Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter

There is good news today for Jamaican workers facing the daunting prospect of losing their jobs because of the worsening world economic crisis.

Local employers, trade unions and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security have agreed that sending people home will be the last option for companies in crisis.

"Nobody is going to look at redundancies as the first option. Instead, both employers and workers are prepared to work together to find solutions," Leroy Brown, executive director of the Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF), told The Gleaner yesterday.

Brown was speaking after discussions at a meeting called by Labour Minister Pearnel Charles.

Satisfied with decision

He was supported by head of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions, Wayne Jones, who said he was satisfied that the parties had decided not to cut staff at the first sign of trouble.

"You can't just jump up and separate people from their jobs because there is this problem. Instead, we need to look at long-term solutions and probably use this opportunity to create jobs," Jones said.

"We need to think of other solutions because the traditional methods have failed."

Charles later told The Gleaner that the options to be considered would include a shift system in some companies, reduced working hours or other similar measures before any redundancy is implemented.

"A committee has been set up to formulate strategies to mitigate any possible fallout by way of retrenchment of workers or closure of businesses," Charles said.

Committee members

That committee is to include four representatives of the JEF, four persons from the trade union movement, one person from the academic community and facilitators from the labour ministry.

According to Charles, the committee will be the main meeting place for workers and employers to discuss the challenges facing individual entities.

"The discussions did not go as far this morning (yesterday) as to which company is likely to lay off how many workers except to say all the companies are aware of the problems facing them .... and I think at the first meeting of the committee we will start discussing individual companies," Charles added.

Key to survival

The JEF used yesterday's meeting to make it clear that local firms are facing an international crisis with efficiency and productivity being key to their survival.

"This has to be a time of shared sacrifices as the days of confrontation between the unions and the employers are gone," Brown added. That was a message underscored by the trade union movement.

"We are happy that there seems to be a renewed commitment to act in the national interest and that everyone seems to appreciate that the traditional measures cannot work," Jones said.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com