Neville Ying | Advocacy for decent work in Jamaica

Let us begin by understanding what is decent work. It involves jobs in which employees

• are productive - produce goods and services that result in customer satisfaction.

• are adequately compensated.

• enjoy healthy and safe working conditions.

• are empowered through training and development.

• have robust healthcare, pension, and unemployment insurance benefits.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has captured these features of Decent Work into a Decent Work Agenda consisting of four pillars:

1. Employment creation

2. Social protection,

3. Rights at work – the right of employees to join organisations hat promote and protect their interests

4. Social dialogue – arriving at consensus on important issues and actions at the workplace through conversations and consultations involving employers and employees.

The ILO has been promoting the Decent Work Agenda across the globe to its tripartite members – government, trade unions, and employers – in its 187 member countries.

During the UN General Assembly in September 2015, decent work and the four pillars of the Decent Work Agenda – employment creation, social protection, rights at work, and social dialogue – became integral elements of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Additional features of decent work were highlighted.

Goal 8 of the 2030 Agenda calls for the promotion of sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value. Further, key aspects of decent work are widely embedded in the targets of many of the other 16 goals of the UN’s new development vision and will be a key area of engagement for the ILO and its constituents.

The Tripartite Group in Jamaica (government, trade unions, and employers) should implement the four pillars of the Decent Work Agenda. Two key areas of focus I recommend for Jamaica are social protection and labour legislation in the context of a digitalised workplace.

One of the disruptive forces that has changed the way we live, work, and play is technology. In particular the impact of rapid and far-reaching changes related to Artificial Intelligence and big data.

The result is a workplace that is and will be dominated by digital transformation. This type of workplace poses challenges and presents opportunities for labour and employment relations. An important area of focus in this scenario should be the Decent Work Agenda, which gives us a compass for navigating a digitally transformed workplace.

I note that the Government has established recently a special Artificial Intelligence Task Force. I look forward to its recommendations and in particular those related to Decent Work in a Digitally Transformed Workplace in Jamaica.

In order to put the Decent Work Agenda into practice in a digitalised workplace, jobs must have related supportive policies and actions. In relation to Jamaica, I will highlight two of these: social protection and labour legislation. It is important that policy actions on these two areas be done at the same time.

The following is a synopsis of my recommendations for social protection and labour legislation in Jamaica.

SOCIAL PROTECTION

Social protection should cover

(i) healthcare and pension benefits, which are consistently and continuously aligned with upward movement in the rate of inflation.

(ii) unemployment insurance.

(iii) liveable wage.

(iv) special financial arrangements to facilitate home ownership by employees earning minimum wages.

There are a number of critically important issues involved with the items that I have proposed for social protection. These issues will require well organised and effective consultations, conversations and reasoning sessions among employers, employees, and trade unions at the workplace and nationally.

The following are three important issues:

1. The feasibility study for unemployment insurance for employees in Jamaica has been completed. The issue of payment of this benefit needs to be resolved, for instance, will it be an employee-employer contributory scheme?

2. With respect to pensions for persons in the informal and self-employed sector, there will be need for special dialogue to convince them to establish their own pension plans. This dialogue should include private sector companies that have established and are currently promoting individual retirement and pension plans;

3. The difficulty of arriving at periodic revised national minimum wage strongly suggests that getting consensus on what can be considered a liveable wage will be a difficult task .

For instance, there will be issues around what is a liveable wage for the different sectors - tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, BPO, music, and entertainment.

LABOUR LEGISLATION

In a digitally transformed workplace in Jamaica, the following factors point to the need for urgent attention to be given to relevant labour laws related to decent work:

• work -life balance – juggling the demands of the job and making time for family and personal interests;

• working from anywhere such as home, car , worksite, office;

• working for more than one employer or working in several jobs to make ends meet.

The COVID-19 Labour Market Taskforce Report 2021 drew attention to six items of labour legislation for Jamaica needing urgent attention.

(i) OSHE: Occupational Safety Health and Environment

(ii) Sexual Harassment at the Workplace

(iii) Protection of Employee Data

(iv) Flexible Work Arrangements

(v) Review of the Employment Termination and Redundancy Payment Act

(vi) Review of the LRIDA;

The digital transformation of organisations in the public and private sectors in Jamaica makes it an imperative to deal with all six items of legislation urgently.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS), which has as part of its portfolio responsibilities the key areas of social protection and productivity should lead the process for implementing the four pillars of the Decent Work Agenda: employment creation, social protection, rights at work, and social dialogue.

The MLSS should work in collaboration with other ministries, including those with portfolio responsibility for education, legislative reform, finance, economic growth and job creation, and private-sector organisations, including the Jamaica Employers Federation, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, the Jamaica Manufactures and Exporters Association, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourism Association, BPO organisations, together with trade unions led by the Joint Confederation of Trade Unions for putting into practical application in Jamaica the four pillars of the decent work agenda with special attention to urgent actions required for social protection and labour legislation.

Professor Neville Ying ,chairman of the Jamaica Social Stock Exchange. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.