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1. Part II (Invalidity benefit), Article 9, and Part III (Old-age benefit), Article 16, of the Convention. The Committee notes that for a number of years the Government's reports have not contained information on the number of persons covered by invalidity and old-age insurance (namely, all employees including apprentices, prescribed classes of the economically active population, or all residents or certain categories of residents, according to the formula selected by the Government). It is consequently not in a position to evaluate the extent to which effect is given to the above provisions of the Convention. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will not fail to supply in its next report the statistics requested on this subject under Articles 9 and 16 by the report form for this Convention.

2. Part V (Standards to be complied with by periodical payments). (a) Articles 26 or 27 (in relation with Articles 10 and 17). The Committee also requests the Government to supply in its next report the statistics requested in the report form for Article 26 or Article 27 (according to whether the Government wishes to use the formula set out in one or the other of these Articles) so that it is in a position to evaluate the extent to which the amounts of invalidity benefits and old-age benefits provided by the national insurance scheme attain the levels set out in the Convention.

(b) Article 29. The Committee notes with interest the information supplied in the report (which was received in 1987) concerning the readjustment of pensions in 1985 and 1986 and it would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply information of this nature in its future reports, in accordance with the requirements of the report form under Article 29.

3. Part III (Old-age benefit), Article 15, paragraph 3. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether there exists at the current time in Barbados work that is considered to be sufficiently arduous or unhealthy to justify, in accordance with the above provision of the Convention, a lowering of the pensionable age to under 65 years for persons engaged in such work. [The Government is asked to report in detail for the period ending 30 June 1989.]