Brief window for more tourism workers to get cash

| 22/06/2021 | 32 Comments

(CNS): The Ministry of Tourism has announced that a window of opportunity to register for the tourism stipend for those not already receiving it will open tomorrow for just one week. Government has already spent around $70 million to support displaced workers in the sector since the borders closed due the COVID-19 pandemic. Those already receiving the money do not need to re-register to continue receiving the money, which has now been extended until the end of October.

The ministry is currently assisting more than 3,000 workers, which is costing around $5 million each month, according to Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan. “Tourism workers have been severely impacted by the closure of our borders and many have no other means of income besides the stipend. Reopening registration will give persons who missed the previous registration periods another opportunity to apply, to help them bridge the gap till our borders open and tourism can resume,” he said.

All applications will be verified and applicants are asked to respond to missed calls, voicemails and emails from the Ministry or Department of Tourism. This will help to avoid delays during the verification process. Anyone with questions about the programme or requires assistance completing the online application form can contact the call centre on 949-0623 between 9:00am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday during the registration period.

The application form will be available online at stipend.ourcayman.ky from 9am on Wednesday, 23 June. The registration period closes at 5pm on Tuesday, 29 June.

To qualify for the stipend, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Must be Caymanian, Permanent Resident or married to a Caymanian with an Employment
  • Rights Certificate (RERC),
  • Must have worked in the Tourism sector,
  • Must not have applied for the stipend previously.
  • NOTE: Those who are already receiving the stipend should not reapply.

When completing the online form, all applicants will need to provide the following documents or information:

  • A copy of your Cayman Islands Voter Registration Card, Caymanian Status Certificate OR Right to be Caymanian Certificate,
  • A copy of your last pay slip or official job letter,
  • Former Manager’s name, email, and phone number,
  • A bank letter verifying your full bank account name and account number OR a copy of a stamped bank deposit slip clearly showing your name and account number is also acceptable.

See message from the minister below:


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Category: Business, Tourism

Comments (32)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Great news, I can stay home and collect my stipend until the end of October – thank you President Biden….oops meant Premier Panton.

    Meanwhile I can still go out and do some side work and no one will know.

    Ahh life is good, eh?

  2. Anonymous says:

    Why are you giving stipend to tourism workers on Brac.

    With all the visitors coming from Grand Cayman this is the busiest I have seen the Brac in my lifetime. Some weekends you can scarcely find a place to rent, rental cars are being booked up and you can see the handful of taxis running up and down everyday.

    So, not sure why Government is handing out more money to people on Brac, I don’t hear any of the lodging places complaining, dont hear the rental car companies complaining and don’t hear the restaurants and bars complaining.

    Also, do not hear the folks in construction industry complaining nor the real estate folks complaining over here.

    Covid-19 was an unexpected boom for the Cayman Brac economy and anyone who says otherwise certainly does not know the Brac.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Stop complaining its government to blame I work in the tourisim industry for donkey years and I am still, but we did not close the border they did we want to work but how can we work when border is close i don’t want to read everyday about government giving us money because we are indepent people every day its been throw in our face about this stipen I am waiting for nra to call back soon to go and help clean up the road and I wish I could get couple months with them until tourisim open back up

  4. Anonymous says:

    please audit this scam system asap.

  5. Anonymous says:

    There may be people abusing this stipend, but please consider the others who in the past have taken to self employment in the tourism business as they are otherwise “unemployable” for various reasons. They have worked hard at their businesses and been proud not to be a burden on society. Now they need help. The salaries currently being offered to these people go nowhere near to supporting a family. Anyone want to do a breakdown of how far the stipend goes towards the cost of a family?

    • Anonymous says:

      It would go a lot further if the aid was focused on the individuals that need it rather than anyone who applies for it.

  6. Anonymous says:

    The need to add more flights to Miami for August & Sept, because kids are going back to school, and they need to put the cost of flight lower, they are mad with those prices.

  7. Anonymous says:

    If we are waiting for the border to be open, the stipend has to be continue as the people need to pay their bills.
    If border opening wasn’t an option, and the people retrained and redirected elsewhere, the stipend would have ceased already.
    Are we really waiting on 70% to be vaccinated. In the leading countries they jabbed, they test less, it appears to be working, are the numbers redirected elsewhere. Is flu back, are the numbers up. We all possess, the ability to think for ourselves, I think.

    • Anonymous says:

      “They test less”, yeah because they want to give this false notion that the “jab” is working.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Why are people still being given free money for doing nothing? There is plenty of work to be done on the island. Get a job, there are lots of them available. Or the government should create short term unskilled jobs such as litter picking, cleaning road signs, odd jobs etc in return for this free money. No one should be paid for sitting on their ass and pretending they can’t work.

    • Anonymous says:

      10.05am – not everyone wants to work on a construction site. Lots of people in tourism are attempting to retrain to work in other industries. They can’t retrain if they are working on a construction site all day. You seem to blame the workers that lost their income and not the totalitarian cayman government that closed borders for 2 years for no justifiable reason.

      • Anonymous says:

        What message is the CIG conveying when giving the stipend to the person who doesn’t ‘want’ to work in construction, yet’needs’ the money?

        Be willing to do the work that others won’t- it will serve you well in the long run.

      • Anonymous says:

        No justifiable reason? You must have gone to public school. The pandemic, Covid-19, was their justifiable reason to close our borders. It is how we have been able to maintain safety and protect our people. Are you that slow that you cannot comprehend what would have happened had those precautions not been taken? Regardless of what “everyone else is doing” we are a but a small island in the sun. If this virus runs loose it would be devastating. No matter how much our hospitals try to prepare, we will NEVER be prepared for that to happen. We don’t have enough beds, we don’t have enough supplies, we don’t have enough staff. Period. Hell, the states has far more of all of those things and their hospitals were still not prepared for the amount of sickness they saw. It is great that we are seeing some sort of light at the end of the tunnel but we are not out of the woods yet. Do not kid yourself.

    • Anonymous says:

      No stipend should be paid to the holders of work permits. Those people should’ve been sent to their countries of origin. Why are we so generous with what we can’t afford to give away. As a matter of fact, this was the opportune moment to up-skill and retool some of those people. Why sit and wait for tourism jobs to return, when you could learn another trade/job.
      All attention should be on the employment of caymanians, thereby reducing the need for work permits.

  9. Anonymous says:

    All tourist stipend recipients should be seconded to various government departments at 50% value.

    Many departments can not keep up with current demands placed upon them and would appreciate the “cost free” help.

    Tourism employees could learn some valuable skills, and they could also teach the government workers some valuable customer service skills.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Hey Minister.

    Cayman Airways needs to put their flight schedule up for August and September.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Such bullshit

  12. Anonymous says:

    Half of these bozos, especially the foreign ones are working odd jobs to make money, are collecting government stipend and then blowing it out on handbags, TVs, etc. or sending that money back to their family’s overseas. Way to fund people’s BS CIG, that money could actually be going to good use and helping people of these islands. Hell the money would be better donated to Meals on Wheels, the Cancer Society of Humane Society at this rate.

  13. Anonymous says:

    Or they could…you know…get a job.

    • Anonymous says:

      Our tourism business kept our family just over the breadline. I would love a job which could replace that income! What I do know is that 20 years ago I was taking home $2000 CI and now I am offered the same salary with a family to support?

  14. Anonymous says:

    Govt should not have to pay extra for clean-up for island to open-up or Christmas cleanup, paying out so much monthly and so many people un-employed, these jobs should be done in return, let persons under the age of 60-65 receiving these funds work for this money. They can do so much community work, teach school children especially for Summer and the majority have no way to go etc. Teach our people that there is no Free Lunch!!

  15. Anonymous says:

    Why are we giving so much to so many without regard to efforts to obtain training, or alternative employment? Why am I still being served by work permit holders, everywhere?

  16. Anonymous says:

    But you have to do a survey and we’d like it very much if you’d please be truthful 🤣🤣🤣. Pretty please 🙏

  17. Anonymous says:

    &%^$ these boys are already campaigning for the next election.

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