Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to address this Honourable House in the 2014-2015 Sectoral Debate in my capacity as Parliamentary Representative for the wonderful people of South St. James and a member of the Cabinet with portfolio responsibility for Labour and Social Security.
In so doing, I wish to express profound thanks to the Almighty above for His enduring grace and love of us all. My sincere thanks to the Prime Minister, The Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller for her enlightened leadership and guidance as well as her expressed confidence in me to carry the portfolio of Labour and Social Security.
Equally, I wish to thank members of my family, my constituents, the Permanent Secretary, the hard-working, dedicated and professional staff of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, our tri-partite partners- the trade unions and employer groups, and various external stakeholders, and, of course, you, my Parliamentary colleagues, for the support given to me throughout the past year.
The quality of the support extended to me made all the difference to my performance and that of the Ministry over which I exercise policy control.
Mr. Speaker, in pursuit of my objective this afternoon which is to highlight the commitment of my Ministry in support of the Medium-Term Growth Agenda of the Government of which I am a part, I propose at this juncture to lay on the Table of the House the 2013/2014 Annual Performance Report and the National Employment Report –Issues and Trends in the Labour Market 2008-2012 of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
These two documents complement each other, and I encourage Members and the general public to consult them for substantive and detailed information on the performance of the multi-faceted and varied units and departments of the Ministry during the periods under review, and for an examination of the employment situation in Jamaica, the issues arising therefrom, and the methodologies advanced for treating with them…READ MORE
Download Contribution to the 2014/2015 Sectoral Debate by Minister, the Hon. Derrick KellierÂ