Andrew Green, Staff ReporterTHE EMPLOYMENT (Termin-ation & Redundancy Payment) Act as it is presently structured, does not function in the interest of Jamaica, says Robert Baugh, an industrial relations consultant.
The law has sparked controversy recently, with Sameer Younis, chairman of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce Civic Affairs/Inner-city Development Committee, calling for its amendment.
Danny Roberts, vice-president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), while warning against any attempt to remove workers' rights, said that he was in support of reviewing existing labour legislation, to make them more adaptable to the labour market.
FUNDAMENTALLY BAD
The law is "fundamentally bad," Mr. Baugh said. And Jamaican managers have made it worse, in some cases, to enhance their own interests.
The consultant was addressing a Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF) seminar at its New Kingston office on Wednesday.
The law states that workers can only be laid off for 120 days, but in the event of a catastrophe, it might take much longer to put a business back in operation, he said. The law should encourage businesses to put people back to work rather than force them to make payments which could end the possibility of restarting operations.
What has created an even
bigger problem is that, "We have
opted to expand the provision of the law beyond all recognition," Mr. Baugh said.
"Over the years a number of organisations have gone and done so and today it is coming back to haunt us," said Herbert Lewis, president of the JEF. And many of the regulations are not properly written, so the interpretation is very difficult.
"We say employees with over 20 years service are entitled to six weeks pay for each year of service," Mr. Baugh said. This is partly because such a rule can also serve the interests of managers.
Some supervisors will 'push' the people they supervise, because they are also unionised, Mr. Lewis said.
They use what happens to people they supervise as a base for their own negotiation. If the workers are going to get six weeks pay for each year of service, then managers expect their company to consider them for eight, Mr. Baugh said.
The cost of such actions got out of hand over 20 years ago, the consultant said. "Employers kept topping up the wages and saying we have cheap wages in Jamaica."
NO STUDY WAS DONE
But no study was done to put a cost on the allowances for uniforms, meals, laundry, scholarships and grooming and then compare that with what was offered by our trading partners, he said. A study he conducted of one major agro-industrial company showed that its workers got 60 per cent less per hour than their direct competitors in South Carolina. When the different benefits were added on to the basic pay package however, it was determined that the Jamaican workers were being paid twice as much as those in South Carolina, Mr. Baugh said. Competitor companies in Trinidad do not have to make National Housing Trust contributions, Mr. Baugh said. Neither do they pay an Education Tax or make HEART Trust contributions.
As a result of the financial burden placed on companies, "a lot of employers are getting around the law by creating fictitious situations," Mr. Baugh said. "This is what people have been forced to resort to," to keep their costs under control.
"There are ways and means of getting around the bits and pieces of legislation," Mr. Lewis said. But employers have a responsibility to treat workers responsibly. "If you are going to get the best from your organisation, you are going to have to treat employees fairly, justly and honestly."
