Union request

NUPW President questions whether Gov’t has room to withdraw aspects of pension reform

By Emmanuel Joseph

The island’s largest public sector trade union has called for some of the Government’s pension reform measures to be scrapped, particularly the move to increase the retirement age.

President of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Kimberley Agard on Thursday queried whether there was any room for the Mia Mottley-led administration to “withdraw” the plan to move the age at which a full pension from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) is paid, from 67 to 671/2 years in 2028 and then to 68 in 2034.

Her request was based on concerns expressed earlier by some public servants during an educational and sensitisation meeting at the union’s Dalkeith Road, St Michael headquarters where presentations were given by the deputy chair of the NIS board Rawdon Adams and NIS director Kim Tudor about the pension changes and their impact on employees.

According to Agard, the increase in the number of contributions needed to qualify for a pension, from 500 to 750, which translates into an additional five years of contributions was another issue of contention.

“Those for sure are two of the main concerns. Even though persons would have had other points that they spoke on…most persons spoke against the increase in age and the increase in time to be eligible,” she told Barbados TODAY.

“So what about if all of the other recommendations stay in, but keep the age to where it is at now? I am asking if there is room that we can be a little flexible with some of the recommendations or if this is a hard-and-fast situation.

“So my question is if there is room for some of those things to be withdrawn and if those things are withdrawn if the [funding] gap or sustainability [of the NIS Fund] may not be as fit but it would be deemed a little more palatable for the average worker,” the NUPW leader queried.

In response, Adams outlined that even if the board recommended changes, the Government would have the last say.

NUPW General Secretary Richard Greene also outlined other worker concerns and suggestions, including a recommendation to ensure the protection of the NIS Fund from possible “manipulation”, by putting a mechanism in place to prevent “any and everybody” from dipping into it.

Meanwhile, Agard said that Thursday’s gathering was originally supposed to be a general conference for members only to get a mandate on how to proceed in relation to the proposed reforms. However, she said, the NIS approached the union for the opportunity to speak to members.

“When NIS reached out to us, we agreed and said ‘let the members get the information they want so that when they do give us a mandate, that the mandate is based on a position of true and factual information and one based on a lot of social media and fake news,” she explained.

When Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector Colin Jordan piloted the Bill to amend the National Insurance and Social Security Act two weeks ago, he told the House of Assembly that the age at which persons become eligible to receive a reduced pension would also be adjusted from the current age of 60 to 61 in 2025, 62 years in 2028, and 63 years in 2031.

Regarding the increase in required pension contributions, he said: “It is understood that with most persons starting to work by their early to mid-20s, the requirement for contributing to the National Insurance Scheme for at least 15 years is entirely reasonable and brings us into line with international benchmarks.”

The Labour Minister assured there would be no change to NIS contribution rates or the calculation of benefits for current pensioners.

Jordan said the measures would stabilise the National Insurance Fund, noting that on its current trajectory, if no corrections were made, it would be depleted by 2041.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb