Labour Ministry recovers over $71M in restitution for workers so far this year

The Ministry of Labour and Manpower Planning has recovered over $71 million in restitution for workers for the year so far, subject minister, Keoma Griffith, has disclosed.

“Our officers have closed more than 550 complaints brought by workers. Through that work, the [Labour] Department has recovered more than $71 million for workers this year. Of course, we are on contract to increasing that number,” the minister said on Tuesday during a ‘Conditions of Work Labour Seminar’ for workers in the oil and gas sector.

This figure marks a notable increase from recoveries made over the years. Records show that $31.7 million was recovered in 2024 and $69 million in 2023. Last year, some $36.6 million was recovered.

While these recoveries represent successes, Minister Griffith expressed a desire for this figure to decrease on account of more employers doing the right thing.

“I would be a happy minister if I learn that tomorrow, nobody is making a complaint about having outstanding wages, because it would then mean that we are truly achieving industrial relations in a way that we want to achieve it,” he said.

In an invited comment, Chief Labour Officer, Aslim Singh, explained that the monies recovered for the year so far mainly represent disputes regarding wages and severance payments. Wages account for 46 per cent, severance pay 30 per cent, annual leave 9.9 per cent, notice pay 9.7 per cent, and overtime 4 per cent. Singh further noted that security firms remain the chief defaulters.

In the past, most of the defaulting companies were identified as security firms. The then Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, had informed a press conference in January 2025, that “the chief culprit in the situation are security services and companies; and when they rob people in 2024, next year, in 2025, they change the company name to another name. So, we have to do a lot of work there, and we have been taking them to court…”

Additionally, common complaints from workers previously surrounded matters such as termination benefits, annual leave, unlawful deductions from salaries, overtime payments, failure to pay minimum wage, and severance payments.

Meanwhile, for the year so far, the Labour Department has conducted almost 3200 workplace inspections, with the aim of ensuring more businesses are operating in accordance with the country’s laws.