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JCSA has Achieved Much – Jones

May 10, 2004

The Full Story

President of the Jamaica Civil Service Association (JCSA), Wayne Jones, has said that over the years, the organization had achieved much for its members, including the five-day work week and accessing government land for housing development.
“We believe it is important that our members are provided with proper shelter and so that motivated us to go to government some 10 years ago to get land to develop for the shelter of our members,” the President pointed out.
Addressing a ceremony to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the JCSA on May 6 in Kingston, Mr. Jones noted that the request to government led to the flagship project, a housing development that was currently underway in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine.The President said he anticipated that in due course, other housing projects would be developed.
Giving an overview of the JCSA’s history and its activities, Mr. Jones said that over the years, the association had evolved from what could be seen as a white-collar professional association to a practising trade union.
“Though not registered as a trade union under the Trade Union Act of Jamaica, the JCSA by its performance has qualified as a true permanent workers’ organization, as trade unions are often described. There is continued focus to secure improvements in all aspects of the lives of the workers it represents,” he said. Mr. Jones pointed out that the association had also been instrumental in pioneering the concept of “promotion by merit”, noting that this was advocated by the JCSA as far back as the early 1970s.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Fitz Jackson, who also addressed the function, said that customer service delivery in the public sector could be vastly improved, with the strengthening of the linkage between public management and academic research.
“One of the deficiencies we’ve had over the years, particularly in the public sector, is the inadequate linkages between academia and practice,” he said.
Mr. Jackson explained that as a student of the discipline of Public Administration, he had come to appreciate the dynamics of that discipline and the need “for the continuous renewal of the methodologies that are applied in public management and the methodologies that are being developed through academic research”.
The JCSA was founded in 1919 under the leadership of Walter M. Fraser. Today, the Association represents an estimated 20,000 civil servants, including government employees who work with Ministries, statutory organizations, and executive agencies.

Last Updated: May 10, 2004

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