Ministry gets OK from OCC over pensions report
Employment Minister Tara Rivers
(CNS): Following amendments to the National Pensions Law, the Office of the Complaints Commissioner has agreed that the 21 recommendations made to the employment ministry in a report first published almost six years ago have finally been largely complied with. In a statement to her colleagues in the Legislative Assembly on Friday, Employment Minister Tara Rivers said the amendments had addressed many of the concerns of the OCC by introducing higher penalties that are easier to apply, protection for whistle-blowers, public education on plans and a more transparent regime, among other things.
The report, “Penny Pinching Pensions”, was published in September 2010. As well as highlighting the appalling lack of compliance and myriad issues, the complaints commissioner at the time, Nicola Williams, had made 21 recommendations, as she described the systemic failure of the National Pensions Office and the National Pensions law.
Many of her recommendations had required legislative as well as structural changes and Williams had stated that the existing legislation needed “substantial revision” for harsher penalties and to close loopholes that she believed dishonest employers were taking advantage of.
While the new legislation has received considerable criticism, as many believe the entire regime needed fundamental change because it remains heavily weighted in favour of the schemes rather than the members, the minister said the National Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which passed in May, addressed all of the legislative recommendations set out by Williams, and said the OCC had written a letter confirming that position.
Only one recommendation has not been complied with: that private sector companies awarded public tenders must be compliant with their pension contributions. The OCC had agreed to withdraw that recommendation because government had sufficient processes and policies in place to ensure that companies were compliant with this and other statutory requirements before they could get a contract without it needing to be specified in the pension law.
The minister also told her colleagues that the OCC’s report on occupational safety had also largely been complied with after the ministry had worked with the office to introduce the necessary changes. As a result, the OCC had also closed the matters on that report as well.
Letter- Compliance of OCC Recommendations of OMI ‘Danger, Construction at Work’
Letter- Compliance of OCC Recommendations of OMI ‘Penny Pinching Pensions’
Category: Government oversight, Politics
What Tara needs to do is address the poor, inadequate and total failure of customer service in the DLP, specifically on the labour side. This particular area of this department is an utter disgrace and shame to customer service. In closing, 14 and half weeks to have a complaint sent out when the form was completed 3 days after termination is pathetic- and this is FIRST hand knowledge and the officer dealing with the matter is senior .
tara rivers…..minister of waffle….why say someting in 5 words ..when you can use 30…..
I am very grateful that someone has addressed the unrealistically low pension age and looked to address some of the other obvious issues from the first legislation. I find it strange that so much vitriol on this matter is directed at the minister when so many of the legislature are members who have been in place for most if not all of the time that the heavily flawed policies first put in place with pathetic protection for employees receive no mention in any comments. Perhaps people want representation that ignores the real issues that affect people and would rather they focus on same sex unions or other distractions that will not make a difference in the daily life of the majority of the population? having seen many of the people I know who were forced to retire early have to find other work at lower rates of pay or leave the Island completely this is an important step forward. Much remains to be done to resolve the issues in Cayman for so many but this will only happen if people direct their representatives to focus on such things rather than avoiding them. As an aside, can anyone tell me anything positive that Captain Ebanks has done over his many years in office? I have been here over 20 years but only hear his name once every four years yet this is never criticized in any forum. This is not to pick on the good captain but he is not alone.
Hopefully she will never be re-elected. She is a completed failure. She got the laws changed to suit her appointment as an elected and achieved nothing.
Let me slightly amend the caption on the photo,
“Once purported to be Employment Minister Tara Rivers-MIA”