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Minister of Labour and Social Security, Derrick Kellier
(centre) and Jamaica's Ambassador to the United States,
Professor Gordon Shirley (left), with Jamaica Central
Labour Organization (JCLO) awardees. From right are:
Ambassador Richard Pierce, Grace Brown, Barbara DaCosta,
Chief Liasion Officer of the JCLO, Yvonne Dixon, and
Deanna Cantu. The presentation took place at the JCLO's
annual awards luncheon at the Jurys Washington Hotel,
in Washington DC.
(Photo
by Derrick A. Scott) |
| Delivering
the keynote address at the Jamaica Central Labour
Organization's (JCLO) annual awards luncheon at the
Jurys Washington Hotel, in Washington DC, on December
8, the Minister said that, "Within the region,
our labour situation is being rationalized through
the free movement of certain categories of skilled
workers - media workers, sport persons, university
graduates, artistes, musicians, supervisory and management
staff, teachers and nurses."
"While
the free movement of all workers in the region is
still some way down the road, we have to ensure that
we secure and expand opportunities for our skilled
and unskilled people beyond the shores of the
Caribbean," Mr. Kellier said.
On the matter of the Decent Work Agenda, which is
being promoted by the International Labour Organization
(ILO), Mr. Kellier said it aimed to promote opportunities
for women and men to obtain productive work, in conditions
of freedom, equality, security and human dignity.
A
critical part of the Decent Work Agenda, he emphasized,
has to do with the encouragement of successful business
opportunities for people. Hence, the Government of
Jamaica, through the Ministry of Labour and Social
Security, recently launched the $1 billion National
Insurance Fund Credit Facility.
The facility, he said, would assist the micro, small
and medium size business sector with low interest
loans, through reputable lending agencies. "When
you understand that the sector employs more than 50
per cent of the workforce and generates over 40 per
cent of GDP, then you understand why it is important
that the government takes the initiative," Mr.
Kellier emphasized.
He
said that an important component of the National Insurance
Fund credit programme is to provide more Jamaicans
with social security protection through the National
Insurance Scheme (NIS). It is estimated, the Minister
said, that some 53 per cent of the Jamaican labour
force operated in the informal economy. As a result,
thousands of self employed persons were reaching retirement
age without access to adequate health and pension
benefits. The Minister stressed that for business
persons to access loans under the NIF Facility, they
must be registered with the NIS.
The
same principle, he said, applied to workers in the
overseas employment programme, with registration with
the NIS a must. The Minister also added that, "We
have to get more of our people in Jamaica and elsewhere
in the Caribbean to understand the importance of being
able to access pension and other social security benefits
when they are unable to work or have reached the age
of retirement."
In
giving an overview of the JCLO's work programme, Barbara
DaCosta, Chief Liasion Officer, reported that over
the past 11 months, 8,783 workers were recruited,
representing a 15.73 per cent increase over the similar
period last year. This, she said, was the largest
number of workers recruited under the JCLO administered
programmes since 1991.
Miss DaCosta noted that JCLO dispatched workers to
44 new properties and broke new grounds when it sent
22 workers to the Tulane University in New Orleans,
Louisiana.
Four persons received awards for service to the JCLO,
including Deanna Cantu, 37 years; Yvonne Dixon, 34
years; Grace Brown, 25 years; and Ambassador Richard
Pierce, 5 years. Among the special guests was Jamaica's
Ambassador to the United States, Professor Gordon
Shirley.
Derrick A Scott
JIS.gov.jm
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