PNP promises crackdown on contract work abuse if elected

WESTERN BUREAU:

Wavel Hinds, the opposition’s spokesman on labour and sport, has vowed that should the People’s National Party (PNP) form the next government, there will be a crackdown on contract work abuse, which he says is hurting the nation’s most vulnerable workers.

Hinds, who was speaking at a PNP town hall meeting in Montego Bay recently, described the widespread practice of keeping workers on rolling short-term contracts as a “silent crisis” affecting scores of Jamaicans across various sectors, including security, education, and healthcare.

“In many industries, workers are hired on short-term contracts, often renewed repeatedly. These workers are doing the same jobs year after year, but because they are classified as temporary, they are denied the benefits, security, and rights that permanent employees are entitled to,” said Hinds.

According to Hinds, the current contract employment system is being used to sidestep obligations to workers, exposing them to exploitation and robbing them of long-term job security.

“It creates a situation where workers are vulnerable to abuse. It is unacceptable for workers to be subjected to unfair working conditions simply because of how their contracts are structured,” he continued.

“We stand by the principle that work is not a commodity; workers must be treated with dignity and be provided with security in their employment,” Hinds added.

PLANS

According to Hinds, should the PNP be successful in the impending general election, which is due by September, it will prepare and table legislation that will place firm limits on the use of fixed-term contracts.

Hinds further stated that the proposed law for contractual work will define the permissible scope and duration of such contracts and stipulate that repeated renewals would trigger automatic reclassification to permanent status.

“The PNP will introduce and pass legislation to regulate contract work in Jamaica; the law will limit the duration of and scope of short-term contracts and ensure that repeated renewals will trigger automatic reclassification to permanent status, thereby providing workers with job security and access to the benefits they deserve,” he said.

In a 2022 case involving the National Housing Trust and Marksman Limited, the Supreme Court ruled that the security guards were not independent contractors but instead employees entitled to all attendant benefits.

Following that court ruling, the government, which has more than 500 contracts for security services across ministries, departments, and agencies, decided that it would only engage the services of security companies that adhere to the Supreme Court ruling.

Besides the security industry, contract work is also widespread across government ministries, agencies, and municipal corporations. Large numbers of Jamaicans working in hospitality and tourism, construction, the media and creative industries, and the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector are similarly affected.

In many cases, the affected workers perform the same duties as their permanently employed counterparts but are denied access to full employment benefits such as health coverage, pension contributions, and job security.

editorial@gleanerjm.com