Fear not, says NIS chairman

Current employees of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) have no reason to fear a recommendation that would see the current government department transition into management under a statutory board.

This is the assurance of NIS Chairman Leslie Haynes, Queen’s Counsel who says the proposed changes are ultimately intended to improve the efficiency of the organisation and, if accepted, would only apply to those desirous of staying with the scheme. He also gave the assurance that employees who opt for the new arrangement would receive terms that are equally or more favourable than those which apply under their current public sector contracts.

Haynes was responding to concerns raised Tuesday on the northern steps of the NIS regarding the proposed changes he spoke about at a recent press conference. At the time, Haynes revealed that the current board would recommend the structural changes to the Ministry of Finance, which currently oversees NIS operations.

During a recent work stoppage, General Secretary of the Unity Workers’ Union Senator Caswell Franklyn advised dozens of employees to reject the recommendation which, in his view, could expose them to arbitrary dismissal.

Akanni McDowall, President of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) which represents the majority of NIS staffers, re-stated the union’s opposition to the changes. He also complained about a lack of consultation on the recommendations.

The NIS Chairman however argued that there was no need for consultation as yet, because the recommendation is in its most preliminary stages. He explained that if accepted by the ministry, it will then go to Cabinet and if approved by Cabinet, the Chief Parliamentary Counsel would draft appropriate legislation to facilitate the transition.

“Within the appropriate legislation, there will be provisions to ensure that employees will be given firstly an option whether they want to stay with the National Insurance. As in any other transition, employees will be given the option of staying with the particular body or continuing in the civil service,” Haynes explained.

“Those who want to transition will transition on terms no less favourable than the terms they already have and their rights will be protected… So yes, I understand the concerns of employees, but the truth is that they have very little to be concerned about.”

The NIS Chairman also drew encouragement from the fact that the NIS was involved in similar transitions as occurred with the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA).

“Nothing is going to change at National Insurance except for increased efficiency,” Haynes declared.

He also noted that in terms of service, the current board wants to reduce the wait time for unemployment benefits from as many as three weeks now, to as little as three days. But he added that the transition would allow the board to respond to internal issues, which are currently wrapped up in the public service.

“I don’t know if this will be the view of the Ministry of Finance, but a transition in my view will help to alleviate a number of issues that we have at the National Insurance,” Haynes argued.

“If there is a statutory corporation and there’s a need to fill a post, an advertisement can go out and the best person can be chosen for the job or somebody from inside can be promoted there. Do you know how difficult it is to get a promotion in the civil service? These are little things that we are talking about so that when we have a national emergency like COVID, we are much more flexible… to invent our own solutions,” he concluded.

The NIS is currently the only Government department that is governed by a board of directors. It comprises three appointees of the Prime Minister, the Chief Labour Officer and representatives of the NUPW, the Barbados Workers’ Union, the Barbados Employers’ Confederation (BEC) and the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA). (kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)