Sugar workers picket NIS over poor services

Jan 06, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Sugar workers on Wednesday staged a picket exercise outside the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) office at Leonora, West Coast Demerara over a range of poor services.
The workers were primarily from the Uitvlugt branch of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU).

Sugar workers picketing outside of the National Insurance Scheme, Leonora Office

In a press release GAWU said among the services it offers are: pursues workers matters at the NIS whether they relate to the accessing of benefits, updating of contributions, or obtaining of old age and other pensions. “To this end, the Union’s officer stationed at Uitvlugt would visit the Leonora office, which is charged with responsibility for the area, to follow-up matters. Our officer, despite regular visits, has been unable to get any update on the issues he is representing. The NIS office would often indicate that they could not provide any answer or in some instances he simply not provided with any responses. Workers have also shared similar occurrences with the union as well. One former worker related he has been seeking for several years to obtain his old-age pension and despite visiting the office for almost daily in recent months he has been unable to have his matter addressed. It is most disheartening that those who contributed to the development of our country are treated in such manner, GAWU stated.
At this time, the Union’s officers stationed across-the-country as well as its offices in Georgetown and New Amsterdam are aggregately representing several hundred matters before the NIS. “Our Union continues to regularly write the NIS on matters and on many occasions, we would receive a response several weeks after our correspondence. We are aware of several matters which we have been seeking to address over several years and though we continue to follow-up with the Scheme those matters remain languishing,” the GAWU release added. The union said it has been seeking for some time to engage the NIS directly with a view to bringing matters to a conclusion. According to the union, though the NIS has committed to same, attempts to have engagements convened have been futile. “The GAWU is hopeful that the NIS could improve its service to the thousands of contributors who depend on their benefits,” the release ended.

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