A total of 2710 women received maternity benefits and grants from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) totaling more than $86m between January and December last year, according to information released by the Scheme recently. Nineteen claims for maternity benefits and grants were outstanding at the end of 2006.
An NIS source told Stabroek Business that while the Scheme attached ‘particular importance’ to settling maternity claims expediently, problems associated with the timely payment of contributions by employers often meant that there were delays in processing and effecting maternity and other payments.
The source said while there was no question of either disallowing or ‘unnecessarily holding up’ valid maternity claims payments delays by some employers meant that in some instances time-consuming checks had to be made..
The source told Stabroek Business that the NIS’s experiences of tardy employers and the consequences of late payments or non-payments had resulted in a tougher line against defaulters.
The source admitted, however, that the slow process of court proceedings had impacted negatively on the ability of the Scheme. “Since there are a number of employed women who receive no pay during their period of maternity leave and, in some instances, have no other means of financial support during this vulnerable period the NIS is concerned that their applications for maternity benefits be processed expeditiously,” the source said.
Meanwhile, sickness and injury payouts by the Scheme last year totalled more than $134m.
More than 28,000 such payments were made, primarily to employed persons while 82 such claims are outstanding.
Part of the focus of the current NIS reform programme seeks to improve the Scheme’s administrative arrangements for ensuring timely payments to contributors as well as ensuring prudent investment of contributor funds.
