Workers must be paid ahead of all other creditors when companies collapse, Prime Minister Mia Mottley told Parliament on Tuesday, as she defended new legislation aimed at ensuring wages owed are settled promptly even in insolvency.

Mottley said the Protection of Wages Bill, which went before the House of Assembly for its second reading, reinforces workers’ right to receive wages and other payments owed to them, even when a company closes, becomes insolvent or enters bankruptcy.

The legislation is the latest in a suite of Mottley administration bills intended to strengthen protections for employees and ensure that wages are treated as a legal obligation rather than a discretionary payment.