Prime Minister Mia Mottley has called for collaboration with government technology agencies and young software developers to build a digital platform for the National Portable Benefits Framework.
She told the House of Assembly on Tuesday that the proposed system would help ensure workers in the gig economy and other non-traditional employment arrangements can access National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS) benefits.
Mottley said: “I want to suggest without waiting for more, to have the NIS also reach out to the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and Govtech, to put a call out there for young Barbadians who are schooled and trained in this area of digital software development or applications…to be able to help us develop a digital platform that can track the workers’ hours such that portability benefit system can work efficiently in this country.”
The prime minister said the resolution was intended to address a major gap in the existing social security structure by extending protection to workers engaged in short-term contracts, freelancing, digital work and other forms of gig employment as part of ongoing NISSS reform.
“This is the next natural progression for the research work of the actuary. I trust that [Minister of Labour Colin Jordan], [backbench MP Toni Moore], the Honourable General Secretary, will now work together.”
Mottley underscored the importance of the framework to the Ministry of Finance, warning that unsupported workers could eventually become a burden on the state.
“Recognising that the Minister of Finance perhaps ought to have the largest interest in this private member’s resolution because if these people are not given an opportunity to be able to benefit from the NIS, they become a charge on the state of Barbados and I really believe that the Minister of Finance does not want his liabilities to extend in that direction whatsoever.”
The framework reflects the realities of the gig economy and digital work, while technology now makes it possible to track work hours across multiple jobs through digital platforms, she said.
“We can easily create a platform upon which all work for those gig economy persons or part-time workers…can be registered and required to be registered by law…and what the digital technology allows us to do is to crunch those numbers in quick order for the benefit of the person who is dependent on it.”
Defending the resolution that backs the portable benefits system, Mottley argued that the current system no longer reflects the realities of the modern workforce.
“This carries us into the reality of the 21st century economy in real serious ways. The gig economy, the digital work that is done. The other non-standard forms of employment,” she said.
“We are now after 58 years, 59 this year of a social security system finally prepared to make the social security system fully functional in all of its ways for people as opposed to people only having to fit in to the straight difficult rigid rules of the system.”
The prime minister also urged greater participation in the NIS system, particularly among self-employed workers, warning that too many Barbadians later found themselves in financial hardship because they failed to contribute consistently.
“I have seen too many professionals in this country. I have seen too many self-employed people in this country, too many taxi drivers, too many fishermen, too many carpenters and masons, too many lawyers and doctors and engineers find themselves in either abject poverty or avoidable circumstances.”
Mottley also linked the need for stronger social protection systems to future global crises, including pandemics and climate-related health threats.
“In this world, these things will happen more and more,” she said, while noting that workers with multiple employers or irregular hours remained one of the biggest gaps in the current NIS structure.
She described the proposed framework as “the best gift we can give the country and the NIS system both for their Diamond Jubilees”.
(LG)
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