NCB Staff Association, the union representing workers at National Commercial Bank Jamaica (NCBJ), is making an appeal for some 700 members of staff who worked at the bank between October 1, 2001 and September 30, 2002, who are yet to come forward for monies they are entitled to under a profit-sharing scheme for the period, to do so as soon as possible.

The appeal comes almost six months after the UK-based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ruled that NCB’s staff were entitled to $142 million in profit-sharing that was not paid for the period in question. However, with interest added over the 22 years the matter went through the courts before it was settled in February this year, and the sum ballooned to approximately $800 million for about 2,700 staff who worked at the bank during its 2001 to 2002 financial year.

“We have made payments to approximately 2,000 people who have come forward already but we are now at a point where roughly 700 former members of staff are yet to contact us for their share — and we want to get to them what they are entitled to,” Paul Stewart, president of NCB Staff Association, told the Jamaica Observer in an update on the matter.

Stewart said of the $800 million awarded, the staff association received about $600 million after tax and has so far disbursed $450 million, leaving $150 million to be paid. He said the staff assocation, with the help of the bank, has been actively trying to reach out to those who should get the payments, but is finding it difficult to do so at the moment.

“We have gone through the pensioners’ list, we have gone through the bank records and provided information for some of the beneficiaries. One of the problems we have come across is that some of them have since died and some are overseas,” Stewart added. He, however, pointed out that he believes some people are just not aware of the award, despite the best efforts to reach out to them individually and through the media.

“We would like to finish this exercise and so we are trying every method to communicate with them,” he continued. He also warned the he knows scammers may try “ways and means” to get some of the funds, but said enough safeguards are in place to ensure the right people get the monies.

“Everybody who was at NCB during that time will be paid. If that person died intestate then we would have to deal with that through the administrator general; and if they died leaving a will, most likely we would ask the beneficiaries to provide documentation to get the payments,” Stewart added.

He told the Business Observer that monies not collected after 10 years will be returned to the bank, but he is hoping the staff association will not have to face doing so.