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The House of Representatives has passed legislation granting access to the Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) to non-unionised workers, who have disputes with their employers. Opening the debate on the amendments to the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act (LRIDA) on Tuesday (October 6), Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, said that currently he is unable to use...

The Berlin Salute to Jamaica's representatives at the 2009 World Championships in August got off to a glitzy start yesterday (Oct. 2) with the Golden Reception on the lawns of Jamaica House in Kingston. The event was reminiscent of an award show or movie premier, with the red carpet laid out for the fashionably dressed athletes, who were greeted by...

Baseline revenue projection for 2009/10 has been revised downwards to $315 billion, with tax revenue contributing 88.7 per cent of that amount, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, told Parliament this week. Opening the debate on the revised national budget, Mr. Shaw pointed to several key sectors which, he said, the global economic meltdown continues to...

The Senate has approved amendments to the Holidays with Pay Act, which will enable workers to take disputes concerning rights to leave and other holiday pay entitlements to the Resident Magistrate's Courts. The amendments were previously approved by the House of Representatives in September, where they were originally tabled by the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles....

Government employees will soon have to contribute to their pension, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, has confirmed. "It is inevitable that all public sector workers are going to have to become used to the issue of making a contribution to their pensions," Mr. Shaw told the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, says that there has been no change in the Government's policy that, where Jamaicans are available to fill jobs, no foreigners will be granted work permits for those jobs. "I want to assure you that the instruction that I have from the Cabinet, is that whenever there is a Jamaican that...

The Government will be undertaking significant fiscal policy reform including the implementation of a Fiscal Responsibility Framework (FRF), in order to address low growth and high debt, and to boost revenue collection. "The FRF seeks to introduce the principles of responsible fiscal management and aims to improve fiscal transparency by requiring that firm targets are set and kept," Finance and...

A gradual recovery of the Jamaican economy is projected to commence in the latter part of financial year 2010/11, as the global recession eases and the conditions in the financial markets improve. "Economic growth is expected to be moderate over the next four years. Headline inflation is programmed to decline gradually over this period, falling below 7.0 per cent per...

Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, has said that reducing the public sector wage bill is vital to Government's goal of making more resources available for investment. He was addressing the House of Representatives on September 30, immediately following the meeting of the Standing Finance Committee that accepted the 2009-2010 Supplementary Estimates of expenditure. "Restructuring the public sector to be...

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Delroy Chuck, will lead a four-person delegation to the 55th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference and General Assembly, to be held in Arusha, Tanzania, from September 28 to October 6. The conference, which is the largest conference hosted by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), will be held under the theme: 'The Commonwealth and the CPA:...

Fresh from his seventh Town Hall meeting in May Pen, Clarendon, on September 23, Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding will continue to hear your views and get your questions answered on his monthly call-in radio programme, 'Jamaica House Live', on Wednesday (September 30). The monthly call-in radio programme is aired between 8:30 and 10:00 p.m. on seven radio stations,...

The Senate today (September 25), approved three additional amendments to the Child Pornography (Prevention) Act 2009, which was passed in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 22. The Bill was first passed in the Senate on Friday, July 24, with seven amendments. It then went to the Lower House, where it was further revised and passed with an additional...