Published 24th July 2012, 12:58pm

Employees can now report infractions by their employers to a telephone hotline/tipline at the Department of Labour and Pensions. The Department has installed a new telephone “hotline/tipline”, for the purpose of receiving confidential information on Labour or Pension laws violations.

The number is 945-3073. It can also be accessed directly from the Department’s switchboard/main number which is tel. 945-8960.

Messages left on the new hotline/tipline will be checked daily by ONLY the Director or the Deputy Director, and will be handled in strict confidence.

The creation of the hotline/tipline is consistent with recommendations by the Office of the Complaints Commissioner. It is also intended to demonstrate the Department’s commitment to public service, and, as well as to complement the new National Pensions Bill which encourages the provision of information from the workplace.

Commenting on this addition to the services that his department provides, Director of Labour & Pensions Mr. Mario Ebanks says: “The Department’s Vision and Mission calls for us to support excellence in employer-employee relations, and to operate in a prompt, fair and impartial manner and with the highest integrity.”

He continued, “Accordingly, the Department seeks to engage all stakeholders and be a friend to the business community, while at the same time being a staunch advocate and protector of the rights of employees. This new Hotline is therefore an excellent tool to promote tranquillity and productivity in the workplace”.

The Department of Labour and Pensions is now located on the 2nd floor of Mid-Town Plaza on Elgin Avenue and is open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday; telephone: 945-8960, fax: 945-8961, confidential hotline for labour and pensions complaints: 945-3073.

(GIS)