The 2026 Redundancy and Severance Bill is heading for a final vote, promising the most significant shift in labour laws in 40 years.
The news legislation elevates severance to a first class debt—meaning workers are paid before banks if a company fails.
“This Bill ensures that future workers, regardless of sector or background strength, are protected not by circumstances, but by law…it treats protection as rights rather than charity,” said Labor Minister Senator Leroy Baptiste.
It also set s strict ninety-day limit on temporary layoffs and extends protection to job loses caused by AI and automation.
Senator Baptiste said that while the law provides protection, it is dynamic in its scope.
“Protection, however, must not be conflated with rigidity. Our objection is balance—to ensure that economic adjustment can occur where necessary while safeguarding the dignity and legitimate expectations of workers,” he said.
The Bill was debated in the Senate on 24 April.
