E. Elpedio Robinson | The conundrum of flexi-work week

On Monday, April 2, 2018, The Gleaner carried an article titled 'Sabbath Agony', highlighting the difficulty Seventh-day worshippers are having obtaining and keeping jobs, supposedly on account of their faith, which forbids them to work on Saturdays.

In response to that article, Mr Howard Mitchell, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, threatens expulsion from the group if any of its members is found culpable of discrimination on the basis of religious conviction (The Gleaner, April 3, 2018).

I, too, am against any such discrimination, but I would like to take a more sang-froid approach and look at the issue a little deeper.

Having a right is one thing; exercising it is another. In order for all to exercise their rights without negatively impacting harmony, there must be reasonableness and considerateness. Hence, the exercise of one person's right should not result in the forced alteration or suppression of another's.

SUITABLE QUALIFICATION AND AVAILABILITY

A person, indeed, has an inalienable right to religious choice. However, the right to gainful employment is predicated on suitable qualification and availability to perform a given task or function at a given time.

It follows that if a business' ability to accomplish its production targets and expected profitability, to which he/she has a right, is based, to some extent, on working on a certain day, cannot be forced to alter its operation just to accommodate a person who refuses to work on said day because of his/her religious conviction.

The burden of choice in this matter should not be borne by the employer(s) but rather by the religious adherent(s).

The Flexi-Week Law was introduced in 2014 not to facilitate Christians but everyone who wishes to avail him/herself of it. Also, the passing of the law does not obligate every organisation to implement it. I dare say, not all organisations can function efficiently and profitably on a variable work schedule and, therefore, would stick to the traditional nine-to-five workweek. In such an instance, Saturdays and Sundays would attract a premium rate.

This rate, I posit, is not to lure Christians from their faith, as suggested by one Seventh-day worshipper. Rather, it is paid to entice workers who would normally not work on those days. The implementation of a variable work schedule is based on type and size of organisation.

A small organisation that has a small cadre of staff, which is required at all times to carry out its function, would be hardpressed to implement flexi-work week.