THE Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica (IMAJ) is claiming that contractors from China and Spain have been beating local contractors to major private projects by undercutting the Joint Industrial Council (JIC) rates and employment conditions which Jamaican firms are required to meet.

This was highlighted yesterday at the signing of a new two-year JIC agreement between IMAJ, which represents contractors and three major local trade unions — the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), the National Workers’ Union (NWU), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

While Minister of Labour and Social Security Shahine Robinson yesterday congratulated JIC for stability in the building and construction industry, representatives of both the IMAJ and the trade unions representing the workers are concerned about how long the stability will last under the conditions which they say have been prevailing for the last few years.

IMAJ President Carvel Stewart, speaking to the

Jamaica Observer after the signing, said that the ministry needs to look at whether foreign contractors should be allowed to continue bidding for private contracts as well as government contracts.

“Where we have a difficulty is where you allow the contractors on the private sector sites the same concessions as Government-financed sites,” Stewart said.

“The Government borrows money from the Chinese for projects and they, in some cases, invest in projects like the north-south highway. So the Government gives them concessions on that, but why extend that to private contracts?” Stewart asked.

But, according to BITU Vice-President Alden Brown, the treatment of the workers employed on the foreign contracted sites is the most serious issue.

“Jamaica is a signatory to the International Labour Organisation conventions, including freedom of association and the protection of their right to union representation. Jamaica, having signed those conventions, how do we allow foreign investors to come to Jamaica and deny the workers their representational rights,” Brown argued.

“Why is it that these contractors do not provide safety gear for the workers? It was most astonishing to me to hear the communications manager at the National Works Agency (NWA) saying on television that he would have to check the agreement on providing protective gear,” Brown added.

NWU Deputy Island Supervisor Owen Saunderson said that the main issue for the unions is that whenever these workers seek union representation they are fired immediately.

“They do not want the unions on the sites to monitor and ensure that the workers’ rights are protected. They do not pay rates agreed at the JIC level. It is unfair that workers who are expected to contribute to national development are being deprived of the opportunity to earn fair wages,” Saunderson said.

According to Stewart, every site should have a safety committee, or at least a safety officer, “but there are no safety officers or safety committees on these sites”.

“When we tender, we include the cost of safety gear. But these companies do not include safety costs in their pricing when bidding for contracts. This allows them to undercut our costs and make much lower bids,” he said.

Brown said he was concerned that, by ignoring the JIC, foreign contractors do not pay the construction employment premium or overtime, and do not give workers vacation and sick leave, which contribute to the Jamaican contractors being consistently outbid for major construction contracts.

In the meantime, the new agreement that was signed yesterday grants workers falling under the JIC — which comprises representatives of the IMAJ, the three trade unions and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security — a seven per cent pay increase in 2017/18 and a further five per cent increase in 2018/19, as well as a 15 per cent increase in fringe benefits.

The agreements take effect tomorrow, February 1, and will last for two years up to January 31, 2019.

Robinson, whose speech was read by the director of industrial relations and allied services in the ministry, Karl Wedderburn, noted that the building and construction industry is a primary benchmark in determining the level of economic activity in the country, and one of the sectors employing large numbers of skilled and unskilled workers.

She said that signing the agreement was a symbol of the parties’ commitment to dialogue and consensus at the bargaining table and, ultimately, Jamaica’s advancement.

She said that the ministry is committed to all stakeholders at the workplace, the decent work agenda and sustainable development goals.

“As a responsive and responsible Administration we are pushing ahead to ensure that the working environment is on par with international standards,” she added.

She also promised the Occupational Safety and Health Act by the end of March, and commended the parties for their sterling contribution to the sector.