Four former employees yesterday staged a protest outside the office of the Colonial Life and General Insurance Company (CLICO) over non-payment of pensions. But Chief Executive Officer of the company, Geeta Singh-Knight, said the issue is part of an ongoing litigation and the company will abide by the court’s ruling.
The four persons, former employees of the company and its predecessor, Clico Trinidad, said that they had not been paid their pensions under a plan they had with the company. Samantha Bettencourt was one of the protesters. She explained that the group’s pension plans were with Clico Trinidad, but the company closed that aspect of its operation here in 1993 and an independent company, Clico South America (SA) was set up. She said that according to the contract signed, Clico Trinidad had the right to keep the money for ten years for investment and then pay out the money to them. Both companies have one parent company.
Bettencourt said they learnt that in 2003 the money was sent to Clico SA along with a list of names and amounts to be paid. She said upon inquiring at the company, she was told that she had nothing to get. But she said other persons were paid. She noted that she had worked with Clico Trinidad for four years and then with Clico SA for a further three years and she was shown a document which said that if she worked eight years or less she was entitled to nothing. She declared that this was not in the contract she had signed.
Carl Harlequin, another protestor, had a similar story. He said he had worked with Clico Trinidad for 12 years and Clico SA for about three years. He explained that when he went into the Clico office, he was told that he had nothing to get.
Maureen Williams, who worked with Clico Trinidad for 17 years and with Clico SA for 11 months said she was paid only a portion of the money entitled to her after being given the “royal run-around.”
Philbert Blair, who worked with Clico Trinidad for 22 years, also got nothing. He said that after unsuccessful attempts to get his money, he engaged a lawyer and the affected persons also visited the Commissioner of Insurance and then took the matter to court in 2004. The matter is still ongoing. The small group held their placards, one of which read ‘We put our labour and our pension security at bad risk with Clico’ in front of the Clico building on Camp Street for some time before leaving.
But Singh-Knight noted that the disgruntled former employees had taken the matter to court and said that the company would abide with the court’s ruling. She said that persons, who were eligible, were paid and declared that there were some persons who were not eligible but still sought payment. She stated that some had resigned and received severance and their names were not on the list but they still wanted to collect money again. Singh-Knight said the company had started to contact persons whose names were listed but since the matter was taken to court, payment was stopped. “Clico will pay the eligible persons [after] the court’s decision,” she stated.
