Silence helpers

THE Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF) yesterday told the Joint Select Committee of Parliament examining the proposed Protected Disclosures Bill (Whistle-blower legislation) that household helpers should be excluded from the proposed legislation.

"We believe that given the scope of the Act, there must be a separation between public and private sector; we believe that household workers, where the public interest is not necessarily touched upon, should be excluded from the reach of the [proposed] Act," JEF Chairman Wayne Chen told the parliamentary committee.

Chen said that while the JEF was cognisant of the need to improve governance in Jamaica and the need to protect individuals who report malfeasances in the public interest, the broad reach of the Bill is seeking to capture every relationship between employer and employee.

Additionally, the JEF chairman asked the committee to explain the position of an employee who is an occasional worker, and also wanted to know if there was a time limit after which no disclosures could be made after an employee had separated from a job.

Committee members mulled over the proposal, and asked for more clarification on the issue of domestic employment.

Committee member A J Nicholson said, however, that household helpers often knew much, which may be in the public's interest.

"Mr Chen, I would like for you to expand on this household help business. Because in the private sector, for example, are you going to include [people] like, janitors? Janitors and all these people, they know a lot of things you know. They see things that other people don't see," Nicholson told the meeting.

Chen explained that he was making the case against the individual in his private home with his family and who finds himself reported by a helper for some mischief.

Committee member Clive Mullings asked what would be the complaint against such an individual if mischief was reported and prevented, while Chen said the law should be practical in its application.

The JEF chairman also expressed concerns about the Bill and how it would co-exist and interact with others such as the the Official Secrets Act, Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act, the Integrity Act, the Anti-Corruption Act, and the Access to Information Act.

"One of the things we would like to see, certainly, is the repeal and the enactment of new legislation in the area of official secrets," he said.

Chen also said the definition of improper conduct to include gross mismanagement was inappropriate for the private sector as people in their private capacities risked their investments and resources and he considered it an unwarranted intrusion of the State in the operation of private businesses.

He said there should be a clear definition about what obtains in the public sector for the definition of improper conduct as against what obtains in the private sector.

The JEF chairman said also that there should be a balance between the sanctions for employers versus the employees who act in bad faith against the employers as a means of extortion. He said the committee should make sure the Bill does not have unintended consequences, resulting in negative growth and unemployment.

Attorney General and Justice Minister Senator Dorothy Lightbourne tabled the Bill, formally known as the Protected Disclosure Act 2010, in the Senate on June 11. The decision was taken to refer the Bill to a Joint Select Committee of both Houses after a written appeal from leader of Opposition business in the Senate, AJ Nicholson.