Police Records Office air-quality issue impacts BPO sector – Henry

WESTERN BUREAU:

Gloria Henry, president of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), says the air-quality issue plaguing the Police Records Office in Kingston is threatening hundreds of jobs in that sector and could result in the loss of contracts with overseas clients.

A criminal background check is a part of the screening process of new employees entering the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

“The employees are at risk in losing their jobs, and, of course, [as it relates to] the companies, their customers are being affected,” Henry told The Gleaner on Wednesday. “There are companies who have paid for criminal background checks since August and they are unable to get the reports, and you can well imagine those persons who employers would have trained to be placed in the production department but can’t place them.

“I know [that] for one company it’s over 1,500 [employees that have been affected] and it’s in the hundreds for others, so it’s quite an impact and loss of revenue for the Government,” added Henry.

The BPIAJ president said her organisation has had dialogue with National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang and has urged him to ensure that the problematic situation is resolved as speedily as possible.

The business process outsourcing sector is made up of more than 60 companies employing more than 30,000 persons. The business currently grosses an estimated US$450 million. Officials are expecting earnings to rise to US$750 million by 2020, with the addition of thousands of new jobs.