Dear Editor,

It was with dismay that I read in the Jamaica Observer (Wednesday, December 19, 2012), an article in which the Minister of Labour and Social Security Hon Derrick Kellier bemoaned the common practice of employers failing to pay over, in a timely fashion, monies deducted from employees’ salaries.

The minister reportedly went on to urge trade unions to seek to ensure that statutory deductions are paid over to the proper agencies.

So, are the unions now supposed to take on a job that is apparently too big for the Government?

Instead of the meek plea to employers’ obviously seared consciences to be worthy stewards of their employees’ monies, I would have been much more assured if I had read that the minister firmly demanded that employers desist from this criminal act, because that is what it is. The minister reportedly stated in Parliament that “the Administration would be taking a tough approach to such employers, but did not elaborate”. It is about time that somebody begins to stand up for the ordinary worker. And if our elected authorities continue to merely talk about “future actions”, but do nothing to curb the gross injustices being meted out to our citizens almost on a daily basis, then we can’t be too far away from the tipping point.

How can the government, in good conscience, ask workers to pay more in National Insurance deductions, while admitting that employers pass on these deductions at their pleasure? We need Governments with more resolve, more teeth, and more commitment to ensure that basic things be done right. We pay our Government to wisely use the monies that they collect from us – whether taxes or other statutory deductions. At the very least, we deserve the assurance that those monies will be handed over to the Government on a timely basis. If, despite the proliferation of sophisticated technology, the Government cannot provide this very basic protection of our hard-earned money, then our future is indeed very bleak.

Calvin Isaacs

isaacscalvin@yahoo.com