The Barbados Workers Union (BWU) has requested an urgent meeting this week with the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) concerning the status of former BWA employees who are having problems registering to receive unemployment benefits.
A still unknown number of workers are up in arms about their inability to receive answers from the National Insurance Scheme regarding how or when they will receive benefits since being laid off last week.
This was revealed by former BWU general secretary, now consultant Sir Roy Trotman at the Union’s Solidarity House headquarters earlier today.
“We have to report that some of the workers displaced by the Barbados Water Authority are experiencing challenges regarding unemployment claims,” he told the media. “At their engagement, workers in the public service should be made aware if they are not having social charges deducted to cover severance, sickness and unemployment,” Sir Roy added.
He noted that in this instance, severance was not an issue.
He added that some of the retrenched workers had worked before in the private sector and, having contributed for the qualifying 12-month period, have benefitted from such unemployment provisions before.
He said the problems being faced now are not the workers’ fault.
“These workers, unless they are advised differently by the employers, cannot be faulted for expecting that unemployment premiums were being deducted and that they should register for unemployment benefits,” he said.
According to Sir Roy, the BWU cannot yet speak to the conditions or employment details of those involved, since meeting requests with the BWU to regularise staffing conditions were not accommodated. (BA)
