By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

LABOUR Director John Pinder said officials expect more job layoffs in the coming weeks, but he appealed to employers to have patience as a “silver lining is behind these dark clouds”.

This comes just a few weeks after he said unemployment “will not necessarily increase” due to the new lockdown.

He told The Tribune yesterday it was the hope of the Department of Labour that the government’s 13-week unemployment benefit extension would actually encourage companies to keep their workers employed.

“Most likely,” Mr Pinder said yesterday, when asked if there was an expectation that more small businesses would lay off staff due to the pandemic and current lockdown. “But we are hoping that the fact that the government extended this grace period for another 13 weeks that it would help.

“While the persons only get $150 per week, they are still getting something.

“We are hoping that it will cause the employer to hold these people until at least the end of September and hopefully something changes by then.

“Some companies are already looking at the forecast and saying they won’t make it to open so some will make the decision to give people separation packages.”

He urged employers to be patient.

“There is a silver lining behind these dark clouds. Certainly the world is hoping that there is some kind of cure for this thing or some way to control it so that borders and tourism are able to fully open up.”

However earlier this month, when asked about the same issue, Mr Pinder was optimistic employers would not rush to layoff staff due to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ imposition of a “two week minimum” lockdown.

“Unemployment will not necessarily increase because of the new lockdown,” Mr Pinder said on August 4. “I think for the most part, it all has to do with the economy opening up. Because we have that extended 13 weeks with NIB that gives the employer some time to try to get their business in order. And, so we don’t expect any extra layoffs just because of the lockdown that is happening now.

“We recognise that once you are in an extended layoff period, NIB is still giving you some level of assistance and that is the view of the employer not terminating you, but keeping you in an additional layoff position so that when the economy opens again, you have your job.”

In June, Labour Minister Dion Foulkes said the country’s unemployment rate could be as high as 40 percent, but stressed officials won’t know the exact figure until the Department of Statistics does its jobs survey.

Earlier this year, concerns were also raised that NIB might not pay clients whose employers deducted contributions from their salaries and did not make payments to the agency.

Mr Pinder previously assuaged those fears.

“NIB is saying once the person has proof of employment and the contribution being deducted, NIB is still going to process those persons for unemployment assistance and unemployment benefit,” he said two weeks ago. “So they are not holding that against the employee. NIB will certainly go after the employer in cases like that. They have a policy and protocols in place that if an employer does not come in to make the necessary arrangement for the payment, then they have the right to prosecute.

“It also depends on the position the employer is in. Because of COVID, they might have some level of leniency but if these persons have not been making the contribution payments prior to that then that is a different situation. NIB will make their judgement call on how far back the employer is on the payments.”