NiCE work extends to new areas
(CNS): With a surprisingly large number of people signing up for the government’s Christmas clean-up, after a decline in numbers in the summer and last year, new work has been added to the programme. In addition to the usual work on roadsides, parks and beaches, including the sargassum seaweed onslaught, some of the more than 600 workers will be working with the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) to help with dengue control or the Department of Agriculture (DoA) to prepare for next February’s Agricultural Show.
The National Community Enhancement’s (NiCE) winter initiative is offering three-weeks of paid employment from Monday, 25 November, to Friday, 13 December, at CI$10 per hour for regular workers and $12 for supervisors. The open registration and mandatory orientation session took place on Wednesday at the Lion’s Centre, coordinated by the Ministry of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure (CPI).
CPI Minister Joey Hew thanked the returnees for clearing sargassum during the summer programme. Their efforts, he said, had been widely recognised and had led to the expansion of the NiCE programme’s work allocation to new government departments.
Hew commended the MRCU and the DoA for partnering with NiCE, which he said demonstrated how the initiative could answer urgent seasonal needs.
MRCU Director Dr Jim McNelly outlined the type of work that will be done to help stop the spread of dengue fever. As well as work in the field eliminating man-made standing water features (bird baths, buckets, clogged gutters, boats and other receptacles), NiCE workers assigned to the Unit will undertake routine tasks. McNelly also hopes that once trained, the workers will be able to spread the word about public health work to prevent the Aedes aegypti mosquito from breeding.
NiCE Project Manager Lois Kellyman told workers that the Royal Bank of Canada was waiving its usual cheque cashing fees for NiCE workers who do not have accounts with them.
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Category: Jobs, Local News
Liquor store bonanza.
Biggest news here is RBC waiving their cheque cashing fee. This is a significant problem for ‘unbanke’d persons getting ‘small’ cheques and when its Government cheques that are usually going to people who need the money for social support reasons it just seems worse. (Social support examples: NICE, NAU, child support cheques routed through the Court.) Considering CIG is probably RBC’s biggest customer you think they’d negotiate a break for the support of the poor.
NICE …..show us all that it takes 15 worker to paint one yellow line, 14 of them watching how its done. Also, 15 worker to pickup trash along the side of the roads as 14 watch under the shade trees while on their phone. That’s a very NICE program our government has created once again. Its shows why the unemployed flock to the yearly program for short time work. The NICE program is another way to control poverty instead of permanently employing the unemployed to continue this service.
🙈🙉🙊
Civil Service training program.
We all know the problem and don’t need it highlighted anymore! How about putting forth some solutions as to how to employ and keep the unemployable in permanent employment ? The NICE program is not perfect but at least it keeps people busy and occupied and they have extra pocket money for the holidays and can enjoy it with their families and friends as we are all entitled to.
They need to send a squad to Reef Apartments on South Church St, Their garbage bin area is disgusting, littered with rubbish strewn around right on the roadside, with the feral chickens swarming all over it. This is a public eyesore, and lets down the whole South Sound community. The residents need to clean it up and maintain it on a regular basis.
NICE….waste of money and vote purchasing.
And all we keep hearing from the Premier on how Caymanians are being overlooked. There was work in the Summer months for $10.00 an hour, yet they still didn’t come. But yet he is talking about raising the minimum wage again. Don’t you think businesses that are struggling already will now have to raise their prices or their clients to offset this? And we have more permit holders who will reap the reward, NOT CAYMANIANS. the ones who want to work, will work, the ones who don’t won’t.
Is a cheque cashing fee legal? Someone charging to honor a debt?
That where you going see yellow paint.
Can someone remind them not to leave their plastic bags , Pepsi cans and food containers behind after their post lunch nap ?
Paint and stencil actual bike lanes.
How many times do we have to say it? This should be done daily by prison inmates as well as community service for DUIs, dangerous drivers, and other serious non jailable offenses.
No votes in that.
It would be nice if they’d fix the damn dump.
It is unfixable. Just like no plastic surgery will return your youth, nothing would actually FIX the Dump. Capping=Makeup. WTE= Chernobyl
If you had proper landfill, not the Dump, mining it would have been an option.
Ain’t nobudy got time fur dat.
Great program – it should be done all year round!!! Please make sure they are instructed to keep our beaches clean, and the iron shore areas in GT that the tourist visit everyday, or any other tourist area in the other districts!
Think you meant “nice” program.
Obviously all these people or at least most of these showing up for the “nice programme” are unemployed. I wonder if there is any among the group who seriously wants full time employment? I also wonder if any among the group feel disenfranchised? Which leads me to wonder if said group who wants a full time job, who feel disenfranchised ever thought of getting together and respectfully lobbying the government to fix the immigration system so that they can get an opportunity for full time employment? How long will you be content with this situation of having a job a couple of weeks per year? Don’t you think it is past time you show up and speak up on your own behalf, i.e. If you are serious about getting a full time/ long term job. Thanks for cleaning up the island but you really deserve more!
you are so right.
Sure, look at the front page of the Compass. Hiding their faces from whom exactly? Their employers most likely.
Every society have a class of people that are deemed unemployable ( for various reasons). Former minister Rolston Aglin identified this a couple years ago and was trying to fix the problem, unfortunately due to change of government and him failing to get re elected, his plan was washed down the toilet as is always done. Ezzard is a former HR consultant and I don’t understand why he is not involved in trying to find a permanent solution to the problem…. opps never mind !!! I don’t see government looking for any other the NICE and NAU …..