G2023 | The Year in the House – Legislative lag

TWO CRITICAL pieces of legislation – the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and a bill to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act to include unexplained wealth – are among a raft of proposed legislative measures that the Andrew Holness-led administration identified for priority treatment this parliamentary year but to date have not been tabled for debate.

Less than three months before the legislative year ends in March and with plans in high gear to stage the ceremonial opening of Parliament in February, followed by the Budget Debate, there is a narrow window for the Government to table more than 20 bills that Governor General Sir Patrick Allen noted in his Throne Speech would be brought to the House during the legislative year.

The proposed OSH bill, which is expected to address the obligations of owners and managers of businesses to ensure the safety of their staff at the workplace, has for years been the subject of extensive debate by legislators and stakeholders.

In 2017, then Labour and Social Security Minister Shahine Robinson tabled an OSH bill and a joint select committee reviewed it and made recommendations to Parliament on the proposed law. The bill was subsequently withdrawn as it was said to be limited in its coverage.

In legislative year 2022-23, her successor, Karl Samuda, pledged to table a new OSH bill, and again in 2023-24, the Government restated that the bill would be tabled in the House, but to date, it remains a moving target.

Senator Lambert Brown, who is the opposition spokesman on the public service, said he is disappointed that the Government has not brought the bill to Parliament to address the safety concerns of Jamaican workers.

Brown, who is also a trade unionist, argued that Jamaica is one of the few countries in the Caribbean that received assistance from the International Labour Organisation to develop a framework agreement around the occupational health and safety law but has not yet passed the legislation.

He said other Caribbean Community states such as Guyana and Belize are ahead of Jamaica, having introduced the legislation several years ago.

“Jamaica remains one of the few countries in the Caribbean that is yet to implement the act, despite the promises in several Throne Speeches that this is a legislative priority,” Brown said.

The opposition lawmaker called on the Government to table “forthwith” the bill in Parliament so that the proposed law can be debated and passed to give the workers of Jamaica greater protection at the workplace.

Brown reasoned that the current 1940s legislation governing workplace safety is in dire need of revision.

NOT SURPRISED

Attorney-at-law Gavin Goffe said he is not surprised that the legislation is not being treated with much urgency, given the approach taken by respective administrations to occupational safety laws in Jamaica.

He noted that whenever there is a major issue at the workplace that captures national attention, debate usually takes place on the question of reforming Jamaica’s occupational safety and health laws, but this discussion is often shortlived.

“There seems to be a general lack of political will to address these matters. It’s just not very high on any government’s priority list. I would not be surprised if it takes many more years for this important piece of legislation to be brought back to Parliament and properly debated,” Goffe told The Sunday Gleaner.

President of the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF), Wayne Chen, has agreed that the legislation is long in coming and should by now have been given the nod by the legislature.

He said that a comprehensive OSH legislation has been in the pipeline for approximately 20 years.

“The delays are not new, and it is not all symptomatic of how seriously we take the safety of workplaces. I think it is symptomatic of a deeper issue that we have had in Jamaica for a long time. We have spoken about it, but we have not addressed it as fulsomely as we ought, and that is the whole issue of our slowness in passing and enacting legislation.”

He argued that while “we are anxious and urge the passing of the OSH legislation, we are also mindful that the country is long overdue for a comprehensive review – to include all stakeholders – of our labour legislation”.

The Sunday Gleaner sought comment from Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr, but he did not respond up to press time.

UNEXPLAINED WEALTH

As part of its legislative agenda for 2023-24, the Government pledged to table a bill to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act, specifically to deal with unexplained wealth.

Former head of the National Integrity Action, Professor Trevor Munroe, said the Government’s commitment to legislate an unexplained wealth order (UWO) was initially made in the Crime Monitoring Oversight Committee (CMOC) deliverables in 2020.

This promise, he said, was officially reaffirmed in the Governor General’s Throne Speech in February last year and specified among matters for prioritising in the current parliamentary year.

According to Munroe, despite these solemn declarations, the UWO is nowhere to be found among legislation listed in the latest Government of Jamaica’s Legislation Priority Programme that was published in September 2023 on the Cabinet Secretary’s website.

“This breach of promise regarding the UWO, a critical tool for the combat of corruption, requires a full, prompt and persuasive explanation from the administration,” Munroe said.

“Otherwise, yet again, we have another instance of the executive breaking its own word and, in so doing, government itself fuelling public distrust of government,” he added.

In 2020, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, the Opposition, the private sector and civil society to promulgate legislation for the confiscation of unexplained wealth.

In some countries where legislation is crafted to deal with unexplained wealth, the law places the burden on a respondent whose assets appear disproportionate to his income to explain the origins of his wealth.

Other pieces of legislation for which priority treatment was to be given but has failed to materialise, to date, include the Fingerprints Act, the Immigration Restriction (Commonwealth Citizens) Act, the Aliens Act, and a review of the Corrections Act.

These measures were proposed by the administration as key legislative reforms to advance efforts toward realising improved public order, improved public safety and a reduction in crime and violence.

The minister of health and wellness tabled the National Family Planning Board Act and the National Council on Drug Abuse Act, which were debated and received nods from the Parliament. However, the Food and Drugs (Amendment Bill) is yet to be tabled.

However, Parliament has passed 14 pieces of legislation so far this year to include the Bail Act, the Childcare and Protection (Amendment) Act 2023, the Agricultural Produce Act, and the Constitution (Amendment of Sections 96(1) and 121(1) Act, 2023 which increased the age of retirement for holders of the offices of the director of public prosecutions and the auditor general from 60 to 65 years.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com

Some of the bills proposed and not yet tabled this year

· The Rent Restriction Act

· The Professional Engineers Registration Act

· The Port Authority Act

· The Harbours Act

· The Proposed Repeal of the Plants (Quarantine) Act to be replaced by ‘The Plants Health Act

· Mediation Bill

· Notaries Public Act to be repealed and replaced

· Further amendments to the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act commonly referred to as the Expungement Act

· Human Services Bill

· The National Solid Waste Management (Validation, Indemnification, and Amendment Bill)

· The Counties and Parishes (Amendment) Bill

· Amendment to the Civil Aviation Act

· Amendment to the Shipping (Pollution Prevention, Response, Liability and Compensation) Bill

· Amendments to the Employment Agencies Regulation Act