Industry Minister Urges Employers to Rejig Labour Arrangements

With the country achieving record low unemployment of 4.5 per cent, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, is urging employers to rejig labour arrangements, based on the changing job market.

Speaking today (October 27) at a general breakfast meeting of the Rotary Club of New Kingston, at the Liguanea Club, the Minister said that many years ago, employers operated in an “employers’ market” in Jamaica.

“Now, your unemployment rate is down to 4.5 per cent – something has changed, the country has been growing, people have been finding work. So, at 4.5 per cent, employers have to rethink how they’re going to do it. They’re going to have to look at rejigging the compensation package, and compensation is not just pay, there are benefits, there is training… how do you train people [and] how do you get them loyal to you?” the Minister reasoned.

He further noted that the 5.9 per cent inflation rate recorded in September this year is within policy rate of four to six per cent and is a feat that “very few countries in the hemisphere can even talk about”.

The Minister urged businesses to think innovatively, as Jamaicans now have options that are vying for their talents and skills, such as the popular cruise ship industry, which is known to use attractive incentives to lure young people.

“You’re going to have to rejig, Mr. Employer… . You’re not in an employers’ market anymore,” he argued.

The Minister also pointed out that Jamaican workers have always wanted more from their employers, but they did not always have the kind of market conditions that they do now.

Mr. Hill reasoned that it is the strategic actions of the Government and its policies that have resulted in people’s ability to find jobs now, “and, therefore, the labour arrangements have to be rejigged”.