As the unemployment rate continues to rise, the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services is offering an array of social services to help the jobless get back on their feet. The services range from grants, temporary food cards and counselling, Minister of Social Development and Family Services Cherrie-Ann Crichlow-Cockburn said in an interview over the weekend.
Crichlow-Cockburn spoke about the services the unemployed can access through her ministry in the wake of Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus’ claim that approximately 5,000 people were thrown on the breadline in the last seven months.
Told that the projected figures of retrenchment were likely to reach more than 100,000 in the economic downturn, Crichlow-Cockburn said she did not think the figure would be that much.
“If we have 100,000 people, that translates into many families,” she said.
“We will do our best to try and accommodate everyone, even if it means having to get to private sector in terms of accessing counsellors out there. If it means that the ministry would have to utilise those services, that is something I would be prepared to take to Cabinet and get approval.”
In an interview on CNC3 on Thursday, Prof Karl Theodore, Director of the Centre for Health Economics at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, said the country should brace itself for more unemployment, which is expected to peak in about three years to about 15 per cent of the working population. Theodore, a member of the Government-appointed Economic Advisory Board, urged restraint on the expenditure of foreign reserves, noting that in the 1980’s recession the unemployment figure rose to 22 per cent.
But in addressing the concerns, Crichlow-Cockburn said her ministry had partnered with the Ministry of Labour to develop a mitigation plan to treat with individuals who were retrenched.
Although the ministry offers social programmes to help the vulnerable, disabled and elderly, she said they would try to encourage the jobless to access a $15,000 grant through the Sowing Empowerment Through Entrepreneurial Development (Seed) programme to help establish small businesses ventures like farming, hair-dressing and mini marts. To access the grant, she said applicants must send in a business proposal and legitimise the reasons for starting a business.
“You have to show that you cannot do it on your own and that you need financial assistance. It is very easy to access. We have been focusing and pushing on that. We have been trying to offer the grant to people whose living conditions are poor.”
Some of the areas they have targeted are Sangre Grande, Rio Claro and Mayaro.
Another area of assistance was through the distribution the Targeted Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, more commonly known as the food card. The minister said once a family’s disposable income is below $410 a month, they could be provided with a card which carries values between $410 to $700. For a person to qualify for the card they must provide information about their expenses and income. In the last seven months, Crichlow-Cockburn said the ministry had issued 3,049 cards, but she could not state how many were distributed to the unemployed.
She said the ministry is also working to provide counselling for retrenched workers.
“Sometimes it is very difficult for people to deal with this change that has taken place in their lives. We recognise that people who have lost their jobs would be looking for something else...to go into a small business and to get food for their families, she said.” Under the Family Services Unit, Crichlow-Cockburn said they would provide counselling to the unemployed and their families.
Tomorrow, the Labour Ministry will host a jobs expo at the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC) in Couva, where retrenched workers will get to meet employers who are seeking more staff.