With more employers while Nis contributions going down

Dec 02, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
It would appear to have been momentous news when the NIS announced recently its accessibility online, by its contributors. For those who are its clients, as well as interested observers, it has long been a concern why such an institution was not more proactive, particularly after a report came out from a very expensive commission appointed by the last administration some eight years ago, and which pronounced in some detail, on the improvements necessary for the structure, operations, and management of this institution.
Hopefully this advance was at the behest of the new board, if in fact there is one. What continues to be a concern, however, is the inexplicable reduction in contributions, despite the reported and visible increase in the number of employees, and moreso foreign investors, so many of whom operate in the hinterland (in more than literal terms).
In this regard one recommendation coming out of the aforementioned commission’s report was based on a model long adopted by the NIS in Barbados – by which it was possible for any employee to complete a pro forma document online, setting out the latter’s employment particulars. The information provided, if deemed in order, would facilitate a visit by the NIS to the relevant employer to verify the situation. This procedure took the initiative out of the discretion of the reluctant employer, who could be appropriately encouraged to effect registration.
One hopes that in the circumstances of the current governance environment, those reluctant would desist from seeking refuge in the old ‘hinterland’, and would cooperate with a more assertive NIS management – in the interest of its sustainability, and the welfare of their employees.
E.B. John

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