Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit is supporting the Dominica Social Security (DSS) for a $17.5 million temporary benefit for unemployed citizens. He said the government has earmarked $9.5 million which will be added to the Social Security fund set aside for payment relief for poor people. The fund will help poor members of the public adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The DSS said it initiated the idea for the temporary unemployment benefits which the prime minister has sanctioned. DSS director Janice Jean Jacques-Thomas said the agency floated the idea to help members who have suffered loss of incomes as a result of the pandemic.
“The Dominica Social Security, as the major pillar of Dominica’s social protection mechanism and like almost all other social security systems within CARICOM, felt it necessary to take action to recommend a measure that would provide a level of income relief to insured persons who have been displaced from work…due to the coronavirus,” Jean Jacques-Thomas said.
Jacques-Thomas credited the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the law firm Morneau Shepell with the advice to introduce unemployment benefits to the poor populace. According to her, ILO made it clear that it is possible to access and distribute needed funding without resorting to contributions.
“Dominica Social Security received support and advice on how this could be accomplished without jeopardizing the sustainability of the fund,” she said.
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