Jamaica Stands to Benefit from Flexi-Work Week – Morris

State Minister for Labour and Social Security, Senator Floyd Morris, has said that the government is committed to implementing a flexi-work week, noting that the country stands to benefit from the arrangement.
Having the legislation in place, he said, will enhance Jamaica’s ability to benefit from emerging trends in labour policy such as Telework, where persons may work from a remote location, enabled by telecommunication.
The State Minister, who was speaking at a recent Telework Consultation Workshop at the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites in Kingston, argued further, that productivity can be enhanced with the flexitime arrangement, as workers will be inclined to complete tasks within the prescribed time. “No doubt, you would see a significant improvement in the quality of life of our people,” he reasoned.
As it stands, there are still a few details to be worked out for implementation of a flexi work week in Jamaica. “I know there are some outstanding issues as they relate to how the churches view the whole matter of the flexible work week arrangement because they have been in dialogue with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security,” he remarked.
In addition, there is need for consensus by the unions and other stakeholders regarding what constitutes a work-week.
“There are differences of opinion whether it should be capped at 10 hours or whether at 12 hours a day in order to facilitate the whole process of flexible work-week arrangements,” Minister Morris noted.
He said, however, that Labour Minister, Derrick Kellier was “more than committed” to amending the labour policy as he was “going to re-establish the Joint Select Committee of Parliament so that the Ministry could sign off on the arrangement”.
Senator Morris said there are about nine pieces of legislation that have to put in place to facilitate the flexi-work week arrangement.