About 450 disengaged Atlantis workers, who would not have ordinarily qualified for the government’s unemployment assistance program, will get a lump sum payment before the Christmas holiday, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Myles LaRoda said yesterday.
The Davis administration announced in November that it would extend the unemployment assistance program – which provides a $100 weekly stipend to Bahamians still out of work because of COVID-19 – to the end of the year and provide beneficiaries with a $500 lump sum payment. The program was previously scheduled to end in September.
LaRoda said it would cost the government about $250,000.
“We all know over the past couple of weeks there has been an issue with some disengaged Atlantis workers who were inquiring as to whether they were going to be receiving the $500 stimulus. The government has made the decision that, notwithstanding that these individuals would have fallen outside of the qualifications, this stimulus would be paid to those individuals,” LaRoda told reporters yesterday.
“We think it will affect around 400 to 450 people and so they will receive their funds no later than 12 o’clock on Friday. Approval has already been sent to the National Insurance Board and the process has already begun to ensure that those affected individuals receive their funds before Christmas.”
There were issues with some terminated Atlantis employees who, because they did not meet the contributory requirements, could not receive NIB’s unemployment benefit and similarly did not qualify for the government’s separate unemployment assistance benefit.
“The decision was made in consultation with individuals at the National Insurance Board and many calls from those people who are affected. A lot of these individuals have not been working since last year, so they have been without work for the past year and a half and have been disengaged. So while they would have been paid their severances the National Insurance Board would have cut them off because once you are paying your contributions you are seen to be working,” LaRoda said.
“They just got their notices, which meant that the National Insurance Board was paying them for those weeks in advance, so they fell outside the law. But the reality on the ground was these individuals were not working for the past year and a half. They were line staff, they were paid six months worth of salary and a lot of that was eaten up by banks. So there was hardship and the government made the decision that considering the circumstances that they would give these people a good Christmas.”
LaRoda said the government still has to make a decision on whether it will continue the unemployment assistance program, which is scheduled to end on December 31.
The post Axed Atlantis workers to get $500 stimulus before Christmas appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/axed-atlantis-workers-to-get-500-stimulus-before-christmas/
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