Sir Roy: Stop it!

General secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union, Sir Roy Trotman, says some employers who failed to pay in their employees’ contributions to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) were being “forgiven” while workers were left  to suffer.
He said yesterday it was time not only for that burdensome and deplorable situation to stop but for legislation to ensure that action against defaulting employers could be taken with haste.
Speaking in the Senate after Minister of Labour Senator Dr Esther Byer-Suckoo introduced the National Insurance and Social Security (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, Sir Roy was concerned that some companies were not only failing to pay in their own employer contributions, but deducted the employee portion and did not pass it on to the NIS.
However, he said, what was worse  was that affected workers were getting the short end of the stick.
“Not only do we have a problem of workers not having their own earnings handed over to National Insurance – which is a form of withholding and that is not lawful and the law should be looking at how that corrects itself – but the second aspect to it is even more burdensome and much more deplorable,” said Sir Roy.  (DP)