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Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, says that the excellent record of students who are being supported by the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), shows that the programme is reaching the most vulnerable groups in the society. Mr. Charles said that since February, 2010 the total number of registered student beneficiaries stood at 201,414,...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, the Hon Pearnel Charles, has said that if registered nurses employed at public institutions do not resume normality by Thursday morning (April 8), the Ministry will take the matter of their sick-out to the Supreme Court. "We will wait and see what happens Thursday morning, before we decide whether to proceed to the Court...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, has predicted that the implementation of Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) will allow for increased employment opportunities for Jamaicans. "We expect that more workers will go to work, more employers will be able to afford you working and the Decent Work Agenda, certainly, will be realised," he told Tuesday's (March 30) seminar...

An additional $2.9 billion has been earmarked in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives, to complete construction of the Montego Bay Convention Centre this year. The project, being executed by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), aims to provide the resort city and its environs with adequate space to facilitate meetings, exhibitions and event-type activities. Additionally,...

The Government's capacity to analyse and manage development data is to be further improved with the provision of $ 7 million for the Support to National Development Planning Goals, Millennium Development Goals and the Human Development project in the 2010/2011 Estimates of Expenditure. Being implemented by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), through funding from the United Nations Development Programme...

The late Archbishop Emeritus of Kingston, the Most Rev. Lawrence Burke, was hailed for his devotion to education and the Catholic Church at a memorial mass held last week at the St. Joseph Chapel of Regis College in Toronto, Canada. The event was organised by the St. George's College Old Boys Association (Ontario Chapter); the Immaculate Conception High School Alumnae...

The Government will be providing increased social protection support for the country's poor and vulnerable, who have been severely impacted by rising world food prices. A sum of $105 million has been set aside in the 2010/2011 Estimates of Expenditure, which is before the House of Representatives, for the Social Protection Support to Food Price Crisis project, which is being...

"Who am I? Black and beautiful Who am I? Smart and sensitive Who am I? Phenomenal and philosophical Who am I? I am me". The year 2007 was when Claudette Graham penned those words, not knowing that three years later she would have realized her true potential and that unearthing her hidden talents, would have transformed her into who she...

The sum of $3.7 billion has been earmarked for the Social Protection Project in the 2010/2011 Estimates of Expenditure, currently before the House of Representatives. The project, being implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Government of Jamaica. Its objectives are to further improve the effectiveness...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Andrew Gallimore, has called on the Jamaica Manufactures' Association (JMA) to encourage members to expand employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. "I would love to see the Jamaica Manufactures' Association...impress upon its members, that we want a small percentage of the workforce of the members to come from...

Residents in Central Jamaica had a chance to air their views as to whether or not there should be an increase in the national minimum wage, as the Minimum Wage Advisory Commission (MWAC) wrapped up its regional consultations on Thursday (March 18) in Manchester. Several persons, who attended the meeting held at the Manchester Club, agreed that while an increase...

The Minimum Wage Advisory Commission says it will ask Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, to provide a consultant to assist the Commission in determining when and how minimum wages should be adjusted. The suggestion has received broad support from workers' organisations and employers, who believe that a systematic study would form a more concrete basis on...