Wholesale workers see minimal improvements in working conditions

KINGSTON (PANOS) – Several female workers in wholesales in downtown Kingston say they are seeing minimal improvements in their working conditions, after a study released earlier this year highlighted poor conditions in some of the establishments.

“Me no really see no great improvement as yet but at least them (her employers) making an effort for us to get we lunch time,” said Angella, an employee at a dry goods store on Barry Street. “Me still no know if we going to get one full hour, but last week one of the boss tell we say we need to organise among we self who will go to lunch first.”

She said this came as a surprise to them as before they had to eat in between serving customers. This was almost impossible as there were very few moments when the store was not filled with customers.

“The other day when we get a little break and ah could actually come out a the store, me teck my time and go get tings fi one of me son which me did need to get fi the longest while but couldn’t because we work six days a week,” she said.

Although some of the workers say their employers have not yet instituted things like vacation leave and health benefits, they are willing to wait a while longer now that they know their rights and know how to get redress.

“Me willing to wait a little longer because me boss say they have to sort out paper work before them can start giving us health benefits but me willing to wait for now,” said an employee at another dry goods store along Princess Street.

“If in another couple of weeks them don’t say anything else to us then we just going to march down to the Ministry of Labour,” she said.

A recent visit to a number of wholesales on Orange, Princess and Barry streets downtown showed some visible changes as workers who would normally stand for the entire day were allowed to sit, in some cases on high stools as they await the next customer.

The survey, done by Ann-Murray Brown for her Master’s thesis at the University of the West Indies, showed that the women were, among other things, denied maternity benefits, overtime pay, sick leave, prevented from sitting for entire days, and made to do back-breaking work. There are an estimated 600 women working in wholesale bargain stores in the downtown Kingston business district. Brown’s report also cited human rights breaches, as well as violations of Jamaica’s employment and labour laws and the International Labour Organisation’s declaration on the fundamental principles and rights at work.

This has changed somewhat however after the Ministry of Labour and Social Security launched an investigation into the conditions. The investigation verified some of the issues raised in the study and recently, senior officials from the ministry met with more than 70 owners and operators of a number of wholesales to sensitise them on the requirements of the labour laws and provide a forum for them to discuss their concerns.

According to Angella, just as she was about to throw in the towel after working in unbearable conditions for a year and two months, the ministry intervened. She noted that there have also been talks of them getting vacation leave but she said that has not been officially communicated to them as yet.

“One of the girls a work with was telling me that the Ministry of Labour say we must get leave from work and so we waiting for them to tell we what going to happen about that and if we wait too long and we see that nothing nah happen, we going to go to them because we know we rights now,” she said.

Faith Innerarity, chief technical director in the ministry assured the operators that the ministry was there to facilitate both workers and employers and that protecting their investment and safeguarding the rights of the workers were equally important.

Meanwhile, Michael Kennedy, director of the Pay and Condition of Employment branch at the ministry, outlined the guidelines on payment of salaries, overtime, vacation, sick and maternity leave, termination of employment and the importance of establishing and maintaining employee records. He also highlighted some preliminary findings of the ministry’s investigations of the operations of the wholesales.

Other presentations were also made on the National Insurance Scheme (NIS), occupational safety and health, trafficking in persons and work permit requirements.

Both parties described the meeting as fruitful and vowed to keep the lines of communication open.

At the same time the ministry has also met with the CEDAW advocacy committee – which released Brown’s report to the media – and both entities have agreed to work together on public education for the labour force.

But such knowledge is already making a difference as one employee at a wholesale on Orange Street said she would take action against her employers if they continued in the same way, since she now knows her rights. Fortunately for her, she said her employers have already begun to institute measures which should see them working under better conditions.

“Well the first thing is that they have started to change the way they talk to us – before they used to talk down to us but now already we can see that them more cautious about what they say,” she explained. Having only started working five months ago at the establishment, she said she was told she is not yet entitled to vacation leave, but would get it as soon as she becomes eligible. She said her employers have also promised to pay her $300 if she works two hours beyond an eight-hour shift on a Saturday. This is great news for her as she usually gets to work at 8:00 am on a Saturday and does not leave until 7:00 pm.

One worker expressed appreciation for the report, which she said informed them about a number of things which they had taken for granted. “You have to understand say some of us was so glad to get the little work and people like me never ever have no big big job so me never know what to expect,” she said.

She added: “Me think that a lot of things are going to change around here. You see them know that what them use to do is now out there in the open and we finally know our rights so if them don’t do it, a couple of us a plan to go right to the ministry or to the media,” she said.