Barbadians who refuse to make National Insurance Scheme (NIS) payments under the guise of being self-employed run the risk of becoming destitute, say a construction magnate and a trade unionist.
Their warnings come amid revelations that established construction companies are being displaced by new players in the sector because of the latter’s practice of hiring people as self-employed workers, and in so doing, not paying statutory commitments like NIS, or even liability insurance in the event the individuals are injured on the job.
“This allows these companies to tender for jobs at a lower figure, yet make big profits.
“None of the established construction companies are managing to secure work these days. The reason being is that they follow the law . . . . The new system for employing people in construction in Barbados is that you don’t pay any [statutory commitments],” said Allan Evelyn, the founder, president and chief executive officer of Rotherley Construction Inc. (SP)
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