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The House of Representatives is expected to continue debating the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Constitutional Amendment) Bill next week, unless there is a bipartisan agreement to do otherwise. At the end of Tuesday's sitting, the Government seemed set on continuing the debate, to meet a deadline of completion prior to the end of the current parliamentary session next...

The House of Representatives will on Tuesday (October 13) resume debate on the Bill entitled the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms (Constitutional Amendment) Act, 2008. This Bill provides for the protection of the rights and freedoms of Jamaicans, subject to such measures as are required for state governance in periods of public disaster or emergency, or as are regarded...

Government Senator, Hyacinth Bennett, has called for national consensus to steer Jamaica through the challenges posed by the onset of the global economic crisis. Central to this must be plans to boost the country's productive capacity, to enable the nation to increase its ability to earn its way out of debt and reduce dependency on borrowing, she suggested. Senator Bennett,...

Cabinet has approved the award of a US$398,000 (J$35.4 million) contract to GE Betz Incorporation, to provide chemical treatment services to Petrojam, from October 1, 2009 to September 20, 2010. Making the announcement at today's (October 7) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, with responsibility for Information, Telecommunications and Special...

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...