The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The COVID-19 pandemic will “expose” Bahamian employers who have failed to pay National Insurance Board (NIB) contributions on behalf of their workers, a Cabinet minister warned yesterday.

Brensil Rolle, minister for the public service who has responsibility for NIB, said the government and social security system will likely exploit the situation to negotiate with delinquent companies and agree payment plans to bring them current.

“What I will say is that we are negotiating with these businesses,” Mr Rolle said. “This process will really expose businesses that have not been forthright in making payments to NIB, but this is a time where we can negotiate with those businesses, come up with arrangements and get things done.”

His comments came after the Fusion Superplex movie and entertainment complex, located at the junction of Gladstone Road and the airport highway, was exposed after it temporarily laid-off 350 staff and sent them to claim unemployment benefits at NIB.

Those workers subsequently went public on social media after encountering difficulties in obtaining essential financial assistance from NIB, and after learning that contributions deducted from their salaries had not been passed to the social security system.

Carlos Foulkes, Fusion’s chief executive, admitted that the company had been placed on a payment plan with NIB but blamed delays in processing paperwork and contribution forms for the problems.

And Fusion is far from the only Bahamian employer in this situation. Mr Rolle last year said non-compliant employers owe NIB between $14m to $17m in unpaid contributions.

The minister, asked yesterday whether self-employed persons who have failed to pay the necessary NIB contributions will also be impacted in their efforts to obtain financial assistance, replied: “We want persons to acknowledge that a Bill exists, and we will set some parameters upon which we could make those arrangements to soften the blow of COVID-19.”

Without giving a definitive position, Mr Rolle added: “It depends on the number of payments in some cases, but again come into NIB, talk with one of our representatives. Get on the phone and talk with one of our representatives, and they will tell you exactly what your status is at the Board.”

Mr Rolle continued: “This emergency order has caused NIB to become one of the government agencies that must work from home, because of the general contact with seniors and with individuals on a high level.

“So we have created a form and applications so that individuals can just go to NIB’s website, download the form, fill it out and get it back to NIB, and it will be processed rather quickly. Then we will be able to distribute cheques. In terms of what we do moving forward, what I will say is that a significant number of NIB officers can work from home. So that is a good thing.”

The minster confirmed that NIB is trying to “reduce the face-to-face contact” and the number of persons that have to visit NIB offices to limit COVID-19’s spread. He added that NIB is asking persons to provide their bank account number, confirm where they are, and then it will process their claims - “in many instances” depositing directly to the claimant’s bank account

“We have been in constant contact with the Family Islands,” Mr Rolle added. “My team at NIB is doing a wonderful job with complying with social distances and trying to engage individuals though the electronic platforms that they have established, and to work quickly on their behalf.”

Responding to concerns that some persons may be able to access NIB’s electronic platform, Mr Rolle added: “Most of these older persons have a child who has a telephone. Children can download the application on their behalf and get it back to NIB.

“But we want to reduce face-based contact as much as possible, and where that is absolutely impossible then we invite persons to come into NIB and we have set up a protocol down at the building so that we can accept applications.”