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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/

The Government is seeking public-private partnership to close the soft skills gap that exists among the nation’s youth.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson, says the 2017 National Labour Market survey found that the skills gap was predominant among students leaving high school with no work experience.

She is imploring partnership with the Ministry as it seeks to close the gap in a bid to better prepare young people for the world of work and to improve productivity.

“The gap identified is that of soft skills and the lack thereof, with emphasis being placed on customer service and empathy,” she said, while addressing a ‘Labour Department and You’ roadshow, held recently at the Ocho Rios Baptist Church, St. Ann.

“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 pointed out.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Robinson said that the Ministry will continue to use its Labour Market Information System (LMIS) to better prepare young workers for the present and future demands of the job market.

“The Ministry’s LMIS website provides information about market data, which includes hot jobs, emerging and obsolete jobs, and seeks to provide information on possible scholarships and job opportunities. I say obsolete because some jobs are, in fact, disappearing as technology improves,” she noted.

In this regard, she underscored the need for Jamaicans to prepare themselves for the emerging marketplace and the emerging jobs.

Mrs. Robinson stressed that the world of work is changing at an alarming rate and “we have to keep abreast of it if we are going to make ourselves marketable and make ourselves investor-friendly as a country too”.

“As we continue [on] the trajectory of reducing youth unemployment, the Ministry will continue to work through our evidence-based programmes, such as the labour market information system… to prepare young workers for the present and future demands of the world of work,” she added.

She said that the Ministry plans to review the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the HEART Trust/NTA to meet the demands in the job market.

She noted, for example, that “we can’t find enough landscapers, not even for the local demand much less for the overseas demand. So, as jobs emerge and the market changes, we have to make ourselves relevant to that market”.

The roadshow was the second in the series being staged by the Ministry to address 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 island, are being staged in collaboration with the Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF) and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU).

The show will stop in 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/govt-seeking-partnerships-to-address-soft-skills-gap/

In response to reports of industrial action islandwide by the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPSCo) and workers affiliated to the Union of Clerical, Administrative and Supervisory Employees (UCASE), the Ministry of Labour and Social Security held an emergency conciliation meeting this morning.

Arising from the meeting, the parties have agreed that:

• Normalcy will be restored at the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited this evening, Tuesday, October 9, 2018 with the 8:00 p.m. shift.
• The Union and the Company will meet at the local level on Thursday, October 11, 2018 to have further discussions.

There will be a follow up conciliation meeting at the Ministry’s 1F North Street Office on October 16, 2018.

Employers, workers and self-employed persons are being reminded to contribute to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) as required by law.

The call was made by Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson, at the Caribbean Community of Retired Persons’ (CCRP) 2018 Living Legacy Awards luncheon held on Friday (September 28), at the Mona Visitors Lodge, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus.

She said that non-compliance is a major factor in the lack of growth in the number of contributors, despite increased employment levels.

Under the law, all persons age 18 years and older, who are gainfully employed and domiciled in Jamaica, should be insured under the NIS.

“The NIS is mandatory if you are working. There are provisions in the law to sanction employers and persons, who don’t contribute and I believe we (the government) may have to look at that to make sure that when these funds are taken from your salary that it is indeed paid over to the scheme,” she said.

Mrs. Robinson said every effort is being made to preserve the scheme, which was established 56 years ago.

“It was a brilliant idea and it has served the people of Jamaica well and we want to continue to build on that,” she said.

Meanwhile, she informed that the Ministry is taking steps to increase the number of NIS contributors.

These include increasing the monitoring of places of work to ensure that all eligible persons are registered; improving service to contributors/ pensioners; and developing public education and marketing campaigns to reach persons, including those, who are self-employed.

A survey of self-employed persons will be done during this financial year and the information, along with data from the NIS Awareness and Perception Survey will be used to inform the marketing campaign to increase compliance among this group.

Established in 2012, the annual CCRP Living Legacy Awards recognise senior citizens, 55 years or older, who have contributed to the growth and development of the country.

This year’s awards luncheon honoured four distinguished Jamaicans – founder and chairman of Cari-Med Limited and philanthropist, Glen Christian; founder of the Committee for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill (CUMI), Joy Crooks; medical doctor and philanthropist, Owen James; and educator, author and theatre practitioner, Dr. Jean Small.

Citations were read and plaques presented to each of the award recipients in honour of their contributions to national development.

Source: https://jis.gov.jm/nis-contribution-mandatory-for-employed-jamaicans/

The public is being invited to provide feedback and comments on the Green Paper for the revised National Policy for Senior Citizens, which is on the websites of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Jamaica Information Service (JIS).

Portfolio Minister, Hon. Shahine Robinson, issued the invitation during the launch of Senior Citizens’ Week on Friday, September 21, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

She said Parliament is expected to complete the review of the policy, which will allow for improved social protection measures for seniors, in the coming year.

The Minister said the policy will be the benchmark for establishing and maintaining a productive, healthy, meaningful environment for citizens, and it will redound to the benefit of seniors in an all-inclusive way.

“We are confronted with the challenges of an ageing population, which will constantly require the Government to create policies and programmes to cater to the needs of seniors,” she said.

The revised National Policy for Senior Citizens has established six major policy goals – increased participation of senior citizens in all spheres of the society; improved income security and social protection coverage for senior citizens; adequate and supportive health and welfare systems for senior citizens; improved independence, security and safety for senior citizens; enhanced family support systems and community solidarity from interaction with senior citizens; and strengthened institutional and infrastructural networks for partnership and collaboration.

Meanwhile, the Minister noted that the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) will, in the upcoming year, be establishing a national registry for senior citizens.

“This exercise will complement our efforts through the national policy in streamlining the agenda conducive to their growth and development,” she said.

Concurrent with that, she said the team is also seeking to strengthen generational connectivity, through sensitisation workshops with some 800 secondary and post-secondary students, on retirement and lifestyle planning.

Mrs. Robinson noted that the Council is working to promote active ageing through a range of activities, in particular through the training of 273 seniors over the past year in basic computer and information technology (IT) skills.

She said the NCSC also staged senior citizen entrepreneurial empowerment workshops across all parishes, to provide small business management skills to senior citizens.

Source: https://jis.gov.jm/comments-invited-on-green-paper-for-revised-policy-for-senior-citizens/

Comments are to be sent to seniorspolicy@mlss.gov.jm

Minister of Labour and Social Security Shahine Robinson is appealing to Jamaicans to unite in stamping out the abuse of senior citizens, warning that those who persist in taking advantage of this vulnerable group will face harsher sanctions.

“I appeal to all Jamaicans to report the abuse of elders to the police or to the council (National Council for Senior Citizens). Those of you who are engaged in it, I say to you, publicly, desist from doing so because if it means that stiffer penalties will have to be imposed as a deterrent, so shall it be,” she declared yesterday during the launch of Senior Citizens Week at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston.

The week, which runs from Sunday, September 23 to Monday, October 1 under the theme ‘Forging Our Future: Embracing the Participation, Contribution and Talents of Older Persons’ will see a number of activities across the island celebrating the rights as well as the contributions of senior citizens (person 60 years and older).

Promising that the pending revised national policy for senior citizens will provide improved social-protection measures, Robinson underscored the need for a greater appreciation of the work and worth of senior citizens.

REVISED NAT’L POLICY

“The prosperity, progress, growth, and gains we are enjoying today have been made possible through the tremendous efforts and sacrifices of our seniors and elders across the island. Therefore, as I launch activities marking Senior Citizens Week, I must remind all Jamaicans that the abuse of our elders is of great concern to all decent and law-abiding citizens,” said Robinson.

The minister offered further insight into provisions of the revised national senior policy, which was tabled in Parliament this year, the Green Paper for which is available on the ministry’s and the Jamaica Information Service’s websites for review and comments.

“This policy will be the benchmark for establishing and maintaining a productive, healthy, and meaningful environment for our senior citizens. It is anticipated that Parliament, in the coming year, will complete the review of the policy, which will allow for social-protection measures that will redound to the benefit of our senior citizens all over Jamaica.”

The national church service to mark the official start of the week is slated to get under way today at 11 o’clock at the Ocho Rios Seventh-day Adventist Church, Milford Road, St Ann.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20180922/stop-abusing-seniors-urges-labour-and-social-security-minister

Labour and Social Security Minister, Shahine Robinson, is encouraging Jamaicans to protect the elderly by reporting incidents of abuse meted out to them to the police or the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC).

The minister said abuse of seniors should be of grave concern to all “decent and law-abiding citizens”, noting that the practice must be stopped.

“No person in society should be subject to abuse, and definitely not our seniors who, because of their age, become vulnerable and are preyed upon by heartless and uncaring persons. They are being abused physically, financially and otherwise. This must stop,” she emphasised.

The minister was addressing the press launch for Senior Citizens Week yesterday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.

“[Seniors] must be respected and their rights must not be violated. Those of you who are engaged in it, I say to you desist from it, because if it means that civil penalties will have to be imposed as a deterrent, then so shall it be,” she asserted.

Robinson said the ministry is working towards building a Jamaica where healthy relationships are fostered among elders and all other citizens, leading to the transfer of knowledge which will serve to preserve the country’s legacy.

Senior Citizen’s Week is being observed from September 22 to October 1, under the theme: ‘Forging our Future: Embracing the Participation, Contribution and Talents of Older Persons’.

The schedule of activities kicked off with a national church service at the Ocho Rios Seventh Day Adventist Church in St Ann on Saturday, September 22.

A national tree planting ceremony will be held on Wednesday, September 26 at the Stimulation Child Development Centre at 1A Ostend Close in Kingston. All other parishes will conduct tree planting activities on Monday, September 24.

An evening of entertainment for the seniors is slated for Saturday, September 29, which will include a concert featuring reggae/soca band, Fab 5. This will be held at the Karram Speid Auditorium at Merl Grove High School, Constant Spring Road, St Andrew.

Sunday, September 30, will be observed as National Grandparents Day, while International Day for Older Persons will be marked on Monday, October 1.

The latter will see the National Council for Senior Citizens hosting fora on the rights of the elderly in all parishes.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Social_security_minister_urges_society_to_protect_the_elderly

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson, says the Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE) is positively impacting the lives of young jobseekers.

The ELE matches employers and jobseekers, and provides career counselling, résumé writing, and access to information on scholarships and loans.

“In recent times, we have been working with persons in the Zones of Special Operations (ZOSOs) by providing job-readiness training and employment placement. I have had the chance to see them as they visit our office, and I am proud to share that the programmes offered by the ELE have created a sense of hope for them and their families,” the Minister said.

She informed that officials from St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, and Grenada conducted a study tour of the programme earlier this month, to see whether it could be used as a model to address youth unemployment in their respective countries. The visit was funded by the Organization of American States (OAS).

Mrs. Robinson was speaking at the first in the series of ‘Labour and You’ roadshows on Wednesday (September 19) in Mandeville, Manchester.

The two-day event addressed issues related to industrial relations, the job market, occupational safety and health, efforts to eliminate child labour, as well as local and overseas employment programmes.

Minister Robinson, in her presentation, stressed the importance of improving skills and being prepared for the job market in an era when the notion of having one job over a lifetime is a thing of the past.

She noted that in order to ensure the greatest level of productivity over the 47 years of one’s working life, intervention programmes are needed to facilitate skilling, re-skilling and upskilling.

“Gone are the days that workers complete training which lasts a lifetime. With the rapid changes in the way we manage businesses and perform work, the skills learnt up to age 18 will become outdated by mid-career. To that end, the roadshows will be a vehicle for directing people to improving their skills,” she said.

The Minister, in the meantime, cautioned prospective jobseekers to be wary of unscrupulous persons, who will fleece them out of hard-earned money by offering them fake overseas employment opportunities.

She said that the Ministry has help desks and qualified officers, who can provide them with credible information about registered employment agencies.

Meanwhile, Director of Industrial Relations and Allied Services in the Ministry, Gillian Corrodus, said the roadshow, which will travel across the island, will address a number of critical issues related to the labour market, including the labour laws.

“When we look at the number of concerns and complaints that are shared with us by employers and employees, we recognise that we need to have greater dialogue,” she said.

“So the concept of this regional roadshow is to roll up our sleeves and speak to some of these issues to see if we can achieve growth and achieve our sustainable development goals,” Ms. Corrodus added.

Among the agencies of the Ministry represented were the Industrial Relations Department, Child Labour Unit, Electronic Labour Exchange, Employment Agencies Unit, Pay and Conditions of Employment Branch, Social Intervention Programme and the Occupational Safety and Health Department.

The roadshows, which will travel across the island, involve collaboration with the Jamaica Employers’ Federation and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions.

The show will next stop in St. Ann October 30 and 31; Kingston and St. Andrew, November 21 and 22; St. James, January 16 and 17; and St. Thomas, February 27 and 28.

Source: https://jis.gov.jm/young-jobseekers-benefiting-from-electronic-labour-exchange/