most. Danish ute to your case progressing less slowly
tax might be deducted from the amount. before the DMA starts paying sickness
benefit.
The DMA will pay for two months at a
time and payment is made through the An English version of the DMA website
Danish diplomatic representation in India. can be found using this link:
On account of practical and currency www.dma.dk
issues, delays do occur from when pay-
ment is requested in Denmark until the

The Danish Union for Seafarers, CO-Sea, can help

sign you in connection with sickness benefit if we receive
power a power of attorney from you.

of attorney Then we can:

and get 1) Get access to all documents regarding your case.
HELP 2) Send reminders and demand status reports
from the authorities.
 3
sektion

COMPENSATION

The Labour Market Insurance (LMI)

The LMI is the administrator of the Act on different types of compensation:

Protection against the Consequences of
Industrial Injuries on Danish work places. 1. Compensation for Permanent Injury
The Act applies to (one-off payment):
all employees on Danish places of work. Compensation for a permanent injury is
decided according to the degree of the
In the worst cases it might take up to injury. If the degree is below 5 pct., no
several years until a decision is reached compensation is given. If the degree is
regarding your case. Unfortunately, letters 100 %, the amount given is DKK 939.500
from the Danish authorities to non-Danes (by January 1st, 2021). The amount may
are sometimes sent out in Danish. In such be reduced depending on your age.
cases, you are welcome to send a copy
of the letter to CO-Sea by post or e-mail, 2. Compensation for Loss of Earning
and we will take action. The content of Capacity (monthly payments):
these letters is not necessarily that impor- Compensation is given when the loss of
tant. Often they are standard letters that earning capacity is estimated to be 15
are automatically sent out when a certain pct. or more. Monthly payment may in
time limit has been reached. But do not some cases be converted into a one-off
ignore if you do not understand! payment. The payment runs until the
injured person reaches the
If your case is accepted as an industrial age of 65,5 up to 74
injury and meets certain criteria, the LMI (depending on the
will normally make a decision about two year of birth). sign
power
CO-Sea can help you of attorney
in connection with compensation claims from Den- and get
mark. To do so, we need a power of attorney from you. HELP
Then we can:
1) Receive copies of all letters and documents regarding
your case.
2) Send reminders and demand status reports from the authorities.
3) Appeal a decision on your behalf.
LMI - please note that:
You can find information and a link to an English version of the Act (legislation) online
using this link:
https://www.aes.dk/english/publications/guides-and-information-material

The LMI does not deal with SICKNESS BENEFIT (see section 2)

Death:
When death is caused by an industrial in- It is possible to appeal the decisions made
jury, a so-called ”interim payment” is paid by the LMI. An appeal could delay the
to the bereaved (be advised that there payment of compensation. Also, sickness
are special rules as to who the bereaved benefit from Denmark ends when the
are). In 2021, the interim payment is Dan- decision is made by LMI and will not be
ish Kroner 177.000. In addition to this, resumed during an appeal. The average
continuous payments may be paid to the consideration time for an appeal to the
bereaved for loss of breadwinner. LMI is no less than 12 months (in 2021).

Danish Shipowners Accident Insurance Association (DSAIA)

Most Danish shipowners are insured in the DSAIA regarding compensation according to
the Act on Protection against the Consequences of Industrial Injuries.

The DSAIA is
paying compensation according to the
decision by the LMI.
CO-Sea is in
The DSAIA does not deal with: ongoing contact
1) Sickness benefit (see section 2) with the DSAIA regarding
2) Compensation according to CBA all registered
(see section 4) cases.
 4
sektion

COMPENSATION DEATH

In cases of death, the legislation regarding of compensation to be paid. In other

industrial injuries is supplemented by the words, compensation from the shipowner
CBA, cf. article 10 A of the CBA. based on ther CBA will be reduced by the
compensation based on the legislation.
Death caused by industrial injury
In cases of death caused by an industrial Natural death
injury, compensation may be given with In cases of natural death during service,
reference to both the legislation and the compensation is given to the bereaved
regulations of the CBA. with reference to the regulations of the
The amount paid in compensation based CBA exclusively.
on the CBA constitutes the total amount

LOCAL ASSISTANCE
! We recommend that for local assistance you contact the
relevant Indian Seafarers Unions, NUSI and MUI.

5
sektion

MEDICAL EXPENSES

Your rights include reimbursement of when sick pay is given by the shipowner,
necessary expenses for medical consulta- it is often the shipowner, who pays the
tions and medicine. In some cases, also medical expenses (which they will then
for transportation and accommodation. be reimbursed for by the DMA).
Therefore, always save your receipts in
good condition. The Danish Shipowner Accident
Insurance Association:
The Danish Maritime Authority: The DSAIA covers the expenses when
The DMA covers doctor bills for medical they request statements by specialist
reports demanded by the DMA in con- doctors to be used by the LMI. Reim-
nection with obtaining sickness benefit. bursement is normally paid by the Danish
Reimbursement is normally paid by the Consulate or alternatively by the DSAIA on
Danish Consulate. In the first 4 months receiving original receipts.
USEFULL LIST OF CONTACTPOINTS

The Danish Maritime Authority Embassy of Denmark

33 B, Dr. Radhakrishnan Marg,
Caspar Brands Plads 9 Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021
4220 Korsør Phone: (91) 11 4209 0700
Denmark E-mail: delamb@um.dk
Web: indien.um.dk
Phone: +4572 19 60 00
E-mail: sfs@dma.dk
Web: www.dma.dk
Royal Danish Consulate General
L&T House
N.M. Marg, Ballard Estate
Mumbai 400 001
Danish Shipowners Accident
Insurance Association Phone: (022) 2261 4462
mumbai@umgate.dk
Amaliegade 33B
1256 Copenhagen K Danish consulates as well in:
Denmark Chennai: (044) 2812 8140
Kolkata: (033) 2210 8251
Phone: +45 33 13 86 88
E-mail: skade@ufds.dk
Web: www.ufds.dk
NUSI Bhavan (ratings)

Phone: +91-22-2261 8368

The Labour Market Insurance E-mail: nusi@nusi.org.in
Web: www.nusi.org.in
Kongens Vænge 8
3400 Hillerød
Denmark
MUI (officers)
Phone: +45 72 20 60 00
E-mail: aes@atp.dk Phone: +91-224969 7817
Web: www.aes.dk mail@maritimeunionofindia.com
www.maritimeunionofindia.com
 6
sektion

FREE HELP FROM DANISH UNIONS

Three Danish maritime unions have made nary work in Denmark. CO-Sea is a union
an agreement with the Danish shipown- for all ratings, engineers on smaller ves-
ers to assist non-Danish seamen having sels and navigators on DS ships.
an industrial injury onboard Danish DIS-
ships. If a maritime officer (e.g. navigator or
engineer) is injured, the case will be
Help and assistance from the Danish un- transferred from CO-Sea to the relevant
ions is free of charge for the seafarer. Danish union as soon as we receive a
One of the three unions, CO-Sea, takes signed power of attorney from the
care of the coordination of the prelimi- injured seaman.

Navigators Ratings / Maritime

on DS II ships Navigators Engineers

Danish Maritime CO-Sea Danish Engineers’

Officers + Metal Maritime Association

Vermlandsgade 65 Mose Alle 13 Sankt Annae Plads 16

2300 Copenhagen S 2610 Roedovre 1250 Copenhagen K
Denmark Denmark Denmark

+45 33 45 55 65 +45 36 36 55 85 +45 33 36 49 20

mail@ledernesoefart.dk cosea@co-sea.dk mf@mmf.dk