The dreaded coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has been wreaking havoc throughout the local economy, is testing the mettle of Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson. In addition to her responsibility for the Ministry, which is the Government’s link between employers and workers, Mrs. Robinson is also the Member of Parliament for North East St. Ann, one of...

Employees working within the Global Services Sector (GSS) are welcoming the vast opportunities provided through the industry for professional growth and development. Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’, recently at the agency’s Regional Office in Montego Bay, St. James, Customer Service Specialist, at Vistaprint Jamaica, Nicole Reid, said her experiences at the company has changed her outlook...

Director, Child Labour, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Sasha Deer-Gordon, says the minimum age that a child can be admitted into formal employment is 15 years, if he or she has completed secondary education. In an interview with JIS News, she explains that the line of work must not be hazardous and it must also allow time for leisure,...

Twenty hernia patients at the St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital have benefitted from well-needed surgeries, freeing them of constant pain, and enabling them to return to work and other activities. The surgeries were all performed on Labour Day on May 23, as part of an effort by the hospital to reduce waiting time for operations. Regional Director of the North...

Members of the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ) and the Kiwanis Club of Eastern St. Andrew worked assiduously on Labour Day (May 23), to spruce up the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD), located in Kingston, and its surroundings. De-bushing, painting and road patching were among the activities completed on the day, when members of the HAJ, Kiwanis Club and...

Contributors to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) are paying a marginal increase, in the effort to sustain the National Insurance Fund (NIF). In an interview with JIS News, Director of the NIS, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Portia Magnus, says the finding from an actuarial review in March 2013, revealed that if changes were not made urgently to address...

Persons receiving retirement pension payments under the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) will soon be required to have a bank account. NIS Director, Portia Magnus, tells JIS News that the plan is to have all NIS pensioners receiving their funds through direct deposits into their accounts. “That is where we will be going,” she says. “Gradually we are shifting. The Government...

"Seniors using their resourcefulness for survival” is the theme of this year's Senior Citizens' Week (September 25 – October 1), and invites a serious look beyond the platitudes associated with the so-called designated special days. It speaks to the most basic element of our existence, survival and the authorities are taking notice. The latest official data from the Planning Institute...