In an interview with local newspaper the Daily Herald, Mr Willemsberg, who represented the Netherland Antilles at the 16th annual International Social Security Association conference in Tortola, British Virgin Islands earlier this month, noted that unemployment insurance systems are in place in many English-speaking Caribbean territories, and added that the idea has been extensively talked about in the Antillean islands.

“Looking at the situation in the Netherlands Antilles right now it is something that we can think about, but we have to weigh the consequences, because it will anticipate another premium that would have to be collected and people don’t like to hear talk about increases in premiums," Mr Willemsberg stated.

He added that:

"For such system to work there is need for a controlled mechanism to ensure that people won’t sit and collect this benefit and not look for a job. Barbados noticed in the last few years that in 95 per cent of the cases the workers collected the benefit for the entire 12-week period."

“One of the advices coming out of the conference is that in principle it is better to make the insurance mandatory, because when it is voluntary people will only make use of it when they need it. It has been proven that when it is voluntary, the system goes broke on a regular basis.”

Participants at the conference also discussed the idea of national insurance, with Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and St. Lucia all considering the introduction of some form of national insurance scheme.

“The Netherlands Antilles has an insurance that is similar to national insurance, as we cover not only employees, but their families as well," observed Mr Willemsberg.

“It is important that we exchange ideas and experiences on our respective social security systems. In the Antilles ours is a bit different from other countries," he told the Herald.