Jamaica Trade Unions and Labor Relations
Before gaining their independence from Britain, Jamaican leaders played a very significant role in the creation of trade unions as early as the 1930s. By enacting the Labor Relations and the Industrial Acts of 2006, the Jamaican legislature gave its citizens the right to create, join, and belong to trade unions of their choice. Despite those leaders becoming members of major political parties at the time, trade unions in Jamaica can operate without any interference by their government today. About 25% of the Jamaican working population belongs to specific associations. By membership, the government and other private employers are prohibited by the labor laws against discriminating and firing their employees. Also, interference with a worker’s participation in any union activity is an offense that attracts huge fines to any employer or individual who ignores such rights. Besides, there has been tremendous involvement of the Jamaican legislature in the inclusion of labor laws in the Industrial Relations Act. These laws mainly addressed the statutory arbitration mechanisms, the recognition of trade unions, establishment and implementation of favorable industrial relations, and lastly, the foundation of the collective bargaining principles (Stephens & Stephens, 2017).
It is important to note that labor laws in Jamaica are divided into three categories;
- Industrial relations law is mainly branded by the core principle of voluntarism. By the provisions in the 1975 Industrial Act, the legislature laid a foundation for statutory arbitration, recognition, and dispute resolutions in the industrial labor force.
- Employment law is mainly inclined towards employment terms and contracts. It advocates for equal job opportunities and prohibits discrimination either based on race, gender, or age. It also provides clauses on employees’ compensation, pensions, and job security.
- Industrial Safety Law that concentrates more on the health, safety, and the general welfare of employees.
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The Concepts and Principles of Labor Relations
- The Labor Relations Code
In Jamaica, the relationship between employers, employees, and the trade unions are governed by a provincial statute known as the Labor Relations Code. The code was instituted per section 3 of the Labor Relations Act. It outlines the process of union creation and certification, employee and employer rights as well as collective bargaining. In its purpose and effectiveness, the code promotes good labor relations concerning the observation of three significant principles;
- a) Collective bargaining-is the policy governing the relationship between the employee and the employer in terms of peaceful and considerate negotiations concerning contract terms, working conditions, responsibility, and remuneration.
- b) The principle of orderly maintenance and development of technical procedures. It outlines workers’ health, safety at work, compensation in case of an injury at work, and dispute settlement and resolution through peaceful means such as negotiations and reconciliation.
- c) The principle of establishing and enforcing favorable personnel management procedures that is inclined towards the peaceful co-relation and co-operation between the employers and their employees in a bid to eliminate unfair treatment of workers as well as employers.
The primary purpose of the Labor Relations Code is to interpret the dynamic scope of industrial relations by clearly defining the responsibilities and obligations of the involved parties in a working environment. The code recognizes the effective use of management resources in performing its functions, whether the allocation of raw materials and human resources. It also defines work as a social obligation and part of every worker’s responsibility. Work is hence to be respected and performed with dignity and accomplishment as per the employer’s standard. It is, therefore, every worker’s responsibility to work towards the attainment of set goals. In the event of a conflict, the code sets the procedures to employ and the role of each party involved, from the employee, the employer, the unions, and the employer’s association. Also, the code is applicable in guiding the conduct of all parties involved in a work environment that are workers, employers, and organizations that represent employees (Turner, 2016).
- Principles governing the rights, duties, and responsibilities of involved parties
- a) Worker’s rights and responsibilities
Upon his or her contract of employment, a worker in Jamaica has the responsibility and obligation to perform their duties as assigned to them by their employer. Besides, such an employee has the right to support or belong to a union of choice as provided for by the Trade Unions Act of 1976. They also must respect their employers, the association as well as the governing authority in co-coordinative relations. Secondly, the Act states out the relationship between the employee and their employer as a signature in the contract of employment. Most of the terms of work enveloped in this document are mainly a result of collective bargaining between the two parties. It is hence vital that a worker understands the terms of his or her contract and put up with them. On the other hand, some workers are obliged to particular duties or treatment depending on certain conditions such as higher education and disability, respectively. These, too, the worker should know and understand.
Also, The Labor Relations Act clearly outlines the rights and entitlements of the worker. Under this Act, an employee in Jamaica is entitled to the following rights under employment; the right to receive wages as agreed, a right to work in a safe and a well-equipped environment, a right to fair and equal treatment, a right to receive training before employment, a three months maternity or paternity leave, a right to medical schemes and pension as well as be provided with protective clothing and gears where need be (Stephens & Stephens, Democratic socialism in Jamaica: The political movement and social transformation in dependent capitalism, 2017).
On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the workers to come to work on time, inform employers of lateness and absenteeism, to perform duties as assigned to them, take care of working equipment, to take responsible care of other employees, co-operate on health and safety measures, avoid absenteeism, work towards the attainment of set goals and meet the set deadlines.
- b) Employer’s rights and responsibilities
The employer in Jamaica is mandated with the responsibility of developing favorable management strategies and embracing good industrial relations with its employees at all times. Such an employer is also obliged to observe all the employees’ rights as well as co-relate with their representative unions. It is the sole responsibility of the employer to follow the terms and conditions of employment and appropriate assignment of duties to their workers. Besides, the employer should offer required training to workers, pay at least a minimum wages, ensure equal opportunity and fair treatment to all workers, and provide adequate facilities such as rest areas, allow their workers to belong to a union of their choice, offer leave and protective gear where necessary. Under the same Act, the employer is also entitled to enjoy some rights as well. Among these are the rights to supervision, to expect workers’ punctuality, regular employee attendance, to assume the set standard of work output, the right to appropriate performance by workers, co-operation of the workforce, regular attendance as well as responsible behavior by their workers.
- c) Trade Unions mandate
Trade unions are bargaining units for employees’ representation and observation of their rights. The trade unions are mainly obligated to work towards the interests of their members and that of the nation at large. They, therefore, have a duty to ensure employee-employer co-operation and promoting good industrial relations in all dealings with the main aim of negotiation and dispute resolutions. They also undertake training activities to educate their members on principal rights as well as offering sensible advice to them (Marsh, Phillips, & Wedderburn, 2014).
- d) Employers’ Associations
Just like workers have trade unions, so do employers have their associations. The main aim of these associations is promoting the interests and representing their members concerning the Labor Unions Act. They mainly associate with trade unions in establishing negotiation procedures and dispute resolution concerning the nature of employment disputes. They recommend their members on the need to consult trade unions in settlement of disputes.
- Collective bargaining principle
Collective bargaining, as applied in Jamaica and other nations, is the principal employment negotiations by workers or their appointed representatives, such as trade unions, to establish favorable terms of employment and working conditions. It is a principle that embraces ultimate good faith and reasonable understanding between negotiating parties to come to a consensus. For effectiveness in the process, all the parties should be well informed on the terms and conditions being discussed. It is hence the mandate of the employer to disclose all the relevant information before the negotiation process (Deakin, 2015).
- Bargaining Units
Under Section 2 of the Labor Unions and Industrial Relations Act of 1976, the Jamaican legislature provided a clause on bargaining units with regards to these relations. The provision describes a bargaining unit as a collection of workers or a category of workers working for a specific employer who stands to benefit from the process of collective bargaining. The provision under the Industrial Relations Act also outlines a list of factors to be observed and considered in negotiations and settling disputes.
- Collective Agreements
Collective agreements are documented contracts of employment that are a result of the collective bargaining between the employer and the workers or their representatives who are mainly trade unions. It clearly outlines the terms and conditions of employment that was accepted by both negotiating parties. It comprises mostly of the duration of the contract, remuneration, hours of work, and nature of shifts, compensation for injuries at work, job classification, and dispute resolution processes as well as contract termination procedures (Bosch, 2015).
Conclusion
In summary, Globalization demands the existence and operation of trade unions in all nations and states. Jamaica is one of such countries characterized by very challenging environments for trade unions’ existence concerning the nature of their politics. For this sole reason, approximately 60% of the unions in Jamaica are not functional. However, the general social partnership concept in Jamaica is enabling trade unions to become acceptable to all parties in addressing their shared need for national developments.
