Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan has admitted that an earlier announcement about plans to halve the monthly $1,500 tourism stipend in November and December had been a “scare tactic” to try to get displaced tourism workers to start looking for jobs.
Speaking on Radio Cayman’s ‘For The Record’ Monday morning, Bryan said the stipend originally had been put in place to protect and provide financial aid to people who were left without work when the borders closed last year.
He said that research had shown that, in Cayman and internationally, people receiving financial assistance were reluctant to “go find work”.
Currently, the government and its Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman (WORC) are running a campaign for displaced employees who are receiving the stipend to register with WORC to be placed in jobs in the tourism industry. The campaign aims to match those who have signed up with WORC with jobs listed by members of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association.
Earlier this month, Bryan announced that it was mandatory for all stipend recipients to register with WORC. Of the 3,396 people receiving the stipend, as of 25 Aug., 1,075 had failed to sign up with the agency, the minister noted at a press briefing last week.
After government extended a new invitation for people who had missed earlier chances to apply for the stipend, another 442 people applied for it and those are being processed. Those new recipients will also be required to register with WORC.
On the radio...
Read Full Story: https://www.caymancompass.com/2021/08/30/tourism-minister-stipend-reduction-plan-was-scare-tactic/
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