The Tribune

By NATARIO MCKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A TRADES union leader and attorney has reiterated calls for Bahamas-based companies to be mandated to establish a redundancy fund.

Obie Ferguson, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) president and leading labour attorney, said that such a fund would ensure that workers could collect basic pay for a period in the event a company goes ‘belly up’.

“Over the last 10 years, I have asks successive governments to put in place a redundancy fund for workers. I asked them for that because when these companies go belly up and they simply pick up and leave, it is the workers who are left with nothing. They are the ones who are left at a significant disadvantage,” said Mr Ferguson.

“What we suggest is that while they are functioning they should be required to pay a certain amount of money into a fund so that when they leave and in the event they file for bankruptcy the worker can go and collect basic pay at least for a period.”

Mr Ferguson said that such a fund would not represent an unsustainable burden to employers and should be able to earn interest, potentially reduce the burden of future payouts on employers.