Labour law tension Trade unionist pushes back as business leaders call for reform, citing burden on small businesses

WESTERN BUREAU: 

Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) President Jason Russell is pushing for changes to Jamaica’s labour laws, arguing that some regulations are too rigid for small businesses and place an unfair burden on micro and small operators.

Russell, who was re-elected unopposed on Wednesday night to serve a second term as MBCCI president, said labour-law reform would be among the key issues his administration intends to champion over the next year.

“We would like to balance the labour laws a little bit better. We find that they’re favouring the employee a little bit more than it should, and that’s something we really want to tackle this year,” Russell told The Gleaner.

According to Russell, many small businesses lack the financial and administrative resources needed to fully comply with some employment regulations.

“We find that for small business, especially micro business, it’s hard to adhere to all the aspects of the labour law,” he said, pointing specifically to employee termination and redundancy procedures, which he argued could become costly and complicated for smaller operators.

Russell suggested that Jamaica’s labour framework should be tiered based on the size of a business.

“I think, just off the bat, they should be tiered,” said Russell, while describing the current requirements as “a little bit heavy and a little burdensome”.

President of the Small Business Association of Jamaica, Garnet Reid, supported Russell’s position, arguing that existing legislation placed excessive pressure on small and micro enterprises.

He said the Government should pursue reforms that make it easier for small businesses to survive and grow.

Business groups have long argued that some labour provisions can place severe financial strain on smaller enterprises, especially during economic downturns. Labour advocates, however, insist that the laws are necessary to protect workers from exploitation and arbitrary dismissal.

Russell said his administration would also focus on strengthening ties between the Government and private sector while monitoring major development projects expected to influence business growth in Montego Bay.

But Khurt Fletcher, island supervisor for the National Workers’ Union (NWU), strongly rejected calls for changes to the labour laws.

“I disagree with him that it favours anybody, whether it be small, medium size, or favours the big companies,” said Fletcher. “What it does, it protects the worker in a way that is congruent with the law, that says work is not a commodity, and it is a social right that must be exercised with diligence that you must try to protect the worker at all times.

“So, whether or not it’s a big company, a small or medium-size company, the worker is still the worker,” he added.

Fletcher also dismissed suggestions that smaller businesses should receive exemptions from labour rules governing redundancy and dismissals.

“Workers are not chattel,” he argued. “That, notwithstanding the employment being in a small environment, medium size, it’s still work, and it’s still an individual and a human being.”

Under Jamaica’s Employment (Termination and Redundancy Payments) Act, employees who have worked continuously for at least 104 weeks are generally entitled to redundancy compensation if their jobs are eliminated because of restructuring, downsizing, or business closure. 

Fletcher argued that those protections remained critical in a country where many workers already face low wages and economic uncertainty.

“When the times are good and they are making profits, nobody complains about it,” he said. “But when the time gets a little rocky, the first thing that they do is to discard labour, and this (the labour laws) is a social protection for workers.” 

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com