A sum of $8.2 million will be spent this year to strengthen the Government’s capacity to better cater to the needs of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). The money has been made available under the Support to Improve the Lives of PWDs project, as outlined in the 2015/16 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The project is being...

Poor persons with disabilities across the island, are to continue benefitting from major interventions under the Social and Economic Inclusion of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) project, following an allotment of $40 million in the 2015/16 Budget. The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, with funding from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Mrs. Colette Roberts Risden, says the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Bill is top priority, and will be tabled in Parliament during the next legislative year. Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ on February 11, the Permanent Secretary said the Bill is very important for the Ministry,...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has explained why Labour Day will be observed on Monday, May 25, and not Saturday, May 23, the date that the law provides for its observance. Director of Legal Services at the Ministry, Camille Bennett-Campbell, told JIS News that the Jamaican Parliament framed the law dealing with Labour Day to ensure that it...

Head of the Hugh Lawson Shearer Trade Union Institute, Donald Roberts, says going forward there should be continued improvements in communication between Jamaicans and Chinese who are in the island working on major infrastructure projects. He made the comments in an interview with JIS News, at the end of a public forum held on Thursday, January 29, at the University...

Agriculture, Labour and Social Security Minister, Derrick Kellier, has welcomed the introduction of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) ‘Formalization of the Informal Economy Project’. The one-year pilot project is aimed at building the capacity of informal businesses, while encouraging the growth and development of micro and small entrepreneurs. Speaking at the project’s second workshop in Montego Bay, St. James, on...

A Worker’s Safety Passport for persons in the construction industry will be introduced later this year. The passport is being developed by the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and will represent the level of training and certification of the workers on a particular site. This was disclosed by Minister of Agriculture,...