THE Jamaica Employers’ Federation (JEF) has called for changes to labour laws to increase the number of days which employees can be laid off before they have to be re-engaged by companies.

Addressing the Economy and Production Committee of Parliament yesterday on the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on production, president of the JEF David Wan said a provision should be included in the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act (LRIDA) for more days to be added to the 120 now provided under law. “COVID has brought to the forefront a major issue for employers. There were companies who were in an industry that were not yet allowed to reopen, and had employees on layoff during the pandemic, but when the 120 days expired, they had to either bring back the workers on full-time pay, or make them redundant with the attendant cost, even though the industry was not allowed to restart. So it is felt that there should be a provision that industries ordered not to reopen by Government, should have the benefit of some additional layoff periods beyond the 120 days because it puts them in a position where there is no income coming into the company yet you are now faced with the cost of bringing back workers full time or making them redundant,” Wan explained.

He also suggested that changes could be made to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) to deal with safety in the workplace in the context of the COVID-19 situation. Currently, there are no provisions in the LRIDA dealing with safety in the workplace, during a public health crisis.

“I believe that it is better housed inside the OSHA as opposed to the LRIDA We do have time right now because it’s still pending and there is a chance to modify it,” he said.

Successive governments have failed to enact the OHSA, which has been in the making for the better part of three decades, going through several rounds of stakeholder consultations, the most recent being a joint select committee which started sitting in 2019, roughly two years after the Bill was tabled in Parliament.

The OSHA is expected to ensure health and safety in the workplace, in tandem with existing, sector-specific, safety and health legislation to reduce the incidents and severity of workplace accidents, injuries and diseases.

The only legislative provisions that are in place that has some bearing on safety in the workplace is the Factories Act of 1943, which was last amended in January 2009. The OSH bill is intended to repeal that piece of legislation.

— Alphea Sumner