Cabinet Approves Tabling of Amendments to Labour Relations Act

Cabinet has approved the tabling of Amendments to the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act 2009.
Speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House on May 20, Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), with responsibility for Information and Telecommunications, Daryl Vaz, said that the amendments will facilitate a number of issues.
These include: the referral of disputes involving non-unionised workers to the Industrial Disputes Tribunal; an increase in the number of Deputy Chairmen of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal to effectively deal with the additional workload that would be occasioned by the referral of disputes involving non-unionised workers; the amendment of the Second Schedule, which provides for the Constitution of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal, by Order, subject to affirmative resolution; and the correction of an error appearing in regulation 6 (4) of the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Regulations, 1975.
In addition, Cabinet considered and approved Amendments to the Hotel (Incentives) Act and a Bill entitled ‘The Tourist (Duty-Free) Shopping System (Change of Name Amendment) Act, 2009’.
The former seeks to clarify aspects of the legislation which appeared vague, in order to avoid misrepresentation or subjectivity within the Act, while the latter was approved for introduction into the Houses of Parliament.
Cabinet also approved further Amendments to the Crown Property (Vesting) Act. This will provide for the Minister to make an Order to exempt certain categories of divestment of lands from being routed through the Land Divestment Advisory Committee.
The exempt categories are: the handing over of lands owned or held in Trust by the Commissioner of Lands to other Government entities; the divestment of properties owned by the National Insurance Fund, the National Water Commission, the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation and the Parish Councils; bauxite lands, excluding those to be divested after mining has ended and lands certified, restored and returned to the Commissioner of Lands; and the rental divestment, by way of lease, of Government owned houses.