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Labour and Social Security Minister Shahine Robinson has said that her ministry is committed to the swift implementation of the Disabilities Act, which was passed in 2014.

“The Government remains committed for the long term to guarantee full inclusion. Consequently, it has been working through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to ensure that persons with disabilities are constantly empowered,” Robinson said.

“We recognise, however, the need for strengthened capacity, and so the organisational review currently taking place will provide many of the solutions for the issues and challenges raised.”

‘I Am Able’ Campaign

The minister was speaking at the launch of a new comprehensive report on persons with disabilities on Monday, which was recognised as International Day for Persons with Disabilities. The ‘I am Able’ media campaign to promote the empowerment and inclusion of children with disabilities was also launched.

Robinson said that she has turned up the pressure on her team to get the required codes of practices in place.

“I have been pressing the entire team at the ministry to provide a timeline for when this is expected to be completed as implementation of the act is contingent on corresponding codes of practices, and I have been told that the code of practices will be ready early in the coming financial year,” she said.

The minister’s response came after a call by the Digicel Foundation, the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities, and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund for the full enforcement of the Disabilities Act and for greater inclusion of children with disabilities.

Digicel Foundation Chief Executive Officer Karlene Dawson said that more must be done.

“The Government has made significant strides in addressing the problems faced by persons living with disabilities. However, the country has to move swiftly to enact the Disabilities Act,” Dawson said.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20181206/interest-groups-call-full-implementation-disabilities-act

The Government is taking steps to amend the Minimum Wage Act to provide greater protection for workers.

The existing law, passed in 1938, provides for the payment of wages above or equal to, but not below a statutory level for certain types of work.

It also establishes a Minimum Wage Advisory Commission and the appointment of officers to inspect records to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act.

State Minister for Labour and Social Security, Zavia Mayne, said that the amendments to be undertaken reflect concerns expressed by workers, and are in keeping with international labour conventions.

Mayne, who was addressing the ministry’s ‘Labour Department and You Road Show’ held recently at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston, said the changes will ensure greater protection for employees.

He argued that when workers feel protected, they are motivated, which can lead to greater levels of efficiency and productivity.

He noted that the amendments are not meant to cause inconvenience to employers, and assured that the ministry will “seek to provide you with as much assistance and guidance with the laws as they will be in a short time”.

Meanwhile, Mayne commended the trade union representatives who attended the two-day roadshow.

“I applaud you for your active social dialogue in resolving employment matters and helping us to maintain a harmonious industrial climate,” he said.

The highly interactive events, which are being held across the island, seek to raise awareness about how the public can access the services of the Labour Department.

The events target jobseekers, workers and employers, as well as union representatives, for discussion on a range of issues, including industrial relations, occupational safety and health, efforts to eliminate child labour, the roles and functions of registered employment agencies as well as the local and overseas employment programmes.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/_Gov%26%238217;t_amending_Minimum_Wage_Act?profile=1228

The Codes of Practice to protect persons with disabilities are to be completed in the upcoming 2019/2020 financial year.

Meanwhile, the Disability Regulations are to be completed by the end of December.

This was noted by Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson, at the launch of a ‘Situational Analysis of Persons with Disabilities’ report, on Monday (December 3), at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston.

The launch was held as part of the commemorative activities for the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), observed annually on December 3. The theme for this year was ‘Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality’.

Minister Robinson said the Ministry is working assiduously to ensure that the codes are completed as quickly as possible, as implementation of the Disabilities Act is contingent on the corresponding codes of practice.

“Going forward, the Ministry is dedicated to implementation of the Disabilities Act. The codes of practice currently being drafted will provide practical guidance to our stakeholders in education, training and empowerment on how to ensure inclusion of persons with disabilities,” Mrs. Robinson said.

She encouraged members of the private and public sectors, as well as civil society, to be “more deliberate in engaging the community of persons with disabilities”.

“The Government remains committed for the long term to guarantee full inclusion. Consequently, it has been working through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to ensure that persons with disabilities are constantly empowered. We recognise, however, the need for strengthened capacity, and so the organisational review currently taking place will provide many of the solutions to the issues and challenges raised in the situational analysis,” she noted.

The codes and regulations follow the passage of the Disabilities Act in 2014 and will set the minimum standards on how the public is to interact with persons with disabilities (PWDs).

They will also guide the participation of PWDs in society and will state the penalties for discrimination.

Also launched at the event was the ‘I Am Able’ disability awareness media campaign, which seeks to promote the empowerment and inclusion of children with disabilities.

The report and the campaign are the main outcomes of a two-year partnership between the Ministry and Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), which began in 2017.

The main purpose of the report is to provide evidence-based recommendations for the implementation of the Disabilities Act, which was passed in 2014, but is yet to be fully enforced.

It underscores that persons with disabilities are often overlooked and marginalised, and tend to face discrimination and social exclusion.

The initiatives are being spearheaded by the JCPD, in partnership with Digicel Foundation and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Source: https://jis.gov.jm/codes-of-practice-to-protect-persons-with-disabilities-2/

The Government is developing a National Action Plan to transition household workers and fisherfolk to the formal economy.

The initiative is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, through support from the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Recently, a two-day consultative workshop was held at the Ministry’s North Street offices in Kingston, aimed at garnering the input of various stakeholders towards the development of the action plan.

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Shahine Robinson, in her remarks at the event, noted that the value of work performed in the informal economy is well established.

She said that in moving to formalise work arrangements in the fisheries and domestic work sectors, “careful investigations must be done to establish the factors that drive informality”.

“We recognise that the two sectors are unique and that any strategy designed will need to reflect the differences and intricacies that characterise them. Such strategies must take into account our fiscal and cultural realities and be grounded in genuine consultation and social dialogue,” she noted.

The workshop, part of a series titled ‘Transitioning from Informality to Formality’, follows on a development cooperation pilot project carried out in collaboration with the ILO, during 2015-2016, aimed at facilitating transition to formality in Granville and Garland/Horseguard Districts, St. James.

“We saw these workers develop as they learnt to better organise themselves, forming cooperatives, which served to further their interests,” Mrs. Robinson said in noting the success of the pilot project.

“They learnt how to register their businesses, allowing them access to credit and to take advantage of other opportunities not available to them before formalisation,” she added.

Source: https://jis.gov.jm/govt-developing-action-to-formalize-household-workers-and-fisherfolk/

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security wishes to advise the public that a false and erroneous message is being circulated on social media, in relation to workers who worked between 1990-2018 having rights to monetary benefits from the Ministry’s Department of Labour. The public is being advised to discontinue the sharing of this message as it is a hoax.

The message being circulated did not originate from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

Employers and workers are being encouraged to educate themselves about the country’s labour laws in order to facilitate smooth negotiations in settling disputes.

The call came from State Minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Zavia Mayne, in his address at the Kingston leg of the ‘Labour Department and You’ road show at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston on Thursday (November 22).

“As we continue to have (bitter) labour disputes, we recognise that the majority of these cases could have been resolved at the organisational level if the parties had a better understanding of our labour laws,” he noted.

“Be proactive rather than being reactive and then finding that you are in breach of our labour laws… A better understanding of our labour legislation will also lead to a more productive and profitable organisation,” he added.

Mr. Mayne said the ‘Labour Department and You’ road show, which is being staged by the Ministry across the island, seeks to promote greater awareness among employers and workers about their rights.

Under the Labour Relations Code, employers should provide clear, comprehensive and non-discriminatory employment policies. Also, policies should address social welfare services such as medical care, canteens, pension, a well as occupational safety and health.

Some responsibilities of the workers are that they familiarise themselves with the terms of contract and perform contracted service to the best of their ability.

The road show, held over two days, addressed issues related to the job market, industrial relations, occupational safety and health, efforts to eliminate child labour, as well as local and overseas employment programmes.

The next stops are St. James, January 16 and 17; and St. Thomas, February 27 and 28.

The series of education and sensitisation fora involve collaboration with the Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF) and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU).

Source: https://jis.gov.jm/employers-workers-encourage-to-increase-knowledge-about-labor-laws/

The Occupational Safety and Health Bill (2017) is now before a Joint Select Committee of Parliament, with the first meeting held on Wednesday, November 21, 2018. The OSH Bill is intended to repeal the Factories Act (1943), which is limited in scope and excludes vital sectors, such as the financial sector, shops and offices, agriculture and the public sector.

Speaking at the Joint Select Committee, Minister of State, Zavia Mayne said, “ILO standards on occupational safety and health provide essential tools for governments, employers and workers to establish practices that ensure safety at work.” He further informed that according to the ILO, “approximately 2.3 million people die every year at work from an occupational injury or disease.”

The introduction of the OSH Bill in Jamaica is expected to usher in a new paradigm in work place Safety and Health.

The Government is pushing to improve administrative efficiency and reduce the costs associated with the disbursement of funds to beneficiaries of the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).

The Government is also aiming to ensure greater accessibility and ease of collecting benefits for beneficiary families under PATH, according to a Request for Expression of Interest in the Sunday newspapers.

To this end, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security,  which has responsibility for the PATH, is seeking the services of a firm, company or institution to provide automated or electronic transfer payments to PATH beneficiary families every two months.  PATH families which receive the special benefit under the social security net, number 128,000.

The Ministry said the chosen service provider must demonstrate the following:

• The ability of the product/service to be utilised by a large number of beneficiaries especially in rural areas including those that are elderly or have a disability.
• The availability and accessibility of the product/service island-wide.
• Merchant reach and ability.
• The ability of the service provider to recall funds from beneficiary accounts and return it to the Ministry based on the instruction.
• The ability of the service provider to disburse payments immediately on receipt of funds from the Ministry.
• Beneficiaries will not be subject to any fees for registration or transactions completed.
• Available customer service that is accessible on a 24-hour basis.
• There are more than 300,000 Jamaicans enrolled under the PATH.

Source: http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/govt-wants-automated-service-provider-path-disbursements

In a time when various communities are under zones of special operations or state of emergency, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS), through its Electronic Labour Exchange team – a part of the Ministry’s Labour Market Information System – has been implementing life skills and career development training for youth in these and surrounding areas in Kingston and St. Ann.

During October and November, young people from communities within these parishes, between the ages of 18 and 29, were invited to participate in three-day workshops focused on improving soft skills. They were exposed to areas such as work ethics, job interview skills, building self-confidence and developing positive social skills. Following the intense workshops, the ministry also hosted mini job fairs with partner companies that exposed the youth to interviews and possible on-site hiring.

According to Gillian Corrodus, director of industrial relations & allied services, MLSS, “We at the ministry can understand the frustration of these youth – they want to work and they are willing to seek the opportunities. Through our partnership with New Opportunities for Youth Jamaica, our team has gained training in Passport to Success life skills, job-placement services, teaching strategies and career guidance services. Our team is excited to implement what they have learnt, and when they do, they can see the impact the workshops have on the confidence and willingness of these youngsters. We decided to take it a step further and offer job fairs with our partners and stakeholders, giving them direct access to gainful employment, or the experience of one on one interviews.”

Leaders in education, business, and government agree that ‘soft skills’ training is one of the missing links contributing to today’s talent gap. However, such programming is often scattered, insufficient or non-existent, leaving too many young people unprepared to get and keep a job.

Speaking at the ministry’s roadshow, titled ‘The Labour Department and You’, Shahine Robinson, minister of labour and social security, highlighted the importance of soft skills in today’s youth. “The gap identified is that of soft skills and the lack thereof, with emphasis being placed on customer service and empathy,” stated Robinson.

“I want to tell you that the soft skills are the personal attributes – personality traits, inherent social cues and communication skills needed for success on the job. Soft skills include possessing a good attitude, the use of initiative, creative thinking, teamwork, decision-making, good work ethics, networking, positivity, time management, motivation, flexibility, problem-solving and conflict resolution,” she further added.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20181113/ministry-invests-unattached-youth

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security is working collaboratively with the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) to tackle child labour at the community level.

“We will be having a community-level intervention to encourage behaviour change, based on the data revealed in the recent Youth Activity Survey,” said portfolio Minister, Hon. Shahine Robinson.

“This project will also extend to the training of labour officers and law-enforcement officers,” she added. 

She was speaking at the Ministry’s ‘Labour Department and You’ roadshow held at the Ocho Rios Baptist Church on Tuesday (October 30).

The Jamaica Youth Activity Survey 2016 revealed that approximately 38,000 children between five and 17 years old are engaged in child labour.

“That is 5.7 per cent of the country’s children population… the Jamaican public needs to be aware of what is happening in our own backyard, so when we say ‘no to child labour’, we all say it with meaning and determination to eradicate it from our shores,” Mrs. Robinson said.

She said that the Government is determined to eliminate child labour in Jamaica and has made great strides in this regard.

She noted that the partnership forged with the United States (US) Department of Labour’s WINROCK International CLEAR II project and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to tackle the scourge has been reaping success.

“We recently benefited from regional training held here in Jamaica, and that included The Bahamas, Guyana, and Barbados,” she said. 

In her remarks, Country Coordinator for the WINROCK International CLEAR II project, Cheryl Ivey, said that the organisation continues to assist with strengthening Government’s policies and legislation that seek to address child labour issues in Jamaica.

“We also are looking at the development of a national action plan on child labour. This is going to be like a strategic plan for child labour, where all our partners will know their role and function and who needs to collaborate with whom and how do we handle the cases,” she noted.

The ‘Labour Department and You’ roadshow, held over two days, addressed issues related to the job market, industrial relations, occupational safety and health, efforts to eliminate child labour, as well as local and overseas employment programmes.

The roadshows, which will travel across the islands, are being staged in collaboration with the Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF) and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU).

The next stops are Kingston and St. Andrew on November 21 and 22; St. James, January 16 and 17; and St. Thomas, February 27 and 28.

Source: https://jis.gov.jm/project-to-tackle-child-labour-at-the-community-level/