A Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church official has taken issue with the practice of some State agencies staging recruitment drives on Saturdays, and has urged the Government to examine the possibility of including other days in the employment exercise.

Nigel Coke, communication, public affairs, and religious liberty director of Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, made the call on Sunday at the church’s Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Recognition and Awards Ceremony at Hotel Four Seasons in St Andrew, saying that he has been concerned about the issue for more than a year.

“I have realised that the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), the Jamaica Fire Brigade, and the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) are involved. Just yesterday, November 16, the JCF had a recruitment drive at the Portmore Community College in Old Harbour,” Coke said in brief prepared remarks for the ceremony.

While that was the only recruitment drive Coke referenced, JCF staged another on November 16 for agricultural wardens at Albert Town High School in Trelawny; DCS invited applicants to visit its recruitment booth at an expo it staged on November 2 at National Indoor Sports Centre; while on October 26 JDF staged a recruitment drive at Whitehorne Barracks in St Mary.

According to Coke, the practice excludes Sabbath keepers who wish to apply to these agencies in person.

He said that while he is aware that applications can be made online, “the recruitment drive would prove a better alternative for Sabbath observers who want a more physical and interactive experience”.

“Through these agencies I urge the Government to examine the situation and extend recruitment drives to other days of the week to facilitate Sabbath observers… maybe Sunday would be another day that recruitment can be done,” he suggested.

The SDA has, in the past, complained about employment difficulties being experienced by its members who observe Saturday as the Sabbath.

In 2019, for instance, Coke chided business process outsourcing (BPO) companies for denying Adventists employment, describing it as discriminatory.

“It has come to my attention that despite the significant growth in the BPO [sector], Adventist members are not benefiting. This, I am reliably informed, is because this sector does not employ Seventh-day Adventists because of the Sabbath. Once they disclose that they are Adventists, they are told that the hours of work are not flexible to accommodate their day of worship or rest,” Coke said in a sermon at Kencot SDA Church in St Andrew.

Coke said although Adventists are employed in the sector, some comply with the work hours rules because of economic reasons.

“I believe there are Adventist members employed in the sector, but because of the economic reasons they bow to the pressure and break the Sabbath from time to time, maybe not every week,” he said, adding that some of these individuals may have left the church because of the clash between their Sabbath and work obligations.

He said that while he accepts the nature of the services provided by the BPO sector, which includes its obligations to clients worldwide, arrangements can be made under the sector’s shift system to accommodate Seventh-day Adventists.