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The Government has always encouraged Jamaicans to prepare for retirement, by joining a private pension scheme, saving, and contributing to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Upon retirement, Jamaicans who have been making contributions over the years to the NIS are entitled to a steady monthly income. The NIS is a compulsory...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, is commending the business community for investing in the country over the years and urged members to continue to work with the Government to create jobs and reduce unemployment. “If you don’t invest, we cannot export; if you don’t invest, we cannot find jobs…,” he said. Minister Charles was addressing the...

Residents of Westchester and neighbouring Portmore communities are benefiting from a newly refurbished community centre, initiated by the Social Development Commission (SDC) to encourage partnerships with stakeholders. The centre, refurbished in December at a cost of some $2 million, houses a homework centre, an office for a Justice of Peace and a meeting place for five groups in the community...

Minister of Labour and Social Security and Member of Parliament for North Central Clarendon, Pearnel Charles, has called on students to “walk in the right lane” and avoid bad company. “The only reason why I am where I am today is because I stood in my lane.  I am appealing to you; your future is in your own hands -...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles is encouraging employers to make use of the National Skills Bank to identify skilled job seekers within the country. “The skills bank (provides) a list of skills that are available throughout the country parish by parish, category by category. Through this National Skills Bank, demand or shortages in various job categories...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has removed the work permit requirement for overseas technicians, who are needed to carry out urgent work in the island for a period not exceeding 30 days. “If your machine is down and you need a man from anywhere in the world, you won’t have to wait six weeks anymore to apply and...

Despite indications that economic growth in the United States this year will remain weak, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon Pearnel Charles, believes it will be enough for a recovery in the overseas employment programme. "Any growth in the U.S. economy would be good news for us," Mr. Charles told JIS News. The programme has been hard hit by...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s Labour Management Information System (LMIS) held a labour market seminar, under the theme ‘Preparing our nation for the world of work’, Thursday (January13) at the Ministry. LMIS Director of Research and Analysis, Dawn Ellis Francis, noted that the seminar was relevant in the context of Jamaica’s high unemployment rate. “There is also high...

The Jamaica Productivity Centre, in collaboration with the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Educational Institute, will launch the National Workplace Productivity Training Programme this month (January, 2011). Speaking at the Centre's breakfast session today (January 11), at the Pegasus Hotel, in Kingston, Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Andrew Gallimore explained that the programme...

Some 177 farm workers departed the island this morning (January 5), to take up employment on farms in Toronto, Canada. The men, who met with Labour and Social Security Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles, at the Ministry's Overseas Employment Services Centre, downtown Kingston, before departing the island, are the first batch of workers to leave the country for 2011. They will...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security will be observing Labour Market Information System (LMIS) Month during January 2011. The objective is to promote and increase awareness of the LMIS in order to facilitate its growth and effectiveness in developing a responsive labour market in Jamaica. The Internet-based LMIS is a one-stop data/information source as well as job placement facility....

It takes patience and deep commitment to work at any one agency for over 30 years, but it takes talent and aptitude to do an excellent job and make an indelible contribution throughout those years. This is true for Director of the Agricultural Marketing and Information Division in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and 2010 Civil Servant of the...