By Carole Dennett
Martin Groom beat the Maritime & Coastguard Agency in a landmark case; now the agency’s attempt to strip payments from Coastguard teams may have ignited a far bigger battle.
The former Isle of Wight Coastguard Rescue Officer, whose landmark legal battle proved that Coastguard volunteers have been workers for years has accused the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) of “shameful” behaviour – after the government agency told teams it intends to scrap hourly payments from September, a move many fear will put lives at risk.
Martin Groom, who from the age of 18, served 35 years at Bembridge before being dismissed in 2020, said he never brought the case for money but to ensure Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) were treated lawfully. “It was my life,” he said. “That role was part of who I was. All I wanted was for them to obey the law.”
“The misrepresentation by the MCA regarding the worker status is shameful and they ought to be honest about the fact that Coastguard rescue officers are workers and should be treated as such and have the legal rights associated with that.”
Legal victory ignored
The Court of Appeal ruling in January confirmed CROs meet the legal definition of workers, entitling them to basic protections. The MCA initially threatened a Supreme Court appeal, then backed down and publicly accepted the judgment.
But instead of implementing it, CROs were told in a national briefing last week that hourly payments for training, callouts and duties will end in September. The MCA says “compensation” will continue in another form, but officers say they were told only travel expenses and an unspecified “other form of recompense” would remain.
For many teams, the announcement has landed like a hammer blow. Internal MCA surveys show around half of CROs will leave if the service became entirely unpaid. On the Isle of Wight, several experienced officers say they will go.
Bembridge resident, Sir Paul Kenny, former General Secretary of the GMB, was the first to spot that coastguard volunteers were in fact workers when Martin described how he had been treated. After 35 years of service, Martin was stood down for failing to forward an email “in a timely fashion”.
Sir Paul said the MCA’s behaviour was indefensible. “They’re the worst type of organisation. They are in effect firing and then attempting to rehire very loyal, hardworking people who save lives. And for the privilege of giving them their jobs back, they’re offering a 100 per cent pay cut. It’s a scandal.”
Vital service at breaking point
Martin says the MCA’s approach will hollow out a service already struggling to find volunteers. “If you take away even the basic recognition of people’s time, you will lose not just the new recruits, but the experienced officers who know the cliffs, the tides, the access points. That will put the public at risk.”
He also points out that the coastguard is not a charity but a government emergency service. “It will cost the government hardly a penny to do the right thing. People are already being paid. This is about respect, decency, and honesty.”
As the MCA lost the case, it must now pay both its own legal costs and the GMB’s – expected to total hundreds of thousands of pounds. Martin says that money could have strengthened the service instead of being spent fighting its own workforce.
National backlash grows
Since the MCA’s announcement, the story is spreading fast. CROs across the UK are organising, with the GMB Conference voting, on Tuesday, to fight what it called a “reprehensible move” with new members joining daily. A new Facebook group for collective bargaining attracted more than 800 members in its first week.
The issue has also reached Westminster. Yesterday, IW West MP, Joe Robertson, raised Martin’s case in the House of Commons, with Transport Minister, Keir Mather, agreeing to meet them both. Mr Robertson said: “Our hero coastguard rescue are not volunteers – they are workers. The court decided these brave men and women rightly get a small payment for turning up to emergencies. Instead of recognising that, the Government and the complacent senior management at the MCA decided to strip them of their payment and devalue their contribution. Not only is it an insult to people like Martin Groom and his former colleagues, it could spell the end of the coastguard as we know it.”
An MCA spokesman said: “We are moving the coastguard rescue service to a revised volunteer model, to best protect the future of the service.
“This decision follows a legal judgment, which means we need to change how the service operates. This new model protects choice, flexibility, and the ability for people to volunteer alongside their primary employment.
He added that the service values the work of CROs, and will support them through the transition.
Martin says he never wanted to damage the service he loved and devoted so much of his life to. “I didn’t start this fight to decimate the coastguards,” he said. “I started it to fix it. The government are desperately trying to wreck it over a few pennies. All I want is for people prepared to put their lives on the line to be treated properly.”
As a Government Agency, the MCA has power and resources, but it has already been beaten in the High Court by a single coastguard from Bembridge – and Martin shows no sign of giving up. Goliath may have picked the wrong David.
