ILO | Social Protection Platform

Situation and Priorities

Social protection situation

Social insurance is relatively well developed in Barbados, covering all social security branches and having a coverage rate of over 90% of the labour force. Universal health care is available for all residents through public provision. Social assistance schemes to address poverty are fragmented and have limited coverage due to budget cuts. The National Assistance Programme covers the largest number of people, providing 4980 households with cash transfers, and 6600 households with in-kind transfers (food, clothing, funeral costs etc.) with a focus on children, the unemployed, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.

Overall, the social protection system faces challenges in terms of design, coverage, and governance, particularly in light of potential climate-related events. This severely limits the ability of the system and in particular the main national assistance programme to respond to shocks and face sudden increases in beneficiaries.

COVID-19 and other crises

The government of Barbados responded to the effects of COVID-19 with a range of measures, including:

A Household Survival Programme for 1500 households who had no income due to COVID. This BBD $20 million(US$10 million) programme provided up to BBD$300(US$150) per month for six months.
A 40% increase in all social assistance rates and fees paid, for a total cost of BBD $10 million. (US$5 million)
Employers’ social security contributions were deferred for 3 months for those keeping at least 2/3rds of their employees. A BBD $20 million(US$10 million) Small Business Wage Fund was also set up to contribute to workers’ wages.
Unemployment benefits were extended to the self-employed, paying BBD $1500(US$750) for the months of April and May.

Visit the Social Protection COVID-19 Monitor

Government and social partner priorities

Barbados has experienced low and negative real economic growth since the 2008 financial and economic crisis. This is reflected in large fiscal deficits and increasing public debt - the highest in the region at 144.7% of GDP at the close of 2017. Poverty levels have been on the rise since 2010, with one in four persons living in poverty. In 2018, the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) Programme was introduced to reduce expenditure, raise revenues, and help the country to get out of its current situation. During this process, the aim of the government has been to protect the most vulnerable. In this regard, the Government’s priorities are to:

Maintain adequate social & infrastructure spending through the BERT.
Establish a social protection floor by modernizing legislative framework & improving the coherence of system.