Caroni monthly-paid workers receive half VSEP

Former monthly-paid employees at the now defunct Caroni (1975) Limited began receiving their Voluntary Separation of Employment Package (VSEP) cheques at the company’s section offices yesterday. However, a delay in processing workers’ income tax applications by the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) saw employees receiving only 50 percent of their VSEP payments.

According to a company official, the BIR had requested that all employees submit updated tax returns for processing, including for the 2002 financial year. And that due to the “sheer volume” of tax return forms, the BIR was not able to complete the processing of returns before the cut-off date for payment of the VSEP cheques. However, he pointed out that the process would be completed by early this week with employees receiving the remaining payments by next Thursday.

Meanwhile, Association of Technical Administrative and Supervisory Staff spokesperson, Jai Ramkissoon, said the entire exercise was proceeding “fairly smoothly” and that former staff members, numbering in excess of 1,000 persons, had been advised to visit the company’s section offices to collect their cheques. Ramkissoon also revealed that “certain adjustments” to the staff’s pension plan had been agreed to by the company’s board following a meeting on Thursday evening. Government has allocated an estimated $800 million to cover Caroni’s VSEP programme.