THE EDITOR, Sir:I AM sure that all NIS pensioners strongly support and are grateful to Mr. Beresford Hay for the 'Letter of the Day', published in your newspaper on June 5, 2003.
As a young Civil Servant learning to administer regulations, I was trained to acquire knowledge of what was referred to then, as the 'spirit' of a regulation, before attempting to submit a related recommendation.
The Ministry of Labour needs to tell the country what is the 'spirit' of this regulation that seeks to deprive the elderly (and frequently poor) of what they may have considered to be theirs by right. NIS deductions are compulsory. It would seem that full payment of NIS pension awards should be compulsory.
The 'efficiency' story reported to Mr. Hay as the reason for the imposition of the regulation does not ring true.
Leonardo Blair's front-page story in The Sunday Gleaner of June 8, 2003, reporting on employer non-compliance in annual returns and other issues, casts a more realistic light on the situation. It also throws up some good reasons for delays in submission of pension applications. Let us just think of a retired person who because of physical or other impairment is unable, and can find no one willing to do the necessary running around to gather the facts on contributions.
The compassionate and open-minded will easily realise that there are other sound reasons, too many to list, why a female over 65 or a male over 70 years of age may find it difficult to engage in the process of submitting the pension application. The poorer the circumstances the more difficult the situation may be. Despite this, there is, at present, no avenue of appeal.
Yes Mr. Hay, our legislators need to act quickly and with compassion.
I am, etc.,
DAVID A. REID
St. Catherine
