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JPC, Fostering New Culture of Productivity

March 29, 2004

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Minister of Labour and Social Security, Horace Dalley has hailed the launch of the Jamaica Productivity Centre (JPC) as an initiative that would foster a new culture of productivity and efficiency.
Improved productivity would enhance Jamaica’s competitiveness in the international marketplace, stated the Minister.
The Productivity Centre, which is a collaborative effort between the Ministry, the Jamaica Employers Federation (JEF) and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) began operations in April 2003 with a mandate to promote and facilitate productivity as a means of attaining social and economic progress locally.
Minister Dalley who gave the address at a press launch on March 26 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston said that this effort at tripartism would aid in reforming Jamaica’s labour market leading to higher standards of living for workers.
“The government, employers and trade unions, in reflecting and reinforcing the basic principle and philosophy of tripartism share the view that Jamaica’s labour market must be reformed in ways which generate opportunities for investment, entrepreneurship, job creation and sustainable livelihood for the Jamaican worker,” Minister Dalley observed.
The JPC is a not for profit organization that was developed out of a 1999 consultative meeting between the then Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Sports and the Director General of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Its duties include the development of a “productivity sensitive” culture. This will be achieved by a series of promotions programme that will inform the public about the subject of productivity and stimulating a national awareness and appreciation for productivity as a catalyst for development.
It will also provide measurement data and other information on national and sectoral productivity performance.
The establishment of the JPC, remarked Minister Dalley, represented another accomplishment in the area of social partnerships and exhorted the social partners to accept ownership of the centre so that productivity could be improved at the enterprise and national levels.
“It is only through a complementary and integrated approach that we can find the best solutions to the challenges of investment opportunities and employment growth, and benefit from the optimum use of our human resources in a well-functioning labour market,” he said.
Mr. Dalley said that the country could only compete globally and protect local jobs by placing productivity at the centre of its drive for economic growth.
However, he cautioned against denying workers basic rights while companies struggle to improve productivity to compete globally.
“While we are struggling to gain market access in an increasingly competitive global environment, we must equally make sure that our repositioning in the global space does not deny us the right to equal opportunities, social justice and decent work practices, which are directly linked to the attainment of improved productivity and efficiency,” the Minister emphasized.
He encouraged all Jamaicans to develop a general awareness of the significance of productivity improvement in social and economic development and its importance in creating a culture of productivity in all strata of the society.
Mr. Dalley said that the Productivity Centre should become the catalyst in promoting this awareness by working with mass media and educational institutions to popularize the productivity culture.
Born out of the collaborative efforts of Government, management and workers, the Centre would be pivotal to redefining the adversarial nature of Jamaica’s industrial relations practice, he added.
“I am challenging the Centre to develop a new paradigm in worker-management relations which sees such a relationship as an important learning institution to effectively manage changes in work attitudes, values and productivity culture,” the Minister stated.
The ILO, which provided technical advice for the establishment of the JPC, is a United Nation’s (UN) agency. It establishes international labour standards in the form of conventions and recommendations that set minimum standards of basic labour rights relating to freedom of association; collective bargaining; abolition of forced labour and equality of opportunity and treatment.

Last Updated: March 29, 2004

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