Parliament committee weighs hybrid work as fuel-price shock response

Jamaica's Economy and Production Committee used its June 10 sitting to examine whether flexible, hybrid and remote work could help cushion the economy from rising fuel prices while supporting productivity, innovation, business continuity and resilience.

The chairman said tensions in the Middle East, including the US-Israel conflict with Iran, had renewed concern about global oil shipping routes, fuel prices and supply chains. He noted, from a Planning Institute of Jamaica brief, that imported petroleum supplies more than 80 per cent of Jamaica's energy needs, while fuel and lubricant imports accounted for about 23 per cent of total imports in 2025.

Representatives attended from the Office of the Prime Minister, the ICT Authority, PIOJ, the Caribbean Policy Research Institute, the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Small Business Association of Jamaica and the Ministry of Finance. The ICT Authority told the committee that remote work depends on stronger digitisation, secure networks, reliable connectivity, electronic signatures, cloud and server capacity, and cybersecurity systems. Officials said Jamaica had made progress since COVID-19, including online public services, but government entities still vary widely in digital readiness.

Committee members raised concerns about inner-city and rural connectivity, the slow pace of digitising records, legal barriers to electronic signatures, cybersecurity threats and the risk of using personal devices to access government systems. The ICT Authority said broadband expansion, policy work and coordination across ministries, departments and agencies were part of the response.

PIOJ Director General Wayne Henry said flexible work should be viewed as an economic and social policy tool, not only a workplace matter. The PIOJ argued that hybrid arrangements may offer the best balance by cutting commuting while preserving collaboration, mentoring and organisational culture. It also warned that remote work could worsen education gaps, reduce school-based safety nets, increase sedentary lifestyles, add pressure on women with caregiving duties and harm small businesses that depend on commuter traffic.

The JMEA said remote work has limited use in manufacturing and exporting because most production, warehousing, quality control, logistics and shipping tasks require physical presence. Its survey found that roughly three-quarters of respondents could move no more than 10 per cent of their workforce to remote work without hurting productivity. The association urged a wider resilience approach covering fuel availability, freight movement, renewable energy, financing, logistics and export continuity.

The committee adjourned the discussion and asked several stakeholders to return on Tuesday, July 14, for further presentations.