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The disparity in age at which male and female retirees qualify to receive National Insurance Scheme (NIS) benefits is being adjusted, Labour and Social Security Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles, has informed. Currently, females qualify to receive their NIS retirement benefit at age 60, while males qualify at 65 years old. "This anomaly has persisted for too long," Minister Charles said,...

The urgent need for Jamaica, and the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean, to start focusing on how to benefit from opportunities arising from the current global economic crisis, has been emphasized by Vice-President of GraceKennedy Money Services, Noel Greenland, Monday (October 11). UNI Americas, global trade union organization, representative, Joanne De Freitas, speaking to regional trade union leaders at a...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles has lauded the $20 million Jamalco Entrepreneurial Development Project that has been launched to boost small enterprises in the company's operating areas. He said the project, which is a revolving loan fund, will help to usher in new players into business. "Jamalco has set a pace for community and social development....

Food For The Poor (FFP) is working with the St. Catherine Parish Disaster Committee to assist scores of families, including more than 300 children housed in shelters in the parish. Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Peralto Jr., in a statement issued yesterday (October 1) said that the organisation will be sending supplies of rice, peas, vegetarian beans, mattresses, pillows, pillow cases,...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Alvin McIntosh, says that all the Ministry's offices island wide have been mobilised to work with the various emergency response agencies to assist persons affected by the heavy rains associated with Tropical Storm Nicole. In an interview with JIS News, Mr. McIntosh, said the immediate need was to organise shelter...

A team from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is currently conducting assessment of damage to houses in St. Mary as a result of the persistent heavy rains affecting the island. This was disclosed by Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) Parish Disaster Coordinator, Yolande Jankie, during an interview with JIS News. "We have reports of two...

Against the background of complaints being lodged at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security about workers being asked to undergo polygraph (lie detector) testing at some workplaces, the ministry is to hold discussions on the issue with employers, soon. Minister of Labour and Social Security, the Hon Pearnel Charles. Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon Pearnel Charles, says...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon Pearnel Charles, says that he strongly supports the establishment of a redundancy fund to which both workers and employers contribute, working to the benefit of both parties. "We (at the ministry) do not subscribe to the notion that redundancy should be the first action towards addressing a cash flow problem or other economic...

State Minister for Labour and Social Security, Hon. Andrew Gallimore, has praised the efforts of the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) in helping the nation's seniors remain active participants in society. "The (NCSC) has been doing hard work...to continuously find ways to engage our seniors, to keep (them) fresh and interactive," he said, during the opening ceremony for the...

The programme of assistance to Persons with Disabilities (PWD), administered through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS), has been boosted by a US$572,000 ($49 million) grant from the Japanese government through the Japan Special Fund (JSF). The funds, secured by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will finance the administration's "Support to Improving the Lives of Persons" initiative, with...

The coroner has ruled that the two Jamaican farm workers who lost their lives recently on a Canadian farm, died as a result of "environmental suffocation". Thirty-six-year old Ralston Whyte from Pike, Manchester, and 44-year-old Paul Roach from Preddie, Clarendon, were killed on Friday, September 10, when they were overcome by fumes in a tank which was processing cider vinegar...

St. Mary, with a top score of 48 points, heads the eight teams advancing to the quarter finals of the National Council for Senior Citizens' (NCSC) Inter-Parish Seniors Bible Quiz competition. This follows Tuesday's (September 7) round of matches, staged simultaneously at venues across the island. Open to senior citizens islandwide, the competition is designed to promote spiritual knowledge among...