As Jamaica joins the world in observing World Day for Safety and Health At Work, it gives me great pleasure to report that the long-awaited Occupational Safety and Health Bill has been tabled in Parliament. This landmark legislation embodies the Ministry’s deep desire to ensure that every Jamaican worker can enjoy decent condition of work, consistent with human dignity. Decent...

The Government has reiterated its commitment to ensuring that the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Bill is tabled this year. This legislation is geared at securing the safety and health of all Jamaican workers. This was stated by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, while delivering the 2017-18 Throne Speech in Parliament on February 9. The Government...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson, says there was a 19 per cent increase in the number of Jamaicans who gained employment through the United States (US) hotel programme in 2016, compared to 2015. Addressing a breakfast meeting with a number of US hotel employers at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa in Montego Bay on...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s Overseas Employment Programme is being diversified to include highly qualified and skilled workers. Since the beginning of December 2016, the Ministry has been actively recruiting Information Technology (IT) specialists to work in North America as part of a pilot programme being undertaken in partnership with the Jamaican diaspora in the United States of...

The first batch of farm workers for 2017 were dispatched yesterday (January 3), at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s Overseas Employment Services Centre, in downtown Kingston. The group of approximately 375 workers is scheduled to leave the island on Wednesday, January 4 to take up employment opportunities in greenhouse production of vegetables, fruits and other agricultural crops in...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) says that New Year’s Day will be observed on Monday, January 2, 2017. Director of Legal Services at the Ministry, Camille Bennett-Campbell, told JIS News that according to the law, if New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, then the following day, Monday, would be observed as a public holiday. “The holidays...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson, says the Government is committed to a long-term action plan aimed at supporting the development of persons with disabilities. “The groundwork has been laid with the passage of the National Disability Act. Inclusive social services, disability rights and targeted service provisions are all part of this legislation,” she pointed out. Mrs....