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Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, has informed that a submission will be made to Cabinet soon on the proposed measures to increase the levels of contribution to the National Insurance Fund (NIF). Mr. Charles, who was making his contribution to the 2009/10 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on June 23, said that one available...

Opposition Spokesman on Energy and Telecommunications, Phillip Paulwell, has reiterated his call for the incorporation of technology in the proceedings in the House of Representatives. Speaking in the 2009/10 Sectoral Debate at Gordon House on June 23, Mr. Paulwell contended that rendering Parliament "technology-friendly," by outfitting it with laptops, wirings, and the provisions for documents to be generated in soft...

Some 3,000 eligible members of the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), will benefit from $33 million in training, employment, and entrepreneurial services this financial year, under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security's Steps-to-Work programme. The programme, which is being piloted in Kingston and St. Andrew, Clarendon, Manchester, St. James and Trelawny, aims to provide PATH beneficiaries...

Some $650 million, out of an allocated $1 billion, has been disbursed from the National Insurance Fund (NIF) credit facility to assist small and medium enterprises. Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, making the disclosure as he opened the 2009/10 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives yesterday (June 23), said that 371 businesses have benefitted from...

Government Senator, Dennis Meadows, has suggested limitations on the types of cases for which persons could be listed in the Sexual Offenders Register proposed under the Sexual Offences Bill. "I suggest we look at levels of registration, and what degrees of registration should be accessible to the public," he said, noting that the levels of registration should vary according to...

The interactive radio talk show programme hosted by Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding, "Jamaica House Live", will be aired this coming Wednesday, June 24 from 8:30-10:00 p.m. The programme, which is aired every last Wednesday in each month, allows Jamaicans at home and abroad, to call and speak with the Prime Minister on any issue or concern that they...

Parliamentary Commissions will soon be able to appear before a House Committee, to clarify issues pertaining to their stewardship, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Delroy Chuck, has disclosed. Speaking at the Office of the Children's Advocate's (OCA) inaugural Media Appreciation Breakfast at the Alhambra Inn, Kingston, on Thursday(June 11), Mr. Chuck said that the OCA, as well as...

The Factories Amendment Bill, which increases the fines and penalties payable for breaching provisions of the Act, was passed in the House of Representatives Tuesday (June 9). Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, who piloted the Bill, explained that the Act regulates premises in which mechanical and manual powers are used in making and repairing any article...

Cabinet, will on June 22, receive a submission from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article IV review mission to the island last week. Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, told the House of Representatives yesterday (June 9), that the Government used the occasion of the visit, to discuss with the IMF...

The House of Representatives, yesterday (June 9), approved a Government guarantee for loans valued at US$101.8 million to Air Jamaica Limited, in support of the funding requirements for its approved business plan for the financial year 2009/10. According to a Ministry Paper tabled by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, Air Jamaica is now operating under...

It is an honour to deliver the opening remarks to this Ministerial Meeting on HIV and Development in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. Some of you were also participants at the just concluded COHSOD meeting. This forum brings together key decision makers from across the Region to assess our progress and our challenges and to define the approach that...

It is not often that I am afforded the opportunity to speak to such a gathering of distinguished regional minds on matters pertaining to the social infrastructure of the Caribbean Region. This, and the ministerial meeting of ECOSOC are taking place in the midst of two of the greatest challenges to the global social landscape. I speak of the global...