March 25, 2020

New Social Assistance Is Only For Those Made Jobless By COVID-19

By Newsroom

It will take at least seven days for the guidelines to be published for the government’s pandemic economic package to become operational.  And the social assistance that is promised will be only for those persons who have been made jobless or had their salaries reduced because of COVID-9.

“We are sharing your angst,” Social Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis said at a news conference on Wednesday morning, one day after people started lining up outside the  various NIB and Social Welfare offices throughout the country. In one instance they were turned away by the police.

“We empathise with people who gave lost jobs and are confused-because they are not sure what to do or where to go and that is why they are crowding the National Insurance Board (NIB)  and Social Welfare offices

“We do feel sorry for the uncertainty you are experiencing but the NIB is not yet ready. Guidelines will be out in seven days, “Robinson Regis said before she repeated her Ministry’s plans.

  • Putting customer service reps who will deal with you
  • At this time we are dealing with those persons who have been retrenched, terminated or had a reduction in salary because of the CURRENT circumstances. From March 1
  • Include persons at the businesses we talked about in the Public Health Order.
  • Worked at a bar, licensed or unlicensed and are not now working
  • Persons who were working in a Club-
  • A theatre
  • A cinema
  • A gaming house or Betting office
  • A restaurant- and you are no longer employed or may be getting a reduced salary.
  • NIB will deal with those belong to a registered business and you are getting NIS.
  • Social development will deal with those who were not paying NIS and may have been self-employed.
  • The Minister of Labour has an online portal to submit your information- so you do not have to come to the offices for that.
  • We have ten offices in Trinidad and two in Tobago.
  • Only the parents of children registered to receive the school feeding will be given a food card, once you don’t already have one
  • If you already have a food card- it will be topped up in April- you will get all three months top up.
  • If you are recently retrenched or terminated- also entitled to receive food support-
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