St Kitts and Nevis: The processing of severance pay continues, and according to Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris, the number of staff members at the Department of Labor has been increased, and another shift has been added to be able to pay more claims in a more efficient time.
Prime Minister Harris, who responded to a call on the popular Leadership Matters program on Tuesday, April 13, pointed out that it took a long time due to a large number of displaced people and also as due to the fact that several of the employers did not pay, which made it problematic for the Department of Labor to get the claims done right.
“We have so far spent more than $ 25 million on severance payments, and the Fund has, according to us, been repeatedly depleted,” Dr Harris said. “That means the majority of the resources come from the federal government coffers.”
The government is concerned and notes that it would have raised the issue earlier on the Leadership Program, where it would have indicated that at the cabinet-level, a decision had been taken to increase the number of staff working at the Department of Labor. to add another shift so that more demands can be processed within a more efficient time frame.
“All of these things are happening and need to happen, and in time people will come to them,” Dr Harris said.
While apologizing to the workers concerned for the delay, Prime Minister Harris advised that the delay was not only at the Department of Labour level, but was also due to the negligence of a number of employers who did not do the right thing. do not have. for their employees.
He appealed to every employee to go to social security at regular intervals and express the contributions and payments, which enable them to know in advance whether their employer pays their contributions or not, and the portion that deducted from them (whether or not). employees’) wages.
“Once the problems are discovered at the time you are divorced, time will naturally be lost,” notes dr. Harris op. “But you can be proactive about it.”
He said that at cabinet-level, they had asked Social Security to make the pressure pieces available to every employee at regular intervals so as not to wait until the final event, such as causing the retirement for people to then realize that their employers did not pay to social security.
The Honorable Prime Minister said that the government has a policy of speeding up claims, which also includes persons who are not properly documented, which means that they work while they do not have a stamp for work permits, or that they have experienced problems to be regulated because they do not have the necessary police records.
“There were other cases where persons, although they worked and although they made some payments, were in fact not properly documented, and that the issues at the level of national security had to be addressed,” the Honorable Prime Minister said. said.
According to Prime Minister Harris, Commissioner of Police, Hilroy Brandy, ‘has instituted a policy of indulgence when the information comes to him to correct his status and help with the processing. All these things happen at the same time.”
