Volunteer coastguards across the Western Isles are joining colleagues UK-wide to fight looming payment cuts.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has confirmed that the current system of hourly remuneration for volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers (CRO) will end in mid-September 2026, following a Court of Appeal ruling on their employment status.

According to the People Management website, the change will affect around 3,000 volunteer CROs – which is reported to make up the majority of the service.

One rescue officer, who wished to remain anonymous,  told WLS, “Most of us don’t do it for the money, but the money allows us to do it.”

They went on to say that the remuneration compensates them on what they miss out on when attending callouts during working hours. Without this compensation, there is concern that some members will be forced to prioritise their main salary job over attending emergency calls.

As of now, it’s reported that CROs are able to claim just over £11 an hour after attending an emergency call-out. However, the decision was made after a Court of Appeal ruling found that the existing payment arrangements for volunteer CRO’s meant they could be legally considered employees rather than volunteers.

The local rescue officer went on to say that without this compensation, "volunteers will be left to choose between providing for the family or helping those in need”.

The campaign Save Our Service was formed after this to argue the risks of losing experienced volunteers and weakening coastal search and rescue capability, leading to volunteers leaving the service and a reduction in operational resilience.

The campaign team is running a Parliamentary Petition demanding Government stops the MCA’s transition to a volunteer-only model. The petition now has over 10,400, meaning the government must respond as 10,000 signatures triggers the requirement. 

To view the campaign website and sign the petition, click here.