Indarsingh calls on Baptiste-Primus to intervene in NEDCO’s VSEP impasse

The Hon. Rudranath Indarsingh
Member of Parliament, Couva South

Member of Parliament for Couva South and the Opposition Labour and Enterprise Development Critic RudranathIndarsingh is calling on the Minister of Labour and Enterprise Development Jennifer Baptiste-Primus to immediately intervene in the impasse between the National Entrepreneurship Development Company Limited (NEDCO) and the 40 employees who were officially offered a Voluntary Separation Offer (VSEP) on January 31 2018.

According to Indarsingh, at this meeting with the employees, Chairman Clary Benn, former Executive Director of the Unit Trust Corporation advised these employees, some of whom have over 15 years of employment and experience with the Company, that when their final VSEP documents were issued, they will be paid all their outstanding remunerations and separation settlements within one month.

After several meetings and discussions with the 40 employees, NEDCO formally made the VSEP offer on March 29, 2018, advising that the effective day of separation will be May 15, 2018 but the employees last actual day of work would be March 31, 2018.

It has been three months since these employees are no longer on the job and despite Chairman Benn’s assurances that all their outstanding remunerations and separation settlements would have been paid to them within one month, they have not received a cent to date.

Further, the employees are claiming that they were misled by the Clary Benn-led Board of NEDCO since they are now being told that these funds have not been approved by Cabinet.

Indarsingh said that it is indeed very disheartening to hear the plight that some of these former employees of NEDCO have found themselves in with no income. They entered into the VSEP agreement in good faith based on the Company’s assurances and now they are being told that the Government has no money to settle their separation notices.

He is calling upon Baptiste-Primus, as both the Line Minister for NEDCO and Minister of Labour, to explain just what assurances were made to these affected employees and further, to tell them when their outstanding remunerations and separation settlements were be paid.