MoBay Chamber president wants changes to labour laws

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Concerned that “archaic labour laws” give workers an extra edge over their employers, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) Jason Russell says the organisation will, during his second term at the helm, lobby Government to take another look at the legislation.

“We have some crucial elements that we want to speak about, namely the labour laws. We would like to balance the labour laws a little bit better. We find that they’re favouring the employee a little bit more than it should and it’s something we really want to tackle this year,” Russell said following his re-election Wednesday night.

According to Russell, the chamber wants changes in the formula for redundancy payments, making them aligned to the size of the enterprise.

“I think, off the bat it should be tiered,” he told the annual general meeting.

“Montego Bay is ripe for business and investment, and we do not want this positive trajectory to be hampered by our archaic labour laws. So, as the MoBay Chamber, we are using this medium to implore our Parliament to give this area of law the urgent attention it deserves,” Russell added.

In a follow-up interview with the Jamaica Observer on Thursday, Russell pointed to the need for changes to the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act as well as the Labour Relations Code.

“What we want is a code that is more detailed and substantive so employee and employer rights are more clearly set out, so we are less dependent on case law,” he explained.

“We want to move from this era where it appears that form and procedural technicalities take precedence over the substances of disputes. We want decisions based on overall fairness rather than minor procedural flaws. We want to move from a place where a worker commits a blatant breach of company rules — for example, the worker fights during the course of his or her employment and in the presence of many others – but because of minor procedural errors in the due process, the employer may be required to compensate that worker,” Russell added.

He also expressed concern about past rulings handed down by the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT), a quasi-judicial body which arbitrates labour disputes.

“It is not a secret that there is a perception that employment disputes are more likely to be determined in favour of a worker; and the cases speak for themselves. At present, if a matter goes before the IDT, the exposure to the employer is oftentimes unlimited. We therefore believe it is necessary for some guidelines to be implemented so that businesses are not blindsided by the uncertainty of IDT awards,” Russell told the Observer.

The businessman argued that it is often more challenging for smaller enterprises with limited staff to follow the guidelines laid down.

“A lot of these requirements require you having a large staff complement of human resource employees so we want to change that a little bit. We [think] that is a little bit heavy and a little bit burdensome,” he said.

In turning his attention to other areas of focus during his presidency, Russell said the business umbrella group will continue to monitor major ongoing projects and developments such as the US$347-million Montego Bay Perimeter Road Project and the delay-plagued refurbishing of Cornwall Regional Hospital.

“We know we have a lot of big projects so it’s to track them, measure them, ensure they are on track,” he said.

“Montego Bay is going through a big boom as we speak. Hotels are coming on board, we have two new hotels building in and around Montego Bay, a lot of hotels are closed for renovations to be opened by the end of the year,” the chamber president highlighted.

In addition to Russell who was returned unopposed, other executives include First Vice-President Paulette Neil; Second Vice-President Nadine Spence; Third Vice-President Richard Burrowes along with a group of directors.