The National Insurance Scheme (NIS) has collected over $200 million in backdated contributions for employees of security firms who fail to remit payments deducted from salaries to the agency.
Back in June, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo announced that the Government would clamp down on security companies engaging in such acts and terminate contracts with the State for those who fail to clear the backlog within a specific time frame.
On Thursday, during his weekly press briefing, Jagdeo announced that several entities have come forward with their employees’ NIS contribution and the administration is engaging others as the issue is prevalent among security service providers.
“We spoke with them in the security sectors and if you don’t pay in a particular period, you will lose your contract and secondly, we will put it before the police. So far, four persons, we have already had them pay over $200 million. They had to bring it up to date all their back payments. Four of the contractors who were supplying security service in a matter of three months because we said to them that you are going to lose your contract,” Jagdeo stated.
Against this backdrop, the VP announced that NIS is reviewing security firms providing services to the State and there will be consequences for those that engage in this practice going forward.
Further, he explained that the Government will very soon launch an investigation to collect outstanding payments from other security firms within the private sector, as a means of ensuring that all Guyanese have access to all the benefits when they retire.
“You can’t be making the deductions or not paying the NIS and your employees can’t secure benefits if they fall sick. So that is something that we will insist in Government and even for private employers,” he added.
For years, security officers have been complaining bitterly about companies they work for making NIS deductions but are not paying these over to the scheme as well as the late payment of their salaries.
The Ministry of Labour has had reasons in the past to State security firms reminding them of the rights and entitlements of security guards, whether or not they are nationals of Guyana.
Back in 2019, security officers attached to the Radar Security Service and Supplies in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) had spoken out about their NIS contributions not being paid although $3427 was deducted from their salaries.
More recently, however, security officers attached to the New Amsterdam branch of Sentinel Security Inc made similar allegations in January 2023. In addition, some of the officers were forced to work extra hours and were not paid overtime but on the other hand, several days’ pay was deducted from their salaries if they reported sick for one day.
Several of these officers had told the Guyana Times last year that they made a number of reports to the Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) office of the Ministry of Labour in New Amsterdam but they were penalised for doing so.
Some of them provided copies of documents from NIS which indicate that no contributions had been paid to the Scheme for the period they claimed to have been working with the security firm.
Meanwhile, the National Insurance Scheme has been taking persons to court for non-compliance which includes not deducting NIS contributions from workers. They are also taken to court for not paying deducted contributions over to the Scheme.
