Across Barbados, more than 900 temporary workers who served as invigilators, supervisors and examiners for this year’s May-June CXC examinations – including the CSEC and CAPE assessments – are still waiting for their earned compensation. The country’s Ministry of Education Transformation has confirmed that while initial payments have already been disbursed, a full verification and auditing process is required before all funds can be released, setting a mid-September deadline for settling all confirmed, error-free claims.
Permanent Secretary Kim Belle, in an exclusive interview with Barbados TODAY, outlined the complexities behind the delayed payments. She explained that the 900-plus claims do not translate to one claim per worker, as many individual invigilators submitted multiple claims for different exam sessions they oversaw. Claims begin flowing into the ministry in July immediately after the conclusion of the exam period, but automatic payment is not possible: every submission must be cross-checked and audited to ensure the amount requested matches the actual hours worked and services rendered.
“Processing doesn’t stop when a claim is submitted,” Belle noted. “We have to review every line to make sure we’re paying the correct amount for the work that was actually done. Only after that verification is complete can we move forward with disbursement.”
While all verified, “clean” claims are on track to be settled by mid-September, a share of submissions contain discrepancies that will extend processing times, potentially into November in the most complex cases. The most common discrepancy involves mismatches between the work hours invigilators reported on their claim forms and the hours logged by senior exam supervisors. Resolving these issues requires reaching out to individual workers for additional confirmation, a process that can involve multiple rounds of back-and-forth communication.
New invigilators face additional delays for a separate reason: the ministry must first create a new profile for them in its central accounting system before any payment can be processed, adding an extra step that established workers already in the system do not require.
For many of the unpaid workers, most of whom are unemployed people relying on this seasonal exam work to cover basic living costs, the delay has created significant financial strain ahead of the new academic year. One unpaid invigilator, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed deep frustration with the ongoing holdup and lack of clear communication from authorities.
“We unemployed people worked all through May and June for these exams, and we still haven’t seen a cent,” the worker said. “Every time we call the ministry or the CXC council, we just get another excuse. We have school supplies and new uniforms to buy for our kids, household bills to cover – what are we supposed to do? The people who process these payments get their full salaries every month, but we check our bank accounts over and over for money that never comes.”
Belle pushed back on the timeline for the most extreme cases, emphasizing that November only represents a worst-case scenario for disputed claims, and she remains confident that the vast majority of payments will be finalized far earlier. “For the most part, these payments should be completed very soon,” Belle said. “I really don’t want us to have to go all the way to November. Right now, we’re on track to wrap up all confirmed claims by mid-September as planned.”